May 3, 2007
Bronx, N.Y. - The 73rd annual Block F Awards dinner was held last night at the Villa Barone Manor, honoring Fordham University's student-athletes for their accomplishments in the 2006-07 academic year.
Among those honored was Marcus Taylor, who received the Vincent T. Lombardi Award as Fordham's top male student-athlete as well as being named Most Valuable Player of the football squad, while Kerstin Greene received the Claire and Jack Hobbs Award as Fordham's top female student-athlete as well as being named Most Valuable Player of the women's indoor track & field squad.
The Vincent T. Lombardi Award is presented to the Male Athlete of the Year for distinguished athletic achievements in the winning tradition of Vince Lombardi. The award honors the memory of one of Fordham's famed seven blocks of granite, who is considered to be one of football's greatest coaches.
Taylor, the 2007 Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year, was named a First Team Football Gazette Football Championship Subdivision
(FCS) All-American and a Third Team All-American by The Sports Network. He was also named the Football Gazette FCS Northeast Linebacker of the Year.
A 6-1, 244-pound linebacker, Taylor became the third Ram to earn Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year honors, joining Mark Blazejewski and Aaron Dougherty, who received the award in 1992 an 1993, respectively.
On the year, Taylor led the Rams with 116 total tackles, 53 solo, including a team-high 12 tackles for a loss. He also recorded four quarterback sacks in 2006 and intercepted a team-best three passes while breaking up four others. Taylor forced four fumbles this fall and he recovered four fumbles, one of which he returned 43 yards for a touchdown against Patriot League champions, Lafayette.
Taylor, who was named Second Team All-Patriot League in 2005, led the league in both forced fumbles and fumbles recovered while ranking second in total tackles, tied for fifth in sacks and sixth in tackles for a loss. Nationally, he ranked 11th in the FCS in total tackles and 50th in tackles for a loss.
Over his four-year Fordham career, Taylor recorded 282 total tackles, 150 solo, including 19.5 tackles for a loss and seven sacks, in 44 career games. He also had six career interceptions and seven forced fumbles along with five fumble recoveries.
The Claire & Jack Hobbs Memorial Award is presented to the Female Athlete of the Year for distinguished athletic achievements while displaying outstanding sportsmanship, citizenship, leadership and dedication. The award honors the memory of Claire & Jack Hobbs, who were both avid Fordham followers.
Greene, who also won the Hobbs Award last year, has accomplished much in her time at Fordham. This season was by far her finest, as she garnered Atlantic 10 Performer of the Year honors at the 2007 A-10 championship where she won the triple jump competition to earn First Team All-Atlantic 10 honors with a school record mark of 40' 9". Greene's mark was also an Atlantic 10 Championship record, besting the old record of 40' 6 ¼ " set by Rhode Island's Pascale Delaunay in 2004.
She also earned Second Team All-Atlantic 10 honors in the long jump and high jump events. She placed second in the long jump with another school record leap of 18' 11 ¾", while clearing 5' 7" in the high jump for runner-up status.
She then successfully defended her ECAC pentathlon title, and went on to finish fourth in the event at the NCAA championships, earning All-American honors.
This spring, she has continued her assault on the Fordham record book, setting five outdoor records.
All together, Kerstin currently holds 12 school records.
Below is a list of the other award winners:
Iron Major Award (Coach of the Year): Ness Selmani (Women's Soccer)
Terence O'Donnell Award (Sportsmanship & Dedication): Leah Jerome (Women's Soccer)
Jack Coffey Award: Josephine Finamore (Coor. of Ticket Operations)
Patrick Kenneally Award: Deirdre Corrigan (Student Assistant)
Benedict T. Harter Award: Stacia Kroetz (Rowing)
Kieran Award: Doina Sandor (Women's Tennis)
Kiwanis Community Service: Leah Jerome (Women's Soccer)
Marty Glickman Award: Dan Flanagan
Athlete Academic Achievement Awards:
Jonathan Almy, Water Polo
Chris Baracewicz, Men's Swimming
Lisa Carrol, Women's Basketball
Candice Drinkwater, Women's Track & Field
Mike Holtz, Men's Swimming
Peter Jannen, Football
Leah Jerome, Women's Soccer
Stacia Kroetz, Women's Rowing
Haley Lentsch, Women's Soccer
Ben Marzolf, Men's Swimming
Pat Misciagna, Men's Soccer
Michael Rosado, Men's Tennis
Jennifer Roussil, Women's Rowing
Doina Sandor, Women's Tennis
Peter Zipf, Men's Tennis
Team MVPs:
Baseball: John Mollicone
Men's Basketball: Marcus Stout
Women's Basketball: Lisa Carrol
Cheerleading: Elise Sabatino
Men's Cross Country: Frank Corrigan
Women's Cross Country: Danica Dupuy
Football: Marcus Taylor
Golf: Michael Finocchi
Rowing: Sheila Taylor
Men's Soccer: John Pardini
Women's Soccer: Leah Jerome
Softball: Allison Twarowski
Squash: Sebastian Cahill
Men's Swimming: Ryan Coombs
Women's Swimming: Caitlin Napoli
Men's Tennis: Michael Rosado
Women's Tennis: Dominique Liguori
Men's Indoor Track & Field: Matt Lowenthal
Women's Indoor Track & Field: Kerstin Greene
Men's Outdoor Track & Field: Matt DiBuono/Matt Spaccarelli
Women's Outdoor Track & Field: Kerstin Greene
Volleyball: Tasha Johnston
Water Polo: Todd Conway
