SEATTLE - Seattle U celebrated another 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 Undergraduate Admissions and the Office of the Registrar. The combination of the two departments were honored for their diligent wor to help the process of admitting new student athletes to the university.The D'Vonne Pickett Jr. Individual and Team Mission Awards went to John Christofilis of men's basketball and the Redhawk cross country and track & field team. Christofilis, a junior, has spent countless hours with Miller Laursen, a 12-year-old boy who has Angelman Syndrome, a rare neuro-genetic disorder. Through the Team Impact program, Christofilis has made an everlasting connection with Miller.
Cross country and track & field took home the team portion of the award this year, as the team helped complete over 100 hours of service. Their work includes, but is not limited to, welcoming students back to school at Bailey Gatzert Elementary and at Washington Middle School as part of their annual High-5 Events, and connecting with patients at Seattle Children's Hospital in their patient drop-in playroom.
It was a clean sweep for soccer for Freshman of the Year, with Sydnee Smith and Edgar Leon taking home the award for their respective teams. Smith was a staunch defender who was named to the All-WAC Freshman team, while Leon scored six goals and also landed on the conference's All-Freshman Team.
Following a dramatic 3-stroke win of the WAC Championship, men's golf took home competition of the year. It was the program's second WAC title as they were led by Kevin Li and Walker Lamb.
The TREX award saw it's third ever recipient, as Liliya Dimova of women's tennis was named for the 2024-25 year. Dimova embodied what the Redhawk Experience stands for .
For the 2022-23 Athlete of the Year, Lamija Avdic of women's tennis and Demian Alvarez of en's soccer took home the awards. Avdic, a sophomore from Kirkland, WA, became the first WAC Player of the Year in program history. She was also named to the WAC First Team in singles and WAC Second Team in doubles.
Demian Alvarez helped lead the Redhawks to a WAC Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance while being named the conference's Defensive Player of the Year. Following his standout season, he was drafted by hometown club Seattle Sounders FC in the 2025 MLS SuperDraft.
Erin Goya of women's volleyball was the recipient of the Elgin Baylor Inspiration Award, as announced by Sarah Pfau, Director of Sports Medicine. Despite having he collegiate playing career cut short due to injury, Goya was ever present with her team throughout the season and was even named team captain. She never allowed he setback to keep her away from supporting her team.
The final award of the night was the Eddie O'Brien Student Athlete of the Year Awards. Kait Raffensperger, a senior on the women's soccer team took home the award after another stellar year. She grabbed her second straight WAC Defender of the Year Award while captaining the team to yet another 10-win season. Raffensperger played every single minute of every single game during the 2024 season, a feat that not many have accomplished in the country. She will graduate this spring with a Bachelor of Science in Cell and Molecular Biology
Alex Jensen, a fifth-year senior on the cross country and track & field team, was also named a recipient. He set the school record in the 800 meter twice on the season, while earning Second Team All-WAC honors. His accomplishments athletically were matched by his 4.0 Cumulative GPA on the year and his super fan level of support of other Redhawk athletics.