By Chrissy Segrest
Elm Staff Writer
With the semester moving online after spring break, athletes across campus were heartbroken to have their seasons cut short. In light of this, the Washington College Athletic Department still had awards to give out to each team, such as Most Valuable Player (MVP) and Most Improved Player (MIP).
For the field hockey team, sophomore Cristen Quillen won most improved, while senior and team captain Abby McGowan won most valuable player.
McGowan started in all 15 contests the Shorewomen had this season and has started 32 of her 34 contests in her career. She is a defenseman, who led their defense through the season. Additionally, she has been named to the Centennial Conference Honor Roll for the past two years.
Quillen, a Pocomoke native, played on the Shorewomen softball team her freshman year and came back in the fall to play field hockey. She didn’t see any time in the first six games of her career but found herself in the lineup in 60% of their last games.
“It shows me that my teammates believed in me throughout the course of the season.” Quillen said. “They saw that I was doing everything I could each day, to be the best player I can possibly be. They saw me give 110%.”
For the Shoremen of the soccer team, the most valuable player and improved player was junior James Strine. Strine led the team in goals, points, and assists. He was related to 20/31 goals, meaning he had a hand in helping to score 64% of their goals as a team. Strine was named to the Athey Cup All-Athletic team after WC brought home the trophy.
Statistically, Strine is one of the most successful players to ever come through WC. His 12 assists throughout the year is second in history, and he led the conference. He was named to the All-Centennial Conference Second team after their season and won GooseNation TV Player of the Game in four games, as well as winning Shoremen of the Week three times.
The volleyball team had sophomores Jenny Kabrick and Jenna Daunoras win most valuable and most improved, respectively.
Kabrick is third on the team in digs per set with 2.24. After finding her way into the starting lineup early in the season, she tripled her aces from last season and had 11 or more digs in the last five matches of the season. This past season, Kabrick was named to the Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll.
Daunoras also drastically improved her play from her freshman campaign. She led the team with a hitting percentage of 0.279, which was good enough for sixth in the conference. She doubled her kills in the year and led the team in blocks per set at 0.99.
Finally, for the women’s soccer team, everything seemed to come together this season. Junior Brenda Clark won most valuable player and sophomore Brianna Parise won most improved player.
Parise played in all 17 contests the Shorewomen had and started 12 of those. Her freshman year, she hadn’t started any. Her first career goal came in the 6-0 shutout against Rosemont College, and she started the remaining 11 contests in the season. Additionally, she was named to the Centenial Conference Academic Honor Roll in the fall.
Clark, a walk-on two years ago, started 16 out of 17 contests for WC. She was the key in one of the best defensive teams WC has ever had, only allowing 17 goals in 17 contests, with eight of those contests being shutouts. Another Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll recipient, Clark has started 32 out of her 33 career games.
“I am so grateful for the opportunities this team has given me to transform into a better person and player,” Clark said. “Any achievements that come my way reflect the hard work that my teammates and coaches put into our program; I couldn’t be who I am today without them.”