SEATTLE - Seattle U celebrated an impressive year in the athletic department with its annual award show, the Rudy's, honoring all the accomplishments on the field and in the classroom.
The Rudy's began with the Seattle U service to athletics award. This year's recipient was Dale Watanabe, the Director of the International Student Center. Watanabe was selected for his work with the international student athletes, specifically his work with Turkish volleyball players Ezgi Ozkan and Yasemin Elmas during the devastating earthquakes that hit Syria and Turkey this past February. He partnered with Campus Ministry to organize a prayer vigil for the victims of these terrible earthquakes. He then helped create the Turkish Student Association on campus.
The newly named D'Vonne Pickett Jr. Individual and Team Mission Awards went to Jade Quintana of tennis and the Redhawk softball team. Quintana, a sophomore, helped organize a day of service for the tennis teams for the NCAA Civic Engagement with the SU grounds and Waste Management team. She helped plan the engaging with new confidence workshop for first year student athletes and gave the keynote speech. Softball took home the team portion of the award, both coaches and players often volunteer hours at the St. Francis house. The team also led the charge with their initiative to promote mental health awareness.
U'i Kaaihue of women's soccer capped off an impressive first year by taking home Freshman of the Year honors. The midfielder was named WAC Freshman of the year while earning spots on the First Team All-WAC and All-WAC Freshman team. She was also named Third Team All-Region by the USCA.
Miguel Rosario III was also named Freshman of the Year. A standout on track & field, Rosario's 100m dash time of 10.68 placed him second in school history along with teammate Isaiah Payne. He and his teammates tied a school record in the 4x100m at a blazing 41.51 seconds. In his first outdoor campaign, he finished fourth and set a school record of 21.79 seconds in the 200m.
For the third time in the last five years, men's soccer captured the competition of the year with their road victory over 4th ranked Notre Dame to open their season. The Redhawks dominated the Irish in the 3-1 victory, their biggest win over a ranked opponent since taking down a 10th ranked Washington in 2015.
The newest award, the TREX award, was presented by the Director of the Redhawk Experience, Bobby Matthews. Madeline Phillips was the inaugural recipient of the award, following a senior year that will see the forward graduate summa cum laude with a Bachelor in of Science and Civil Engineering. She played four years on the basketball team and was named team captain. Last summer she completed an internship with a Seattle engineering firm who has since hired her for full time employment starting this fall. While at Seattle U, she was an active member of two different engineering clubs on campus.
For the 2022-23 Athlete of the Year, Samantha Bruce of golf and Cameron Tyson of basketball took home the awards. Bruce, a graduate student from the Philippines, claimed her second straight First Team All-WAC honor and third consecutive All-WAC award. She finished her collegiate career with nine top 10 finishes. This season she set new program records for single season scoring average at 73.23, par five scoring at 4.74 and made birdies at 100.
Cameron Tyson finished his second season in a Redhawk uniform by averaging 18.6 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. His 97 total three pointers ranked first among all players in the WAC and was good for 18th in the nation. Tyson was named to the NABC All-District First Team and to the All-WAC First Team.
Richard Bedats was the recipient of the Elgin Baylor Inspiration Award, as announced by his teammate Dante Perez. "Despite injuries, leaving Slovakia to come to the United States, and fitting in as a transfer, he has gotten it done in the classroom, the community and on the field," said Perez. "He shows up every day, for everything, with an incredibly, positive attitude and a huge smile on his face." This year, he started the first ever international student athlete socials and has a job working at UREC sports. He is a graduate student in Albers studying Business Economics and currently has GPA of 4.0.
The final award of the night was the Eddie O'Brien Student Athlete of the Year Awards. Lily Garcia, a junior on the softball team, was one of the recipients. Garcia takes a lead while representing the team on SAAC as well as being the representative at the conference level and spends time volunteering at the St. Francis House. She led the initiative for the softball team to host a mental awareness night. On the field she was named to the WAC All-Defensive team.
Isaiah Payne, a fifth-year senior on the track & field team, was also named a recipient. He spent five years at RAMP, being named a member of the Academic All-WAC team, setting a school record in the 4x100, and being named a WAC indoor champion in the distance relay.
The Rudy's began with the Seattle U service to athletics award. This year's recipient was Dale Watanabe, the Director of the International Student Center. Watanabe was selected for his work with the international student athletes, specifically his work with Turkish volleyball players Ezgi Ozkan and Yasemin Elmas during the devastating earthquakes that hit Syria and Turkey this past February. He partnered with Campus Ministry to organize a prayer vigil for the victims of these terrible earthquakes. He then helped create the Turkish Student Association on campus.
The newly named D'Vonne Pickett Jr. Individual and Team Mission Awards went to Jade Quintana of tennis and the Redhawk softball team. Quintana, a sophomore, helped organize a day of service for the tennis teams for the NCAA Civic Engagement with the SU grounds and Waste Management team. She helped plan the engaging with new confidence workshop for first year student athletes and gave the keynote speech. Softball took home the team portion of the award, both coaches and players often volunteer hours at the St. Francis house. The team also led the charge with their initiative to promote mental health awareness.
U'i Kaaihue of women's soccer capped off an impressive first year by taking home Freshman of the Year honors. The midfielder was named WAC Freshman of the year while earning spots on the First Team All-WAC and All-WAC Freshman team. She was also named Third Team All-Region by the USCA.
Miguel Rosario III was also named Freshman of the Year. A standout on track & field, Rosario's 100m dash time of 10.68 placed him second in school history along with teammate Isaiah Payne. He and his teammates tied a school record in the 4x100m at a blazing 41.51 seconds. In his first outdoor campaign, he finished fourth and set a school record of 21.79 seconds in the 200m.
For the third time in the last five years, men's soccer captured the competition of the year with their road victory over 4th ranked Notre Dame to open their season. The Redhawks dominated the Irish in the 3-1 victory, their biggest win over a ranked opponent since taking down a 10th ranked Washington in 2015.
The newest award, the TREX award, was presented by the Director of the Redhawk Experience, Bobby Matthews. Madeline Phillips was the inaugural recipient of the award, following a senior year that will see the forward graduate summa cum laude with a Bachelor in of Science and Civil Engineering. She played four years on the basketball team and was named team captain. Last summer she completed an internship with a Seattle engineering firm who has since hired her for full time employment starting this fall. While at Seattle U, she was an active member of two different engineering clubs on campus.
For the 2022-23 Athlete of the Year, Samantha Bruce of golf and Cameron Tyson of basketball took home the awards. Bruce, a graduate student from the Philippines, claimed her second straight First Team All-WAC honor and third consecutive All-WAC award. She finished her collegiate career with nine top 10 finishes. This season she set new program records for single season scoring average at 73.23, par five scoring at 4.74 and made birdies at 100.
Cameron Tyson finished his second season in a Redhawk uniform by averaging 18.6 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. His 97 total three pointers ranked first among all players in the WAC and was good for 18th in the nation. Tyson was named to the NABC All-District First Team and to the All-WAC First Team.
Richard Bedats was the recipient of the Elgin Baylor Inspiration Award, as announced by his teammate Dante Perez. "Despite injuries, leaving Slovakia to come to the United States, and fitting in as a transfer, he has gotten it done in the classroom, the community and on the field," said Perez. "He shows up every day, for everything, with an incredibly, positive attitude and a huge smile on his face." This year, he started the first ever international student athlete socials and has a job working at UREC sports. He is a graduate student in Albers studying Business Economics and currently has GPA of 4.0.
The final award of the night was the Eddie O'Brien Student Athlete of the Year Awards. Lily Garcia, a junior on the softball team, was one of the recipients. Garcia takes a lead while representing the team on SAAC as well as being the representative at the conference level and spends time volunteering at the St. Francis House. She led the initiative for the softball team to host a mental awareness night. On the field she was named to the WAC All-Defensive team.
Isaiah Payne, a fifth-year senior on the track & field team, was also named a recipient. He spent five years at RAMP, being named a member of the Academic All-WAC team, setting a school record in the 4x100, and being named a WAC indoor champion in the distance relay.