Laura King, Will Thomas Win Student-Athlete of the Year Awards; Dan Jaycox Receives Willard Award

George Mason Athletics Athletics 5/7/2008 12:00:00 AM

May 7, 2008

George Mason University held its annual student-athlete awards ceremony at Patriot Center on Tuesday night. The student-athletes came together to commemorate accomplishments, both in the classroom and on the field.

The seniors were honored with the George Mason Award, which was commissioned in January of 1997 in an effort to recognize the culmination of a student-athlete's participation in intercollegiate athletics. The hand-sculpted artwork of George Mason was designed as a permanent remembrance of both the institution and the student-athlete's legacy. A total of 68 seniors from 17 sports and the cheerleading and dance teams accepted the award.

The Aimee Willard commemorative award was won by senior baseball player Dan Jaycox. The award was established in 1997 and is presented to the Mason student-athlete who best exemplifies the standards of quality set by Aimee: intensity, consistency of purpose, achievement and teamwork. Nominees are selected by head coaches and the recipient is selected by Gail Willard, Aimee's mother, and the Willard family.

Jaycox is a pitcher from Hatfield, Pa. He has started 10 games for the Patriots this year and he has a win over a top 25 team. For his career, Jaycox is third all-time in strikeouts, fourth all-time in strikeouts per nine innings, fifth all-time in strikeout-to-walk ratio and 15th all-time in games started.

The final awards of the evening were presented to the winners of the Dr. Frank Pettrone Student-Athlete of the Year Award. The winners of this award are selected by the student-athletes based on the following standards: be a team player on and off the field, demonstrate motivational qualities and good sportsmanship and maintain good academic standing.

Senior Laura King
2007-08 Female Student-Athlete of the Year

Lacrosse's Laura King won the Female Student-Athlete of the Year award, beating out Murielle Ahoure of Track and Field, the 2007 winner; Ashli Breau of Softball, the school's all-time leader in home runs, and Jaqueline Kohler of Volleyball, a multiple all-conference honoree. King, a senior, was First-Team All-CAA and a CAA Player of the Week and she finishes her career as one of the school's top goal scorers. She helped lead the lacrosse team to a school record in wins and conference wins this season.

Senior Will Thomas
2007-08 Male Student-Athlete of the Year

Basketball's Will Thomas won the Male Student-Athlete of the Year award, beating out Mark Burik of Volleyball, a member of the EIVA All-Academic Team, Eric Knight of Swimming, the CAA Male Swimmer of the Year, and Scott Krieger of Baseball, one of the top hitters in school history. Thomas, a senior, was named First-Team All-CAA and was selected to the CAA All-Defensive Team. Thomas was runner-up for CAA Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year and he finished his career among the top 10 all-time in school history in scoring, rebounding and field-goal percentage.

The Team Community Service Award went to Women's Tennis, which beat out Softball and Women's Track and Field.

The Scholar-Athletes were recognized as well during the ceremony. In order to earn the Scholar-Athlete Award, seniors must have a cumulative grade-point average of 3.4 or greater, juniors must have a gpa of 3.5 or greater, sophomore must earn a gpa of 3.6 or greater and freshmen must have a gpa of 3.7 or greater. Grades are through fall, 2007 and all student-athletes must have completed at least two semesters, excluding freshmen. Here is a list of those Scholar-Athletes:

SENIORS

Sarah Bizer, Swimming;

Mark Burik, Volleyball;

Kristen Byler, Volleyball;

Casey Clausen, Rowing;

Devraj Dasgupta, Track & Field;

Ryan Davis, Track & Field;

Kristin Dickel, Softball;

Sarah Fack, Soccer;

Alison Feldman, Soccer;

Melissa Ferry, Track & Field;

Jeremy Jessup, Soccer;