General 5/16/2012 5:01:00 PM

Plenty Of Praise On The Menu At Lehman Athletics Awards Dinner

May 16, 2012

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BRONX, N.Y. - On Monday night the gymasium was empty, the South Field sat dormant and the track spikes were thrown to the side as the Lehman Athletics Department saluted its student-athletes for an outstanding year of team and individual success at its 60th Annual Awards Dinner.

Three City University of New York Athletic Conference championships made their way to the Bronx during the 2011-12 calendar year as the men's soccer team defeated Baruch College in an overtime shootout thriller to earn its first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament, and the women's indoor and outdoor track and field teams trampled the competition to capture both titles. Along the way the Lightning boasted 32 CUNYAC All-Stars as well as three conference Players of the Year (Oumar Niang, men's soccer; Gerri Ann Martin, women's volleyball; Tobi Alli, indoor track and field) and three Coaches of the Year (Joe Andre, men's soccer; Lesleigh Hogg, indoor track and field; Claudio Barbieri, softball). The Lehman men's basketball team also won the CUNYAC North Division by virtue of its 7-5 conference record.

The achievements of the Lightning's student-athletes also reached beyond the confines of the CUNYAC. Following its loss to Stevens Institute of Technology in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, Niang was named to the National Soccer Coaches Assocation of America Division III All-East Second Team. A pair of seniors from the women's basketball team, Amanda De La Cruz and Jaleesa Gordon, were chosen for the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association Division III All-Met Second Team and Eastern College Athletic Conference Metro Second Team All-Star, respectively. And sophomore track and field star Tobi Alli earned perhaps the highest honor of all as she garnered All-American status for her performance at the NCAA Division III Indoor National Championships with the potential for even more accolades as she prepares to compete in the outdoor national championships.

As a result of her tremendous year across the indoor and outdoor seasons, Alli received the highest distinction bestowed during Lehman's awards dinner, the President's Award, which recognizes the Lightning's top student-athlete. Niang was deemed the Male Athlete of the Year while Martin took home the Female Athlete of the Year as a fitting keepsake for her senior season.

Lehman's top achievers in the classroom were recognized as well, with Michael Tal of the men's tennis team, who boasts a 3.787 GPA, and Anna Gura of the women's volleyball team, she of the 4.0 GPA, being named the Male and Female Scholar Athletes of the Year.

Additionally, various other members of the Lehman Athletics family were saluted for their outstanding work, as were individual team MVPs and Rookies of the Year and the newly formed women's soccer team, which is slated to begin action as a varsity program this coming fall.

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