BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (Apr. 29, 2015) - The LIU Post Department of Athletics hosted its Student-Athlete Awards Banquet Monday night at the Tilles Center. The ceremony, led by Master of Ceremonies and Athletic Media Relations Assistant Rick Rissetto, honored the school's 400-plus student-athletes and celebrated the achievements of the 2014-15 year.
 
"Our awards banquet was a great opportunity for us to bring all of our student-athletes together in one forum to celebrate the Pioneer spirit," remarked Director of Athletics and Recreation Bryan Collins (Sayville, N.Y.). "The student-athletes interacted and mingled together and celebrated the end of the year together, and the night was a great way for our department to thank them for the commitments they made this year. It was a night to celebrate everyone---the athletic trainers, our sports information department, our academic representatives, and our student-athletes and coaches."
 
During the evening, the Pioneers' 66 seniors received a framed varsity letter and a patch for their graduation gown. Senior swimmer and Vice President of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Kirsty Elliott (Edinburgh, Scotland) offered an inspirational speech to the student-athletes on reflecting on their time thus far at LIU Post.
 
Following some opening remarks from Collins and Long Island University President, Dr. Kimberly R. Cline, Rissetto re-took the stage with members of the LIU Post coaching staff to award each team's individual accolades.
 
That was followed by the presentation of the 2014-15 major awards by Collins. The first honor of the evening was the Most Outstanding Male Student-Athlete of the Year, which was presented to red-shirt senior quarterback Steven Laurino (Boise, Idaho) of the LIU Post football team.
 
This year, Laurino led the Pioneers to their first Northeast-10 Conference Championship and NCAA Division II Tournament berth in nearly a decade. He set single-season program records for pass completions and total offense, while establishing new career records for passing yards (9,673), pass completions (853) and passing touchdowns (86). Additionally, Laurino holds the all-time record at LIU Post for total offense, and is the only player in Pioneer football history to amass over 10,000 yards of total offense in a career.
 
As a result, Laurino was unanimously named the Northeast-10 Conference Most Valuable Player. He also landed a spot on the All-NE-10 First-Team and Daktronics All-Super Region One Team, in addition to earning a nod as a finalist for the Harlon Hill Trophy, which is presented to the top collegiate football player in Division II.
 
That wasn't Laurino's only accolade of the evening. He was tabbed as the recipient of the prestigious Dr. Roy Ilowit Leadership Award. That honor is annually bestowed upon a deserving student-athlete for their achievements in the classroom and on the field, while also representing the spirit of Dr. Ilowit with an outstanding grade-point average and a high level of character on the playing field. Past recipients of the award include the NCAA's all-time leading scorer in women's lacrosse Jackie Sileo (2014), former men's basketball standout Tobin Carberry (2013) and three-sport athlete Taryn Brody (2003).
 
The Most Outstanding Female Student-Athlete of the Year was awarded to senior catcher Aly Dzierzynski (Deer Park, N.Y.) of the LIU Post softball team. Selected as the East Coast Conference Preseason Player of the Year and a member of the NFCA's Watch List for National Player of the Year, Dzierzynski hit .272 in the regular season with seven home runs and 25 runs batted in. She boasted an impressive .520 slugging and .420 on-base percentage as well.
 
Last season, Dzierzynski was the offensive juggernaut behind her team advancing to the NCAA Division II National Championship for the first time since 2011. She garnered ECC, ECAC and Daktronics East Region Player of the Year distinction, while also earning NFCA and Daktronics All-America first-team accolades. Dzierzynski batted at an overwhelming .438 clip, to go along with a .907 slugging and .495 on-base percentage. Her 25 home runs and 77 RBI shattered the program's single-season records set by former Pioneer shortstop Christie Softy in 2010.
 
The Comeback Player of the Year Awards were presented to red-shirt senior and two-sport athlete Anthony Brunetti (Bayville, N.Y.) and senior defender Emily Hanifan (Hicksville, N.Y.) of the LIU Post women's lacrosse team. Brunetti began his comeback season on the football team, leading the Pioneers on defense to the NCAA Tournament, and finished his year with the baseball program, which also clinched a berth into the East Coast Conference Tournament.
 
As a linebacker, Brunetti led the defensive unit with 120 total tackles, including 11 tackles for loss. He also collected four interceptions, forced three fumbles and recovered two turnovers. Brunetti's efforts on the field earned him ECAC All-Star distinction, as well as a spot on the All-NE-10 First Team. Additionally, he received All-Super Region One accolades from Daktronics, Inc. and the Don Hansen Football Gazette. The two-sport athlete then returned to the diamond, where he hit .267 and drove in six runs. He also hit his first career collegiate home run against nationally-ranked Southern New Hampshire earlier in the season.
 
The other Comeback Player of the Year was Hanifan, a four-year member of the LIU Post women's lacrosse team. The senior shined primarily on defense, as she was named an All-ECC Second-Team performer in 2013 and 2014. She collected a career total of 81 ground balls, while scoring her first career collegiate goal in her final regular-season home game against Queens this season. In addition, Hanifan was a two-time national champion, and a key part of the 2013 women's lacrosse title-holders, a squad that recorded a perfect 20-0 campaign.
 
Four student-athletes received the Pioneer Excellence Award for their achievements in both scholastic and athletic fields. Seniors Eivind Austboe (Stavanger, Norway) of the men's soccer team and Connor Drost (Wading River, N.Y.) of the men's lacrosse team were selected as award-winners for the men's sports programs, while graduate student Dani Crouse (Westville, South Africa) of the field hockey program and senior swimmer Carolin Rademacher (Isernhagen, Germany) received the awards for the women's sports programs.
 
Austboe ended his career with more goals (65) and points (149) than any other player in the history of the men's soccer program. He was a two-time East Coast Conference Offensive Player of the Year, as well as winning back-to-back Daktronics East Region Player of the Year Awards. Austboe led the program to the 2014 NCAA East Region Championship, and the squad's first-ever appearance in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. The Business Administration student earned a 3.92 grade-point average and was also the CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year in 2013 and 2014.
 
Drost earned a 3.4 grade-point average in Criminal Justice, and was a breakout performer last season for the LIU Post men's lacrosse team. In 2014, Drost was named the Most Outstanding Player of the East Coast Conference Tournament and scored eight goals in five playoff games to lead the Pioneers to the NCAA Division II National Championship game. This season, he is the team's leading distributor with 24 assists, and is fourth on the squad with 46 total points.
 
Crouse received the Pioneer Excellence Award for maintaining a perfect 4.0 grade-point average in Special Education and leading her team back to the NCAA Division II National Championship contest for the second-consecutive year. On the field, Crouse received the 2014 Northeast-10 Defensive Player of the Year Award and was also a member of the NCAA All-Tournament Team. In her brief but productive two years in Brookville, she was a two-time NFHCA All-American, a two-time Synapse Sports First Team All-American and received back-to-back ECAC Defensive Player of the Year honors. Crouse was also named an SGI/NFHCA Division II Scholar of Distinction for her performances both on the field and in the classroom.
 
Rademacher led the LIU Post women's swimming team to their best NCAA Championship performance in program history this past March. The senior was a six-time All-American with a silver medal performance in the 400-yard individual medley and a bronze medal swim in the 200-yard breaststroke. Her high finishes, coupled with the efforts of her teammates, earned the program a seventh-place finish at the national championships. Rademacher, sporting a 3.66 grade-point average in Psychology, was also a member of last season's CSCAA Scholar All-America First Team.
 
The final major award of the evening, the Christine Webb Memorial Award, was presented to senior outfielder Samantha Miller (East Meadow, N.Y.) of the LIU Post softball team. In the spirit of the award, Miller was lauded for bringing the best overall attitude and personality to her sport and for being a constant presence in the athletic department and at many other sporting events on campus. The senior hit the first home run of her career in last year's East Coast Conference Championship victory over Molloy, and was the everyday centerfielder for the team this season. She drove in 11 runs this year, hit two more home runs, and sported a .906 fielding percentage, while making several spectacular catches.