May 6, 2011
Photo Gallery
Bronx, N.Y. -
As the 2010-11 season begins to wind down, the Fordham University Athletic Department held its 77th annual Block F Awards Dinner at the Villa Barone Manor on May 4th to honor Fordham University's student-athletes for their accomplishments during the academic year.
Among those honored were Ali Arat, who was the recipient of the Vincent T. Lombardi Award as Fordham's top male student-athlete, Kerri Gallagher, who was the winner of the Claire and Jack Hobbs Award as Fordham's top female student-athlete and head softball coach Bridget Orchard, who was presented with the Iron Major Award as Fordham's Coach of the Year.
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.
Arat, a two-year member of the water polo squad, was named Honorable Mention All-American by the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) for the second straight season as well as a First Team All-North selection and a Second Team All-East pick. He was among not only the Rams' top scorers all season long, but challenged for the NCAA goal scoring title. In 32 games this season, he tallied a team-high 91 goals and 11 assists for a team-best 102 points, while adding 40 steals, good for second on the team, and 14 blocks. The 91 goals ranks as one of the top scoring seasons in Fordham school history, trailing only Ned Kelly's mark of 112 in 1971.
Nationally, Arat was second in the nation in goals and third in points. He also earned CWPA Northern Division Offensive Player of the Week once this season.
Academically, Arat earned All-Academic honors from the ACWPC and was named to the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Scholar-Athlete Team.
Also at the dinner, senior
Mark Connor was named the water polo team MVP for 2010. Serving as team captain this past fall, Connor has been one of the guiding forces in the Rams becoming one of the top teams in the CWPA over the past three seasons. Though his contributions don't show up on the score sheet often, his consistent play, heart, character and leadership were just as valuable as any statistics he gathered in his career.
In addition to being named team MVP, Connor, along with senior Martin de Jong were also presented Athlete Academic Achievement Awards, which are given to senior student-athletes who have been selected for outstanding athletic and academic achievement with a 3.5 GPA or better.
