BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (May 4, 2016) - The LIU Post Department of Athletics celebrated the 2015-16 campaign with its annual awards banquet last week at the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts on the LIU Post campus.

Among the top award winners were men's soccer's Per Forgaard (Stavanger, Norway) earning the Most Outstanding Male Athlete Award; women's swimming's Joyce Kwok (Middle Village, N.Y.) taking home the Most Outstanding Female Athlete Award; softball's Paige Swantek (Smithtown, N.Y.), swimming's Seren Jones (Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom), football's Sean Binckes (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and men's lacrosse's Matty Beccaris (North Babylon, N.Y.) being named the recipients of the Pioneer Excellence Awards; softball's Julia Seader (Piscataway, N.J.) and women's lacrosse's Ryan McKinney (Downington, Pa.) earning the program's first ever Newcomer of the Year Award; women's lacrosse's Brittany Smith (Dix Hills, N.Y.) was named the winner of the Dr. Roy Ilowit Award; baseball's Steve Teitel (Merrick, N.Y.) and women's lacrosse's Kasey Kephart (Nesconset, N.Y.) were named the Christine Webb Award winners; and football's Mike Williams (Westbury, N.Y.) was honored as the Comeback Player of the Year.

"The Student-Athlete Awards Banquet is always the highlight of the year for our staff and administration," Director of Athletics and Recreation Bryan Collins said. "It's an opportunity to get all of our student-athletes together and to show our appreciation for all the efforts they give to us in the classroom, in the community with their community service and on the athletic fields. It's always impressive when you have over 500 student-athletes supporting each other, cheering for each other and celebrating each other. These 500-plus student-athletes are many of LIU Post's finest students and are worthy and deserving of a first-class event."

Along with the major awards, each team gave out two awards to student-athletes as chosen by the coaches.

During the event's cocktail hour, the Pioneers' 80-plus seniors received a framed varsity "P" letter.

After the individual team awards and an opening statement from Collins, the attention turned to the department's major awards presentation.

Most Outstanding Male Athlete
Per Forgaard, Men's Soccer
Per had a senior season to remember at LIU Post in 2015. In addition to helping the Pioneers to their second-straight East Region crown, Per led the East Coast Conference in goals, assists and points. He was named the Offensive Player of the Year by three different organizations, and was selected as a unanimous First Team All-American by the NSCAA and D2 Conference Commissioner's Association.

Most Outstanding Female Athlete
Joyce Kwok, Women's Swimming
Joyce rounded out her collegiate career in the pool with a huge splash, securing All-America honors in five different events, including a second-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly. She was also named All-Metropolitan Conference in seven events, and was awarded the Swimmer of the Meet Award at the Metropolitan Championships. Additionally, Joyce, a three-time Metro Swimmer of the Week, raced to pool-record times at East Stroudsburg and Kutztown during the season.

Pioneer Excellence Award
Paige Swantek, Softball
Paige is currently swinging the bat at a .297 average. She has hit four homers and driven in 33 RBIs in 46 games for the green and gold, while also scoring 16 runs and adding 10 doubles.

Seren Jones, Women's Swimming
Seren made her first-ever appearance at the NCAA Division II National Championships in 2015-16, and swam to All-America honors in four different events. She also won five strokes at the Metropolitan Championships, and received All-Met distinction in seven events.

Sean Binckes, Football
On the gridiron, Sean was named to the All-Northeast-10 Conference First Team and D2CCA All-Super Region One Second Team in his senior year. He was also tabbed as an All-Star for the Dream Bowl and named to the NE-10 Academic All-Conference Team. He made 48 catches for 428 yards and four touchdowns in 2015 and broke the program's all-time record for receptions in the process.

Matty Beccaris, Men's Lacrosse
Matty continues to excel on the lacrosse field for the Pioneers, as he ranks third on the team in scoring with 48 points. His 34 goals on the year boosts his career total to 146, the most in LIU Post men's lacrosse history. At the start of the season, Matty was dubbed the ECC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and selected to the Inside Lacrosse Preseason All-America First Team.

Newcomer of the Year
Julia Seader, Softball
Julia, the East Coast Conference's Rookie of the Year, has paced the green and gold with the bat, hitting at a near-.400 clip, while boasting a .659 slugging and .451 on-base percentage.

Ryan McKinney, Women's Lacrosse
Ryan is one of four Pioneers this year and the only freshman on the team to score 20 or more goals.

Dr. Roy Ilowit Award
Brittany Smith, Women's Lacrosse
The Dr. Roy Ilowit Award 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 former football standout Steven Laurino (2015), 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).

Christine Webb Award
Steve Teitel, Baseball; Kasey Kephart, Women's Lacrosse
The Christine Webb Award is annualy given to the Pioneers who show the most Post Pride. This year's recipients, Steve Teitel and Kasey Kephart, could be seen at almost every home event on campus, cheering on their fellow student-athletes and usually being the loudest at the event.