2021 SAB Awards

2021 Stanford Athletic Board Awards

Honoring our Stanford Student-Athletes

The Stanford Athletics Board Awards

The Stanford Athletics Board Awards ceremony is held annually each June to celebrate the end of the athletic season and recognize the accomplishments of the Stanford teams and student-athletes. The awards include individual athletic success, academic achievements and commitments to leadership and community service.

About the Stanford Athletics Board

The mission of the Stanford Athletics Board is to enhance and protect the core values of the Stanford athletics department and Stanford University. To do so, the athletics board supports and nourishes athletic, physical education, and recreation programs at the university and works to ensure that all such programs operate under the highest standards of ethical conduct, sportsmanship, and integrity.

The Stanford Athletics Board was established in 1964 by the Stanford University Board of Trustees.

 

BOB MURPHY AWARD

Presented to the student-athlete whose unforgettable performance in an athletic contest secures a place in Stanford Athletics history.

Shane Griffith, Wrestling

Shane Griffith became the second wrestler in program history to capture an individual NCAA championship, producing a 6-2 decision over No. 3 seed Jake Wentzel of Pittsburgh in the NCAA final at 165 pounds. Seeded No. 8 overall, Griffith knocked off three other top-10 seeds during his tournament run, joining Hall of Famer Matt Gentry (2004) as the second individual NCAA champion in school history while he now has a career record of 40-1.

 

Ashten Prechtel, Women's Basketball

Ashten Prechtel played a pivotal role during Stanford’s NCAA championship run, highlighted by a clutch second-half performance in a 78-63 win over Louisville in the Elite 8. Despite not playing in the first half, Prechtel entered the game midway through the third quarter with the Cardinal trailing by 12. Prechtel provided a spark, scoring 16 second-half points (6-6 FG, 3-3 3FG) in 16 minutes and changing the momentum as Stanford embarked on a 13-0 run to take the lead.

ARTHUR F. DAUER MEMORIAL SPORTS PERFORMANCE AWARD

Administered by the Director of Sports Performance, this award honors the student-athlete who not only displays maximum effort on and off the field of competition, but also brings out the best in his/her teammates through positive attitude, relentless work ethic and consistent commitment to performance enhancement. The award is given in memory of Arthur F. Dauer '69.

Brendan Beck, Baseball

“Brendan has not only been an outstanding player but has represented Stanford University to the utmost throughout his four-year career on The Farm. Brendan has been a four-year starter and led the way for the entire pitching staff during his tenure. He pushes himself and his teammates to uphold the highest standards both on the diamond and in the weight room. Brendan holds many accolades on the field and will look to continue his post-collegiate career when the Major League Baseball takes place next month. Brendan has a bright future in both athletics and life and will continue to have the Cardinal represented well in the future!”

- Gunnar Cederberg, Assistant Olympic Sports Performance Coach

Ella Donaghu, Women's Cross Country/Track and Field

“Throughout her time at Stanford, Ella has consistently been an individual with an immense amount of enthusiasm and tenacity. Ella’s positive work ethic and commitment to self-improvement have been an inspiration to those around her, encouraging her peers to continue to be the best version of themselves, both inside and outside the athletic realm. These are only a few of the defining characteristics that have led Ella to be successful in both cross country and track and field, and, in my opinion, are only a few of the reasons I believe Ella will see continued success in all that life has in store.”

- Thomas Gesser, Assistant Olympic Sports Performance Coach

CONFERENCE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR 

Presented to a Stanford athlete who distinguishes themself in conference competition.

Ali Baiocco, Lacrosse

  • IWLCA All-American (Second Team)
  • Tewaaraton Award Top 25 candidate
  • Pac-12 Attacker of the Year
  • All-Pac-12 (First Team)
  • Led team in goals (50), assists (25), points (75) and shots (82) while establishing school record with eight goals on two occasions

 

Grace McGinley, Women's Rowing

  • Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year
  • NCAA Elite 90 Award recipient
  • Member of varsity eight boat that finished second at NCAA Championships
  • Member of the varsity four boat that finished first at the Pac-12 Championships

 

Alana Vawter, Softball

  • NFCA All-West Region (First Team)
  • All-Pac-12 (First Team), becoming Stanford’s first all-conference first-team honoree since 2015
  • All-Pac-12 Freshman Team
  • Finished 22-11 overall with a 1.54 ERA and 156 strikeouts in 200 innings

 

 

Alex Liang, Men’s Swimming and Diving

  • CSCAA All-American in 400 IM (Honorable Mention)
  • Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year
  • Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll

 

Corinne Zanolli, Field Hockey

  • Honda Sport Award finalist
  • NFHCA All-Region (First Team)
  • America East Offensive Player of the Year
  • All-America East (First Team)
  • Ranked second nationally in goals (20), while also leading team in assists (6), points (46) and shots (96)

BLOCK "S" OUTSTANDING FRESHMAN AWARD 

Presented to the highest-achieving freshman.

Jaden Abas, Wrestling

  • NCAA All-American, the second freshman NCAA All-American in school history
  • Pac-12 champion at 149 pounds
  • Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year

 

Charles Hicks, Men's Cross Country/Track and Field

  • NCAA Cross Country All-American
  • USTFCCCA West Region Cross Country Athlete of the Year
  • Pac-12 Cross Country Freshman of the Year
  • Pac-12 Track and Field champion (10,000-meters)

 

Jewel Roemer, Women's Water Polo

  • ACWPC All-American (First Team)
  • MPSF Newcomer of the Year
  • All-MPSF (Second Team)
  • Ranked second on team in goals (44) and led team in multi-goal games (14)

Mark Fisher, Men's Soccer

  • TopDrawerSoccer Freshman Best XI (Second Team)
  • Pac-12 Freshman of the Year
  • Led team in goals (10) and points (23) while making all 14 starts

 

Xolani Hodel, Beach Volleyball

  • AVCA All-American (First Team), partnering with Sunny Villapando as the first duo in school history to earn the distinction
  • All-Pac-12 Freshman Team
  • All-Pac-12 (First Team)
  • Recorded 22 wins, one shy of tying the school record

 

 

BLOCK "S" OUTSTANDING SOPHOMORE AWARD 

Presented to the highest-achieving sophomore.

Brandon Briones, Men's Gymnastics

  • Two-time NCAA All-American (all-around, vault)
  • Contributed scoring in all six events at NCAA Championships
  • MPSF All-Academic Scholar-Athlete

 

Brock Jones, Baseball

  • All-Pac-12 (First Team)
  • Leads team in home runs (13), RBI (47), runs (47) and total bases (105) while ranking fourth in batting average (.295)
  • Ranks second in Pac-12 and 10th nationally in walks (48) and sixth in Pac-12 for home runs (13) and on-base percentage (.450)

 

Angelina Ye, Women's Golf

  • WGCA All-American (First Team)
  • Honda Sport Award finalist
  • All-Pac-12 (First Team)
  • Scoring average (71.36) ranked third-best for a single season in school history

 

Shane Griffith, Wrestling

  • NCAA champion at 165 pounds
  • NCAA All-American, defeating four top-10 seeds on the way to the title
  • NCAA Championships Most Outstanding Wrestler
  • Pac-12 Wrestler of the Year

 

Haley Jones, Women's Basketball

  • Associated Press and USBWA All-American (Honorable Mention)
  • NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player
  • All-Pac-12 Team

 

 

 

 

BLOCK "S" OUTSTANDING JUNIOR AWARD 

Presented to the highest-achieving junior.

Brody Malone, Men's Gymnastics

  • Two-time NCAA individual champion (all-around, high bar)
  • Four-time NCAA All-American (all-around, floor, high bar, rings)
  • Contributed scoring in all six events at NCAA Championships
  • MPSF champion (all-around, high bar)
  • MPSF Gymnast of the Year

 

Zach Ryan, Men's Soccer

  • United Soccer Coaches All-American (First Team)
  • MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist
  • Pac-12 Player of the Year
  • All-Pac-12 (First Team)
  • Led team in goals (10) and points (23) while appearing in all 14 games

 

 

SPIRIT OF STANFORD AWARD 

Presented to a charismatic student-athlete who excels at his/her sport and is an effective leader on and off the field. Furthermore, this student-athlete is an exemplary teammate, active across campus and in the community, and embraces the values of Stanford University. The award is given in memory of Frankie Albert '42.

Emma Higuchi, Women's Tennis

  • All-Pac-12 (Honorable Mention)
  • Finished with a team-best 16-3 overall record, including a 12-3 mark at the No. 6 spot
  • Recorded 100th career singles win in Stanford's victory over Arizona (March 20)
  • Vice President of SAAC Community Service and member of Chi Omega Fraternity

 

Blake Sun, Men's Gymnastics

  • Nissen-Emery Award finalist
  • NCAA All-American (parallel bars)
  • MPSF champion (parallel bars)
  • Spearheaded off-site fall team training regimen when the team was not allowed to compete on campus

 

Virginia Miller, Women's Track and Field

  • NCAA Championships qualifier (javelin)
  • Senior Class President
  • Launched successful campaign to turn campus fountains back on and revive part of student life
  • Active in planning undergraduate Commencement ceremony and Wacky Walk
  • Conducted cyber policy research at Stanford Internet Observatory

 

Sunny Villapando, Beach Volleyball

  • AVCA All-American (First Team), partnering with Xolani Hodel as the first duo in school history to earn the distinction
  • All-Pac-12 (Second Team)
  • Recorded 22 wins this season, one shy of her single-season school record
  • Finished career as winningest player in program history with 67 victories

BLOCK "S" HONORS FOR MEN 

Senior letterwinner with the highest GPA.

Andrew Thomas, Men's Soccer

  • 4.049 GPA
  • Engineering Physics

BLOCK "S" HONORS FOR WOMEN 

Senior letterwinner with the highest GPA.

Juliette Love, Squash

  • 4.09 GPA
  • Computer Science
  • Computer Science (Master's program)

DICK AND ANNE GOULD CAPTAIN'S AWARD 

Presented to the senior captain who has exhibited uncommon leadership to his/her team. This award is presented by Dick and Anne Gould in honor of their three "Captain Children": Karin (USC swimming), Rick (Stanford swimming) and Kim (Harvard volleyball).

Drew Dalman, Football

  • Selected by Atlanta Falcons in fourth round of NFL Draft
  • Anchored offensive line, starting all 18 games over the past two seasons
  • Paved way for offense that rushed for 797 yards in six games and totaled 15 rushing touchdowns, seven more than the team’s full 12-game schedule in 2019

Alyssa Jerome, Women's Basketball

  • Stabilizer of the team who was always ready to contribute, either as a bench leader or ultimate role model
  • Played 28 games, making one start
  • Scored career-high 14 points in win over Oregon State (Feb. 13)

JAKE GIMBEL AWARD

Best competitive attitude - senior who competes in a male sport.

Brendan Beck, Baseball

  • Collegiate Baseball All-American (Second Team)
  • Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year
  • All-Pac-12 (First Team)
  • 8-1 overall with a 3.00 ERA over 14 appearances and 13 starts while leading the Pac-12 in strikeouts (115) compared to only 22 walks in 93 innings

PAM STRATHAIRN AWARD

Best competitive attitude - senior who competes in a female sport.

Kiki Pickett, Women's Soccer

  • United Soccer Coaches All West Region (First Team)
  • CoSIDA Academic All-District
  • Pac-12 Defender of the Year
  • All-Pac-12 (First Team)

Anna Wilson

  • Unselfish contributor who overcame injury and adversity while embracing her role as a starter for the first time
  • Pac-12 Co-Defensive Player of the Year
  • Averaged 4.6 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.5 steals per game, increasing her production in every category

BIFF HOFFMAN AWARD 

Outstanding senior who competes in a male sport.

Oscar da Silva, Men's Basketball

  • All-Pac-12 (First Team)
  • All-Pac-12 Defensive Team
  • Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year
  • CoSIDA Academic All-American (Second Team)
  • Averaged 18.5 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists while shooting 56.9 percent overall, one of just two players nationally to reach those benchmarks

STANFORD ATHLETICS BOARD AWARD 

Outstanding senior who competes in a female sport.

Jacklyn Luu, Synchronized Swimming

  • Three-time USA Artistic Swimming Collegiate national champion (solo, duet, team)
  • USA Artistic Swimming Collegiate All-American
  • Athlete of the Year and High Point Athlete

Kiana Williams, Women's Basketball

  • WBCA All-American, Associated Press All-American (Second Team), USBWA All-American (Second Team)
  • NCAA Tournament Alamo Region Most Outstanding Player
  • All-Pac-12

DONALD KENNEDY AWARD 

Presented to the senior athlete who best exhibits the combination of excellent academics, strong athletic ability, and a commitment to community service.

Jacie Lemos, Lacrosse

  • All-Pac-12 (Second Team)
  • Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll
  • Founder of AIMS (Athletes in Medicine at Stanford), a widely-used tool for student-athletes in medicine to build a strong community at Stanford and lean on each other for support, resources and networking
  • 3.67 undergrad GPA (Human Biology) and 4.00 co-term GPA (Community Health and Preventative Research)

Meghan McClure, Women's Volleyball

  • NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship recipient
  • Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year
  • Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll
  • Highly active in community service efforts, most notably Special Olympics events in the Bay Area, along with involvement as Haas Center Tutor, Teach For America, Team Impact, Intervention Center for Early Childhood, YMCA of San Francisco

AL MASTERS AWARD

Presented to the Stanford athlete (any year or eligibility) attaining the highest standards of athletic performance, leadership and academic achievement (highest award).

Brooke Forde, Women's Swimming & Diving

  • NCAA champion in 400 IM
  • Four-time CSCAA All-American in 400 IM, 500 free, 800 free relay, 200 breast (Second Team)
  • Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year
  • Two-time Pac-12 champion (500 free, 400 IM)
  • Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll
  • Scored team-high 45.5 points at NCAA Championships to lead Stanford to 39th straight top-10 finish
  • Scored 105 points at Pac-12 Championships, producing podium finish in all four events (400 IM, 500 free, 800 free relay, 200 free)
  • Recorded nation’s fastest time in the 400 IM (4:01.57) and third-fastest time in the 500 free (4:35.22)
  • Established pool record at Greensboro Aquatic Center in the 400 IM (4:01.57)

Rachel Heck, Women's Golf

  • NCAA individual champion, the first in school history
  • Honda Sport Award finalist
  • ANNIKA Award recipient
  • WGCA Player of the Year
  • WGCA Freshman of the Year
  • WGCA All-American (First Team)
  • Pac-12 Golfer of the Year
  • Pac-12 Newcomer of the Year
  • All-Pac-12 (First Team)
  • Won six times in nine starts, a single-season school record and fifth-most in NCAA history
  • Won each of her final five tournaments, becoming just the third woman in NCAA history to sweep the postseason (Conference, Regionals, Nationals)
  • Established NCAA single-season scoring average record (69.72)

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE AWARD NAMES:

 

Arthur F. Dauer Memorial Sports Performance Award – Arthur Dauer, ’59, was a dedicated volunteer who served on many local boards, including the Stanford Athletics Board. This award was established by the Dauer family in 2009.

Bob Murphy Award – Bob Murphy, ’53, played baseball for Stanford and became the passionate voice of Cardinal sports from 1965 until his retirement in 2007. As an emcee, Murphy shared his “…unparalleled knowledge of Stanford sports history…” during Stanford competitions. This award was established in 2008 in honor of his service as a broadcaster for the Cardinal.

Jake Gimbel Award – Jacob “Jake” Gimbel was a well-known philanthropist in the 1930s who established this award to recognize a senior who, “Shall have shown the best mental attitude toward athletics.”

Pam Strathairn Award – Pamela Strathairn, ’45, MA ’49, EDD ’62, was the women’s physical education director at Stanford during the enactment of Title IX. She worked, not only to comply with Title IX, but also to lay the foundation for women’s athletics at Stanford. She was a leader in athletics administration when the men’s and women’s departments merged in 1975, creating a model program for universities across the nation. This award was established to honor and recognize Strathairn for her support of female student-athletes at Stanford.

Dick and Anne Gould Captain’s Award – Dick Gould, ’59, MA ’60, played tennis for Stanford and was the Stanford head men’s tennis coach for 38 years from 1966-2004. His Stanford teams won 17 NCAA Championships, and 50 of his players won All-America honors. He went on to serve as the John L. Hinds Director of Tennis until his retirement in 2018. Anne Gould, ’72, MA ’80, played tennis for Stanford and was the women’s tennis coach for four years, coaching the Cardinal’s first national championship women’s team before retiring as head coach to become a tennis instructor on The Farm. This award was established by the Goulds in 2007.

Biff Hoffman Award – Clifford “Biff” Hoffman, ’29, played football for Stanford. Under the legendary Coach Pop Warner, Hoffman helped Stanford secure its first Rose Bowl victory in 1928. As a track and field student-athlete, Hoffman set an NCAA discus record helping Stanford win the 1925 NCAA Track and Field Championship.

Spirit of Stanford Award – Frank “Frankie” Albert, ’42, played quarterback for Stanford, where he led the 1940 team to an undefeated season and a win at the Rose Bowl. The Spirit of Stanford is a 1942 feature film about the 1940 Stanford “Wow Boys” football squad, featuring star quarterback Frankie Albert. This award was established in 2009.

Donald Kennedy Award – Dr. Donald Kennedy served as Stanford’s eighth president from 1980-1992. This award was named in Kennedy’s honor upon his retirement as president for his incredible support of Stanford’s student-athletes.

Al Masters Award – Al Masters, ’24, was the athletics director at Stanford from 1925-1963. He is remembered as one of the most distinguished sports administrators in college history. This award was first presented in 1963 by KCBS Radio in memory of Masters’ passing.