Connor Shellenberger and Gretchen Walsh Earn UVA Top Honors
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Connor Shellenberger and Gretchen Walsh and were honored as Virginia’s top male and female athletes for the 2023-24 academic year. Shellenberger claimed the WINA Award as the top male athlete, while Walsh earned the IMP Award as UVA’s top female athlete.
Shellenberger became the second-ever UVA men’s lacrosse player to earn First Team All-America honors three years in a row after leading the nation in assists in 2023. He guided the Cavaliers to their third Championship Weekend appearance in the previous four opportunities and garnered his second career NCAA All-Tournament Team distinction after finishing with 11 goals and 11 assists in three tournament games.
Walsh was named the Honda Sport Award winner after capturing three individual NCAA titles and was part of four relay titles, leading Virginia to its fourth consecutive NCAA Championship. Walsh swam NCAA, American and US Open records in all three individual event wins at NCAAs. She was named the CSCAA Women’s Swimmer of the Year and ACC Women’s Swimmer of the Year.
Henry Ford (baseball) was named Male Rookie of the Year and Kymora Johnson (women’s basketball) was named Female Rookie of the Year.
Through the first 45 games of the year, Ford has proved to be one of the top freshmen in all of college baseball. He batted.352 (63-for-179) with 12 doubles, a triple, 15 home runs and 53 RBI. His 63 hits and 55 RBI were the most by any freshman in the country. Against Liberty on April 23, Ford matched former big leaguer Mark Reynolds’ UVA freshman home run record with his 15th long ball of the year.
Johnson was named a Second Team All-ACC and ACC All-Freshman selection after leading the Hoos in scoring, assists, steals and minutes played. She is the first UVA women’s basketball player to earn All-ACC team honors as a freshman since 2002. She was the only Cavalier to start in all 32 possible games and her 172 assists set a UVA freshman record. Johnson’s signature performance came in a road upset over No. 15 Florida State (Jan. 21), where she scored a season-high 35 points, making her and Dawn Staley the only freshmen in program history to accomplish that feat.
Ella Bathurst (women’s swimming) earned the 1*15*41 Award, which is given to the individual who best displayed selflessness, commitment, school pride and leadership, all while contributing to the betterment of the department and shining a light on those around them with positivity.
Volleyball earned Comeback of the Year against in-state rival Virginia Tech. After losing the first two sets and in front of a record crowd (3,162), the Cavaliers came roaring back to complete the reverse sweep in convincing fashion (20-25, 20-25, 25-15, 25-15, 15-11) over the Hokies in the first-ever volleyball match held at John Paul Jones Arena.
Matthew Nunes (men’s lacrosse) earned Male Play of the Year by scoring the game-winning goal in epic fashion to help the Hoos overcome a four-goal deficit in the fourth quarter at No. 16 Harvard (March 30). With 5:00 to play in the game, Nunes carried the ball the length of the field and fired a shot on the run that bounced past the opposing keeper, while absorbing a hit from a Crimson defender. Nunes’ goal marked the first by a UVA goaltender since 2010.
Margot Appleton earned Female Play of the Year, breaking her own school record in the women’s mile (4:29.07) to finish fifth at the 2024 NCAA Indoor Championships. Appleton became the first Virginia Women’s miler to finish in the top-5 at the NCAA meet in back-to-back seasons. Appleton broke the women’s indoor mile record twice in one season, first running 4:30.30.87 at the Penn State Open then 4:29.07 at the 2024 NCAA Indoor Championships.
Associate Athletics Director Jess Wilk was honored with the Bus Male Memorial Award for dedication, service and spirit during her distinguished career at UVA.
Matthew Buchanan (baseball) received the Craig Fielder Memorial Award for overcoming adversity.
Jeffrey von der Schulenburg (men’s tennis) received the Gus Tebell Memorial Award as the fourth-year male student-athlete with the highest scholastic average through his four years at Virginia, while Anna Workman (women’s track) was the recipient of the Jettie Hill Memorial Award as the fourth-year female student-athlete with the highest scholastic average through her four years at UVA.
Nunes earned UVA’s Distinguished Student-Athlete Scholarship Award, while Jillian Brown (women’s basketball) was the recipient of the Ralph Sampson Scholarship Award.
Amanda Leizman (women’s swimming) earned the Susan J. Grossman Memorial Award in recognition of outstanding service to student-athletes and contributions to the Student-Athlete Mentor Program.
Jacob Hayley (men’s tennis) was the recipient of Bob Goodman Memorial award for outstanding student manager, while Maggie Rutherford earned The Marlee Morgan Service Award. The award is given in recognition of a student manager in the UVA Department of Athletics who serves as an inspiration to others as a result of their perseverance, commitment and work ethic.
Ephraim Bullock (men’s lacrosse, men’s soccer) received the Tim Abbott Memorial Award, honoring the undergraduate sports medicine student most dedicated to and possessing empathy for the student-athletes. Kylie Smith (women’s soccer, men’s lacrosse) earned the Ethan Saliba Service Award which honors the UVA master’s in athletic training student that possesses a servant heart and demonstrates humility, care for the student-athlete and a passion for learning. Women’s soccer student manager
Justin McCoy (wrestling) received the ACC Male Scholar-Athlete Award, while Natasha Subhash (women’s tennis) earned the ACC Female Scholar-Athlete Award.
Virginia’s ACC Top VI Award recipients for dedication to community service and outreach programs included Trina Barcarola (women’s track), Cooper Rudolph (wrestling), Grady Brosterhous (football), Annabelle Xu (women’s tennis), men’s lacrosse and women’s basketball.
Team Awards
Baseball – Billy Word Memorial Award – TBD
Men’s Basketball – Sidney Young Memorial Award – Tristan How
Women’s Basketball – Coach’s Award for Excellence – Sam Brunelle
Men’s Cross Country – Coach’s Award for Excellence – Will Anthony
Women’s Cross Country – Coach’s Award for Excellence – Jenny Schilling
Field Hockey – Coach’s Award for Excellence – Lauren Kenah
Football – John Acree Memorial Award – Malachi Fields
Men’s Golf – F. Dixon Brooke Memorial Award – Liam Powderly
Women’s Golf – William E. Eacho Memorial Award – Jennifer Cleary
Men’s Lacrosse – Henry Gaver Memorial Award – Mitchell Whalen
Women’s Lacrosse – Coach’s Award for Excellence – Mackenzie Hoeg
Rowing – Coach’s Award for Excellence – Izzie Bird
Men’s Soccer – Stanley Lerner Memorial Award – Paul Wiese
Women’s Soccer – Coach’s Award for Excellence – Alexis Theoret
Softball – Coach’s Award for Excellence – Leah Boggs
Men’s Squash – Coach’s Award for Excellence – Myles McIntyre
Women’s Squash – Coach’s Award for Excellence – Olivia Walsh
Men’s Swimming & Diving – Brooke Maury Memorial Award – Tanner Hering
Women’s Swimming & Diving – Diane Montgomery Greene Memorial Award – Abby Harter
Men’s Tennis – Norton Pritchett Memorial Award – Jeffrey von der Schulenburg
Women’s Tennis – Coach’s Award for Excellence – Hibah Shaikh
Men’s Track & Field – Henry Cummings Memorial Award – TBD
Women’s Track & Field – Z Society – The Lou Onesty Memorial Award – TBD
Men’s Indoor Track & Field – Coach’s Award for Excellence – Gary Martin
Women’s Indoor Track & Field – Coach’s Award for Excellence – Samantha Romano
Volleyball – Coach’s Award for Excellence – Madison Morey
Wrestling – David Senft Memorial Award – Justin McCoy