MORAGA, Calif. — The Saint Mary's athletic department honored its student-athletes on Wednesday evening with their annual Gael Awards Show. The event took place inside University Credit Union Pavilion, and honored SMC student-athletes, top performers and noteworthy performances athletically and academically from the 2021-22 school year.
 
"This has been a fantastic year for Saint Mary's, and it was great to celebrate all of our student-athletes and their accomplishments on Wednesday night," Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics, Mike Matoso, mentioned about the evening. "Our student-athletes do fantastic work in the classroom and in their sports, and it's always special to take time to celebrate the many highlights from the year."
 
Some of the award winners from the evening are highlighted below:
 
TEAM PERFORMANCES OF THE YEAR – Women's Basketball and Men's Basketball
The Team Performance of the Year award recognizes the best male and female team victories during the 2021-22 season. This season, the men's and women's basketball teams were voted as winners based on their performances from late in the season.
 
Women's Basketball won three games in three days to capture the WBI (Women's Basketball Invitational) Championship. The Gaels beat Austin Peay, Bowling Green, and Cleveland State to claim their first-ever WBI Crown, the first-ever postseason championship from the women's basketball team. During the tournament, the Gaels received several standout performances, including Taycee Wedin winning MVP honors.
 
Saint Mary's took down No. 1 Gonzaga 67-57 in the final game of the regular season, closing out the season in style. The win secured the first undefeated season at home in the history of University Credit Union Pavilion, and was just the second win in school history over a number-one ranked team. The Gaels never trailed during the victory.
 
INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES OF THE YEAR – Mariia Kozyreva and James Watt
The Individual Performance of the Year award is presented to a male and female student-athlete who had an outstanding performance in any single competition during the 2021-22 school year. This year, Mariia Kozyreva of Women's Tennis and James Watt of Men's Tennis took home hardware for big victories in the fall.
 
Mariia Kozyreva beat the #2 ranked player in the country, and No. 1 seed at the ITA fall Championships in Abigail Forbes to advance to the elite eight of the ITA Championships. This was Kozyreva's biggest individual win during the season, and helped set the stage for Kozyreva to be ranked individually during the spring season.
 
James Watt took first place in the "A Flight Singles" at the prestigious UCSB Fall Classic. After his victory over Phillip Jordan of the Gauchos in the quarterfinals, Watt defeated back-to-back players from Pepperdine University in the semifinals and finals to take home the trophy, the best win for Watt during the fall season.
 
MIKE GIBBONS VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR – Max Shupe
The Mike Gibbons Volunteer of the Year award recognizes an unpaid employee who has shown great dedication to the student-athletes of Saint Mary's College. This year's winner was Max Shupe, one of the coaches on the baseball staff.
 
Max Shupe oversees operations, equipment, and camps on top of being the Gaels hitting and infield coach. If he's not in the office or on the field developing players, you can find Shupe with the hose in his hand watering the field to make sure the playing surface is pristine. Max might be in a volunteer role, but the program wouldn't run without him, and Saint Mary's College is a better place to be because of him.
 
HIGHEST TEAM GPA – Women's Tennis
The Women's Tennis team recorded a 3.707 cumulative team GPA heading into the Spring 2022 semester.
 
NEWCOMERS OF THE YEAR – Ali Bamberger and Riley Lynch
The Newcomer of the Year award is presented to a male and female freshman or transfer student-athlete who has made a tremendous first-year impact on his or her team. Ali Bamberger of Women's Basketball and Riley Lynch of Men's Soccer were chosen as this year's recipients.
 
Redshirt sophomore Ali Bamberger took home the WCC Newcomer of the Year Award in her first season as a Gael after transferring from the University of Washington. The Walnut Creek native averaged 15.3 points per game and 9.3 rebounds per game while starting all 33 contests for Saint Mary's this season.
 
Riley Lynch was selected to the All-WCC Second Team as well as the All-Freshman Team, and finished the year tied for the team lead in goals, assists, and points. His 36 shots on the year were a team high and were seventh in the conference. His 17 shots on goal also led the team while being second in the WCC, and he had a team-high two game-winners: against UNLV and Gonzaga.
 
TODD OGORZELEC STUDENT-EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR – Holden Wright
The student employee award has been dedicated to SMC Alum and Athletics Staff Member, Todd Ogorzelec, who passed away in 2014. Todd worked as a student employee throughout college and then as Director of Game Operations. The Todd Ogorzelec Student Employee of the Year Award recognizes a Saint Mary's student who has shown great dedication to the student-athletes, and coaching staff of Saint Mary's College. Holden Wright has been a key part of the men's basketball program from his time as a student manager and into his transition as a student employee. Wright is a tireless worker who always puts the needs of our players and program above his own.
 
BRYAN VARGAS GAEL SPIRIT AWARD – Cody Butcher
The Bryan Vargas Gael Spirit Award recognizes the efforts of a college staff, or faculty member who has made significant contributions to the Saint Mary's Athletic Department. Cody Butcher is the Assistant Athletic Director of Sports Performance and in his fourth year at Saint Mary's after joining in 2018. He works with a number of different programs on campus, including both basketball teams. He is driven to help others succeed and his care for the student-athletes shines through all that he does.
 
BROTHER AGNON COACH OF THE YEAR – Randy Bennett
The Brother Agnon Coach of the Year award is given to the head coach that exceeded the expectations this season and is voted on by their peers and student-athletes. Randy Bennett was selected as this year's recipient.
 
Coach Bennett was named the West Coast Conference Coach of the Year for the fourth time in his career, and was also named the NABC District 9 Coach of the Year. The Gaels finished the season ranked 18th in the NCAA polls, and won their sixth-ever game in the NCAA Tournament, giving Indiana its largest-ever postseason defeat.
 
ATHLETES OF THE YEAR – Taycee Wedin and Tommy Kuhse
The Male and Female Athlete of the Year award is presented to a male and female student-athlete who has experience tremendous athletic success in his or her sport during the 2021-22 school year. Taycee Wedin of Women's Basketball and Tommy Kuhse of Men's Basketball were voted winners by their peers this season.
 
It was a record-breaking year for Taycee Wedin, as she broke the Saint Mary's and West Coast Conference records for career three pointers made. She had 11 games of 20 or more points this season and broke her own Saint Mary's and WCC single-season record of 104 threepointers with 106 threes on the season. Wedin was named WBI tournament MVP, as she averaged 22.7 points per game in the three games and shot an amazing 60% from three-point range.

Tommy Kuhse broke out for the best season of his Saint Mary's career as a graduate student, helping lead the Gaels to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Kuhse was named the WCC's Sixth Man of the Year, in addition to First Team All-WCC for the first time in his career. Kuhse also became the 31st Gael in program history to score 1,000 career points when he did so in a home win over San Francisco late in the season.

GEORGE R. McKEON AWARD – Sofia Earle and Sebastian Schacht
The George R. McKeon award is presented to a male and female graduating senior student-athlete who has achieved noteworthy success in the classroom, in their sport, and in their extracurricular activities. It is given by the college and will be acknowledge at the 2022 Commencement. Sofia Earle of Softball and Sebastian Schacht of Men's Soccer were named winners.
 
Sofia Earle has been the ace of the Saint Mary's pitching staff throughout her collegiate career. She is in the middle of her best season to date, sporting a 2.83 ERA, 10 complete games, and 3 shutouts. Her 131 strikeouts are a new career-high, and she ranks inside the top-five in the WCC in all the aforementioned categories, while sporitng a 3.37 grade point average as an economics major.
 
Sebastian Schacht closes out his Saint Mary's career as part of the winningest class in SMC history, and he played a vital role in all of those wins. Schacht scored six goals during his career as a Gael, including a PK, overtime-winner in his final game. He was named First-Team All-WCC three times, all-Region three times, and did so while carrying a 3.41 GPA as a business administration major.