Athletics honors cadet-athletes from nine teams at Cal Maritime's inaugural Winter-Spring Banquet
View Winter-Spring Banquet Highlight Video
VALLEJO, Calif. – Dinghy sailing, men's basketball, men's crew, men's golf, offshore sailing, women's basketball, women's crew, women's golf and women's water polo cadet-athletes were honored by administrators and head coaches when Cal Maritime Athletics and Physical Education hosted the Winter-Spring Banquet prior to the start of the University's spring break.
During this inaugural event, which took place at the Compass Room, Alicia Porter (women's basketball) and Kyle Collins (offshore sailing) took home the department's top honors as Co-Cadet Athletes of the Winter/Spring.
Porter's breakout season included a slew of awards, capped by her selection to the Cal Pac Conference's First Team when officials announced their end-of-season honor roll.
"I am proud of Alicia. She has a true leader on and off the court and someone we can count on during games," said her head coach, Denise Bennett. "She played a key role for us this season."
The Simi Valley native ended the 2021-22 campaign as the league's top overall rebounder by averaging 11.1 per game and ranked Number 3 among all Cal Pac players averaging 17.1 points per game. During conference play, the third-year global studies and maritime affairs major average held the fourth- and second-highest rebound and scoring averages among all NAIA players across the nation.
An unforgettable year for Porter continued last week when she earned a spot on the incoming Executive Staff as Cal Maritime's new Corps Commander.
Following a one-year COVID-created competition hiatus, Cal Maritime Sailing solidified its standing as one of the top programs in the nation thanks to 13 top-five results in keelboat and dinghy regattas throughout the current season.
But it was a pair of Collins-led crews, in two of the nation's most prestigious regattas, that strengthened the Keelhaulers' storied history and provided memorable highlights to the 2021-22 academic year.
Last November, the San Pedro native navigated Cal Maritime's surge up the Kennedy Cup's results board, on the final day of racing, to help his team erase a six-point deficit and bring the John F. Kennedy Memorial Trophy back to Vallejo for the fourth time in program history.
Just a few weeks ago, Cal Maritime's crew threw the fourth-year marine transportation major into the water at the Los Angeles Yacht Club, as is customary by the winning team at each regatta, to celebrate the Keelhaulers' successful Harbor Cup title defense and eighth championship in the event's 14-race history.
Director of Athletics Karen Lee Yoder also presented the department's top academic honor, the Keelhauler Academic Award, to scholars who currently hold an overall GPA of 3.5 or above.
"Balancing academic coursework and athletic responsibilities is a tough challenge for any athlete, let alone one who is earning a highly coveted degree at the number one institution among western public colleges and third-ranked regional college in the West by U.S. News and World Report in its latest Best Colleges survey," said Yoder, who bestowed this accolade to the following cadet-athletes:
Jake Banich – Men's Golf
Libby Bowles – Women's Crew
MacKenzie Finck – Women's Basketball
Maura Freiermuth – Women's Water Polo
Tomas Gomez-España – Men's Basketball
Ethan Ho – Men's Crew
Cyrus Khaleeli – Sailing
Zach McWilliams – Men's Golf
Will Megorden – Men's Golf
Nate Metcalf – Men's Golf
Luke Morris – Men's Golf
Clay Myers – Sailing
Angelo Nicandro – Men's Basketball
Alicia Porter – Women's Basketball
Max Roth – Sailing
Anjali Sharma – Women's Basketball
Natalie So – Women's Golf
Aurora Thomas – Women's Water Polo
Parker Wight – Men's Basketball
Collin Wojahn – Men's Crew
Reid Zieber – Men's Crew
In addition to a slideshow featuring the department's nine winter and spring teams, created by men's golf cadet-athlete Ryan Bean, respective head coaches presented team-specific individual awards throughout the evening.
Cal Maritime was one of 16 institutions across the country to earn the Champions of Character award during the 2020-21 academic year; it was the only university in California, and the California Pacific Conference, to receive this highly coveted honor, which celebrates the teamwork and dedication of cadets, coaches, and staff to help individuals find and maintain a healthy balance by keeping five core values – integrity, respect, responsibility, sportsmanship, and servant leadership – at the heart of the athletics experience.
This banquet also provided Yoder with an opportunity to recognize a group of individuals who best embodied those five pillars, and serve as role models for their respective teams, and the campus community, as the recipients of Cal Maritime Athletics' Champions of Character award:
Ricky Castillo – Men's Golf
Sarah Colbert – Women's Crew
Jacob Fisker-Anderson – Sailing
Ethan Ho – Men's Crew
Olivia Larwood – Women's Water Polo
Angelo Nicandro – Men's Basketball
Alicia Porter – Women's Basketball
Tiara Supakit – Women's Golf
Added Yoder, regarding Cal Maritime's newest spring semester tradition, "I recognize how challenging it is to succeed academically and athletically at Cal Maritime and cannot tell you how thrilled I am to celebrate a group of cadet-athletes who personify Keelhauler Pride."