On Monday night, the George Mason athletic department, its student-athletes, coaches and staff, gathered at the Mason Inn to recognize the 2012 senior class one last time and announce the recipients of the annual awards.

Director of Athletics Tom O'Connor opened the awards portion of the evening presenting Madison Beumer with the Aimee Willard Commemorative Award. 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.

Beumer, a junior from Ballston Spa, N.Y., is the first student-athlete from the rowing team to receive the honor. A member of the varsity 8 boat this season, Beumer helped lead the Patriots to a first place finish at the Occoquan Chase and the Head of the Occoquan.

A total of 97 seniors from 20 sports including the cheerleading and dance teams were honored with the George Mason Award during the evening. The award 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.

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

Four-time All-American Ashley Danner, a senior on the women's swimming & diving team, took home her third Female Student-Athlete of the Year award, while senior men's basketball player Ryan Pearson won the Male Student-Athlete of the Year award.

Danner, the recipient of the award the previous two years, was named the CAA Swimmer of the Year and CollegeSwimming.com Mid-Major Swimmer of the Year after finishing second in the 100-yard breaststroke and fifth in the 200-yard breaststroke at the NCAA Championships. Danner was the top overall point scorer for the women in the CAA Championships with 60 points after winning three individual events. The Springfield, Va. native has competed at the NCAA Championships all four years of her collegiate career. This marks the fourth time a member of the women's swimming & diving team took home the award.

Pearson earned CAA Player of the Year plaudits after finishing his senior campaign ranking third in the conference in scoring (17.0 ppg) and fifth in rebounding (8.2 rpg). Additionally, the Far Rockaway, N.Y. native shot 50.3 percent from the field and led the Patriots in points, rebounds and steals. Pearson capped his four-year playing career at Mason earning Associated Press All-America Honorable Mention, USBWA All-District and VaSID All-State First Team honors. Pearson becomes the fifth member of the men's basketball team to receive the award.

Also nominated for the student-athlete of the year awards were Zania Barnum (women's soccer), Mandissa Marshall (track), Taleia Moton (women's basketball), Derrick Butts (diving), Ryan Gracia (men's soccer) and Brig Tison (baseball).

Seniors were also recognized for their efforts in the classroom as 20 student-athletes received the Scholar-Athlete Award for carrying a cumulative grade point average of 3.4 or greater. In addition, five seniors also received the Provost's Scholar Student-Athlete Award for carrying a 3.75 cumulative GPA or higher. A complete list of the student-athletes receiving the Scholar-Athlete Award is below with those earning the Provost's Award indicated with an asterisk.

Zachary Helgeson - Baseball *
Kristen Mastalski - Cheer
Amanda Polis - Cheer
Emily Lieu - Dance
Raven Sellers - Dance
Josh Apple - Golf *
Joy Oberlin - Lacrosse *
Kara Bowman - Lacrosse
Kiersten Jauschnegg - Lacrosse
Emily Ellisen - Lacrosse
Alyssa See - Softball
Sophia Graesser - Swimming
Morgan Parker - Swimming
Andrew McGreal - Track *
Michael Foley - Track
Nao Ma - Track *
Ma'Tia Boyd - Track
Kelsey Bohman - Volleyball
Katrina Boryc - Volleyball

Underclassmen Provost's Scholar Student-Athlete Award Recipients
Jennifer Storch - Dance
Madison Beumer - Rowing
Shelby Cohen - Lacrosse
Samantha Scruggs - Lacrosse
Lyndse Hokanson - Women's Soccer
Paige Impink - Swimming
Neena Maizels - Swimming
Christopher Borden - Tennis
David Lucas - Volleyball
Patrick Maloney - Volleyball
Javier Perez Navarrete - Volleyball