Alabama Athletics Celebrates 2021 Crimson Choice Awards
5/6/2021 12:10:00 PM | General
For the second year in a row, the Alabama Student-Athlete Advisory Committee took the annual awards show virtual
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – For the second year in a row, Alabama Athletics' annual Crimson Choice Awards, presented by the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), had a different look and feel than it normally does. This year, the Crimson Tide streamed its annual celebration with Roger Hoover and Kennedy Chase serving as hosts.
A different format, but the championship vibe remained the same. With this year's focus landing largely on department-wide accomplishments on Alabama's tremendous success on the field, in the classroom and in the community, only three individual awards were recognized this year – the men's and women's Paul W. Bryant Award, the Unsung Hero awards and the Support Role Award.
The Paul W. Bryant Student-Athlete Award, created by the Tuscaloosa County Chapter of the University of Alabama Alumni Association in 1985, is presented annually to UA's top male and female student-athlete. This year's winners were Kaylee Tow from softball and Mac Jones from football.
The finalists for this year's Bryant Award were:Â Chase Lee (baseball), Herbert Jones (men's basketball), Jasmine Walker (women's basketball), Wilson Furr (men's golf), Angelica Moresco (women's golf), Luisa Blanco (gymnastics), Rebekah Stewart (rowing), Kat Rogers (soccer), Matt Menke (men's swimming and diving), Morgan Scott (women's swimming and diving), Edson Ortiz (men's tennis), Alba Cortina Pou (women's tennis), Vincent Kiprop (men's track and field/cross country), Mercy Chelangat (women's track and field/cross country) and Alyiah Wells (volleyball).
In its third year, the Unsung Hero Award lauded Alabama student-athletes for making a substantive yet often under-recognized contribution to their team's success in ways that can be difficult to measure. This year's class was comprised of Davis Heller (baseball), Tyler Barnes (men's basketball), Allie Craig Cruce (women's basketball), Josh McMillon (football), Tyler Lipscomb (men's golf), Polly Mack (women's golf), Mati Waligora (gymnastics), Jorja MacRae (rowing), Kate Henderson (soccer), Krystal Goodman (softball), Nico Perner (men's swimming), Hunter Jaynes (men's diving), Ashley Voelkerding (women's swimming), Halia Bowers (women's diving), Vincent Rettke (men's tennis), Sydney Orefice (women's tennis), Nathan Gamble (men's distance), Johnathan Martin (men's track), Kieran McKeag (men's throws), Margot Dooley (women's distance), Talaya Lewis (women's track), Cherisse Murray (women's throws) and Victoria Schmer (volleyball).
The Supporting Role Award went to the legendary Finus Gaston who began his tenure with the Crimson Tide as head football manager for Paul Bryant in 1971 and who retires later this summer as the Senior Deputy Director of Athletics/Chief Financial Officer, bringing to a close a 50-year career at the Capstone.
The show closed with a pair of videos. The first honored a year that started with the uncertainty brought about by the COVID-19 global pandemic and continues to roll through the spring into the summer while continually strengthening the Crimson Tide's reputation as a "Championship School." The second video came from the student-athletes, thanking everyone who had a hand in making this championship year possible. A fitting end to an amazing night of celebration.
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