HAMILTON – The Colgate Department of Athletics held its 11th annual Golden 'Gates award ceremony Wednesday night on Cotterell Court, honoring the accomplishments from the student-athletes and handing out numerous awards at the department's all-sports banquet.
 
The crowd of over 600 student-athletes, staff and supporters of Colgate Athletics honored outgoing Vice President and Director of Athletics Victoria M. Chun '91, MA'94 with a standing ovation during her final Golden 'Gates appearance. They also showed their appreciation for Chief of Staff and Senior Associate AD Ann-Marie Guglieri and gave a warm welcome to incoming VP and AD Nicki Moore.

Daniel B. Hurwitz '86 P'17, '20 served as the keynote speaker. Hurwitz is the chair of the Colgate University Board of Trustees as well as founder and CEO of Raider Hill Advisors, LLC. He was a football letterwinner and played four years for the Raiders before moving on to graduate from the Wharton School of Business Management Program at the University of Pennsylvania.

Athletes of the Year
The Raiders handed out some hardware Wednesday night, highlighted by Jessie Eldridge (Women's Ice Hockey) and Colton Point (Men's Ice Hockey) being named 2017-18 Colgate Athletes of the Year.
 
Eldridge had one of the top offensive performances in program history. The junior from Barrie, Ontario, had 45 points, the most in a season in program history. In the month of February, she led the nation with 16 points on nine goals and seven assists earning her Hockey Commissioners Association National Player of the Month award. Twice during the season Eldridge scored game-winners with exactly one second remaining. Her eight game-winners were also tied for the most in the nation.
 
Point posted one of the best seasons by a goaltender in program history. He was named the 16th All-American in program history, the first sophomore to earn the honor, and was also named a Finalist for the Hobey Baker Award, Mike Richter Award, ECAC Hockey Player of the Year as well as Goaltender of the Year. A second team all-league selection, Point shattered the 55-year-old program record for save percentage at .944, also tied for the highest in the nation, and broke the program's GAA record at 1.74. Point thrived on the international stage as well, winning a gold medal at the IIHF World Junior Championships and posted a shutout in the tournament.

Rookies of the Year
Earlier in the evening, Colgate recognized two rookie athletes who made immediate impacts on their respective teams. This year's Colgate Rookies of the Year are Alli Lowe (Volleyball) and Grant Breneman (Football)

Lowe burst onto the scene during her first year as a Raider and emerged as one of the top players in the Patriot League. The outside hitter was named the Patriot League and ECAC Rookie of the Year, and first team All-Patriot League and ECAC, becoming the first Raider to ever earn an ECAC major award. Lowe led the Raiders with 407 kills this season and a 3.88 kills per set average that ranked within the top 60 of all Division I volleyball players.
 
Breneman wrapped up one of the best campaigns by a first-year quarterback in Colgate Football history by completing 57 percent of his passes for nearly 1,600 yards and 18 touchdowns against just five interceptions. His 18 touchdown passes tied him for fifth-best by a Raiders quarterback in one season and were the most since 2009. For his efforts, Breneman was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Year and was one of 20 finalists for the STATS FCS Jerry Rice Award presented to the national rookie of the year.
 
Scholar-Athletes of the Year
Kelly Haberl from women's lacrosse and Chase Pagani from men's soccer were recognized as Colgate's Scholar-Athletes of the Year, exemplifying why Colgate is a leader in Division I athletics and academics.
 
Haberl has been a valuable member of the not just the Colgate women's lacrosse program but Colgate University as a whole throughout her four years. A three-time Patriot League and Raider Academic Honor Roll selection, Haberl holds a 3.97 cumulative grade point average as a physics major. This past year, Haberl has worked with one of her professors on a project as part of her thesis to design a small device that can be used to date rocks on Mars and will be pitched to NASA to go into space in the early 2020s.
 
Pagani exemplifies what it means to be a student-athlete. He holds a 3.52 cumulative grade point average as a biology major. He captained the men's soccer team this season and helped guide the Raiders to their second-straight Patriot League Championship and first-ever NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearance. Pagani also represented Colgate on a national level, serving as the Patriot League's NCAA SAAC representative.

The top student-athletes by sport, as selected by the head coaches, were as follows:

Sport                          Male Athlete        Female Athlete
Basketball                     Sean O'Brien        Summer King
Cross Country/Track & Field    Watson Hanson       Tina Bowers
Field Hockey                                       Maria Krull
Football                       Nick Wheeler
Golf                           Ryan Skae        
Ice Hockey                     Colton Point        Jessie Eldridge
Lacrosse                       Colin Orr           Haley O'Hanlon
Rowing                         Matt Oakley         Katie Kelleher
Soccer                         Jared Stroud        Eliza Doll
Softball                                           Holly Geranen
Swimming & Diving              Colton Hall         Caroline LaPlante
Tennis                         Jacob Daugherty     MacKenzie Deeter
Volleyball                                         Alli Lowe
 
Coach of the Year
Women's ice hockey's Greg Fargo was named the Howard M. Hartman Coach of the Year for the 2017-18 year, his second Colgate coach of the year honor as well as the second member of the women's ice hockey program honored Wednesday.
 
Fargo led the Raiders on a historic run to the National Championship game. Under the tutelage of Fargo, the Raiders won a record 34 games, crushing their previous program high of 22 wins. The sixth year head coach has successfully turned the program into a national power, after being held to seven wins just four seasons ago. In a season of firsts for the program, Fargo added another becoming the first coach in the program's Division I history to be named National Coach of the Year by both the American Hockey Coaches Association and USCHO.com.
 
John LeFevre '41 Appreciation Award
The John LeFevre '41 Appreciation Award went to Dr. Ivan Gowan. Dr. Gowan recently retired from Community Memorial Hospital after 34 years and treated hundreds of student-athletes during his time in Hamilton. He donated countless hours of his time to serve as the team orthopedist for Colgate. He graduated from Colgate in 1974 with a bachelor of science, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa before attending medical school at Cornell University. The award is presented annually to an individual for their dedication to Colgate University.
 
The final award of the night was awarded to Cathy Natoli, as she was named the Raider of the Year. Natoli has brightened the lives of the Colgate student-athletes through their interactions at the Coop-O'Conner Campus Center. The Raider of the Year Award is presented annually to the community fan with the greatest support and spirit for Colgate Athletics, and who leaves a lasting impression on the student-athletes she interacts with.

After the program, members of the senior class continued the tradition of retrieving their poster-board photos from the Reid Athletic Center lobby.