Left to Right: Melissa Simpson '11(Athlete of Year), Cat Cox '08 (Class of 1977 Sportsmanship), Caroline Byrd '08 (Crysler Four-Year Achievement), Ellie Donahue '08 (Coaches Award), Beth Anderson '08 (Coaches Award), Jennifer Milby '08 (Coaches Award), Meagan Bell (Courage Award), Megan Behrle '09(Scholar-Athlete), Stewart Hulfish '11 (First-Year Award), Dean Steele (Faculty/Staff Award)


The 2007-08 athletic season officially came to an end on Thursday evening, as Sweet Briar College Athletics held its annual Varsity Sports Awards Banquet. The night featured the presentation of eight major awards, as well as varsity letters and team awards.

Honored with the Crysler Four Year Achievement Award was senior tennis student-athlete Caroline Byrd (Virginia Beach, Va./Norfolk Academy). The Crysler Four Year Achievement Award has been given since 1979, and was named after its first recipient, Cannie Crysler Shafer ’79, a three-sport, four-year varsity athlete at Sweet Briar. It honors an outstanding four-year varsity athlete who has demonstrated commitment, sportsmanship and achievement in sport.

Byrd is an international affairs major with a minor in history, a recipient of the Commonwealth Scholarship for academic excellence, former winner of the MVP award for tennis, and a three-time team captain.

She and doubles partner sophomore Virginia Edahl (Charlotte, N.C./Providence) earned first-place honors last fall at both the Meredith Invitational and the Virginia Women's College Tournament. Playing in her last collegiate match this weekend, Byrd picked up her seventh-straight win in singles to finish her senior season 10-4 overall at No. 2. She also ended the season 10-4 overall at No. 1 doubles with Edahl and the pair was awarded 2008 ODAC All-Conference honors in both singles and doubles.

The Athlete of the Year Award is given to a varsity athlete from any class who has demonstrated outstanding achievement in sport this year. This year’s honoree was first-year swimmer Melissa Simpson (Madison Heights, Va./Amherst County).

Simpson was one of the most outstanding swimmers at the ODAC conference meet this February. She placed second in the 200-yard individual medley, the 100-yard backstroke and the 200-yard backstroke and her times earned her All-ODAC honors.

During the course of the season, she set records in the 200-meter backstroke, 100-yard backstroke, 200-yard backstroke and 200-yard individual medley. She also was a member of three record-breaking relays.

The Class of 1977 Sportsmanship Award was presented to senior two-sport athlete Cat
Cox (Prince Frederick, Md./Calverton). This award has been awarded since 1979, and is presented to a student-athlete selected with regard to her sportsmanship, team spirit and commitment to varsity sports.

As a junior, Cox accepted the challenge to become a goalkeeper, a position she had never played before. She received honorable mention All-ODAC for her efforts that first year and this season returned to the cage where she played 873 minutes and turned back 143 shots. She finished her two-year stint in goal with 325 saves.

Cox has served on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) for three years, this past as co-president. Her commitment to being a “student-athlete” is strong, and she has juggled two sports, her major, and leadership responsibilities at a level that is an example to her peers.
Junior field hockey and lacrosse student-athlete Megan Behrle (Manassas, Va./Stonewall Jackson) was honored with the Whiteman Scholar Athlete Award, presented to a student-athlete with high scholastic average, sportsmanship and outstanding achievement in sport.

Behrle is a double major in economics and international affairs, with a minor in environmental studies. She has been a member of the dean’s list each semester and is a Commonwealth Scholar, winner of the Mary Mackintosh Sherer Award, and is a member of Alpha Lambda Delta, Omnicron Delta Epsilon and Omnicron Delta Kappa. She served as co-president of SAAC this year and will be the academic chairwomen of the judicial committee next year.

Athletically, she is a 2007 VaSID All-State academic team member and on both the National Field Hockey Coaches and Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Association academic squads for scholarship and athletic performance. She finished the lacrosse season ranked third in the conference for assists and scored 23 goals and 17 assists for 40 total points.

The Pschirrer First Year Athlete Award honors dedication, motivation, sportsmanship and love of sport, and was presented this year to lacrosse player Stewart Hulfish (Alexandria, Va./Bishop Ireton).

Hulfish finished her first collegiate season with 31 goals and 14 assists, giving her 45 total points. She is ranked in the top-five in five different statistical categories within the conference, including second in goals scored per game and second in draw controls per game and she led all 56 conference attackers this season in points per game.

The Coaches’ Award is given to a graduating athlete who has demonstrated dedication, sportsmanship and excellence in sports at Sweet Briar. This year, the coaches honored three recipients.

The first recipient was softball senior Beth Anderson (Richmond, Va./Mills Godwin). Anderson was a member of Sweet Briar's first varsity softball team and will be the first Vixen softball player to graduate after playing four varsity seasons.

A career .253 hitter, Anderson has played almost every infield position for Sweet Briar during her career, including pitcher and catcher.

She will be attending pharmacy school in Massachusetts this fall.

The second recipient was lacrosse senior Ellie Donahue (Richmond, Va./Trinity Episcopal). Donahue is a true leader and puts her heart into her team and her own play and encourages others to achieve their personal best.

On the field, she is known for her consistently high level of play. Donahue was the ODAC “Rookie of the Year” in 2005, and a first-team VaSID team member and second-team All-conference member in 2006. She was one of two IWLCA All-Academic team members last year and has been one of our leading scorers each season. This past season, she moved into the record books for top-10 for career goals at Sweet Briar and is already ranked top-10 for goals scored in a season.

Off the field, Ellie is a member of the dean’s list and will be returning to Sweet Briar this fall for her master’s degree.

The final Coaches’ Award recipient was two-year captain of the swim team, Jennifer Milby (Mechanicsville, Va./Lee-Davis).

Milby, a liberal studies major, has been a steady force on the swim team during her four years, consistently placing in the top three at dual meets while also earning a place in the conference championship heat each year.

Her specialty, the backstroke, was significant this year, as her lead-off leg in the 200 medley relay was crucial to the team breaking a 22-year old school record. She also placed sixth in the 100-yard and 200-yard backstrokes at the 2008 ODAC Conference Championships.

A stellar athlete, Milby’s leadership ability will define her lasting legacy at Sweet Briar. She played a key role in sealing approval for the new gymnasium set to open in the fall of 2009 and has also served as secretary for the SAAC. Like Donahue, Milby will be returning to Sweet Briar in the fall for her master’s degree.

The Susan Lehman Courage Award is presented when circumstances warrant it to student-athletes who have demonstrated courage above and beyond the usual rigors of training and competition. This year’s honoree was junior volleyball and softball player Meagan Bell (Amherst, Va./Amherst County).

Bell suffered a devastating season-ending ankle injury last spring in softball. After surgery and rehab she worked her way back to participate in volleyball this fall.

But even she would admit she probably did too much too soon. As a result, both her volleyball and softball seasons were plagued with injuries. Despite this, Bell persisted and was a factor in both seasons.

Cheryl Steele was honored with the Barlow Faculty Staff Award, given by the student-athletes of Sweet Briar to a faculty or staff member who has shown spirited support of Vixen athletics throughout the year.



Sweet Briar pink and green awards, honoring the MVP of each varsity sport, were presented to Dori Rucker ’09 (Virginia Beach, Va./Norfolk Academy), volleyball; Claire Carson ’08 (Houston, Texas/Memorial), swimming; Cat Cox ’08 (Prince Frederick, Md./Calverton), field hockey; Lindsay Eneguess ’11 (Peterborough, N.H./Contoocook Valley), lacrosse; Berry ’08 (Tappahannock, Va./Essex), softball; Kristen Johnson ’09 (Federal Way, Wash./Decatur), soccer; and Virginia Edahl ’10 (Charlotte, N.C./Providence), tennis.