Varsity Club Appreciation Award - Lori Johnson '91
Helen Holland Voll '17 Award - Elizabeth Bourassa
Competitive Spirit Award - Haley Greene
Improvement Award - Haley Angel
Impact Award - Holly Skrip
Composure Award - McKenna Shoupe
Mary Ellen Smith Academic and Athletic Achievement Award - Elle Deardorff
Marvin Wood Outstanding Senior Athlete Award - Amanda Tracy
For a full video replay of the 2024 Senior Athlete Awards ceremony, watch the event on our YouTube channel here.
Varsity Club Appreciation Award - Lori Johnson
The Belles Varsity Club Appreciation Award is presented to a student, faculty member, staff memer, or friend of Saint Mary's for extraordinary contribution to the Saint Mary's Department of Athletics.
For some people, the daily demands, expectations, and responsibilities of their jobs feel far from being extraordinary contributions. A call to leadership in particular is a call to serve the people you lead. You put in the effort to ensure that they are well poised to fulfill the call of each of their jobs.
For Lori Johnson, she would be the first to say that all of the things that she has done for the Department of Athletics are just part of her job of serving her alma mater. Much like the mission of the College, she sees her work as helping to ensure that Saint Mary's is a place where students discover and develop their talents as they prepare to make a difference in the world. It is a promise to students she understands from her experience as a student here, and it is her calling to continue that mission for students still to come. For our department, however, her dedication and commitment to meeting previously unmet needs while guiding our department to a future we have not been able to make a reality are why we recognize her today.
Saint Mary’s has been competing in intercollegiate athletics for more than 45 years. At that point in our history, we were part of the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women. A few years later, Saint Mary's began competing in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, or as we all know it – the NAIA. In the 1990s, we moved from the NAIA to NCAA Division III membership. From those early years, through all of those changes, we have never had the opportunity to have ALL of our student-athletes reap the benefits of having full-time coaches. It has been a longstanding commitment to make that dream a reality, and with Lori's guidance, we are on the verge of a new chapter in Saint Mary's Athletics. A direct result of her advocacy and work, our entire coaching staff for the first time in the nearly 50-year history of our department will be full-time.
Additionally, her support and vision has allowed us to grow in even more ways. Her guidance has led to the expansion of our varsity sport offerings to include STUNT – our first new varsity sport in over a decade. It will also be the first time we will offer more than eight varsity sports at a given time, which leads to further expansion of our department as we are also excited to be adding a new support position of Associate Athletic Director. Lori continues to advocate for our Department as our needs change, and she has proven to put her words into action on our behalf.
Beyond that tangible, immense, and extraordinary change for our department, Lori's presence to our Department and the division of Student Enrollment and Engagement has led to growth and improved cross-department collaboration. She has a listening ear to all areas she oversees, and she is a conduit of bringing the needs of our students to the greater College leadership team. Lori is a regular at our events, showing her support by showing up and cheering our teams on. Her action and commitment to all of the areas she oversees is something we do not take for granted, but it is something that we know deserves to be shared. To us, the seemingly little things she has done in her time thus far at Saint Mary's truly are the big things. Our gratitude goes far beyond an award recognizing the impact she has had.
It is with great pride that we present the 2024 Varsity Club Appreciation Award to Lori Johnson.
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Helen Holland Voll '17 Award - Elizabeth Bourassa
Presented to a Saint Mary's student who embodies commitment and dedication to the recreation programs in the Saint Mary's College Department of Athletics.
The Helen Holland Voll Award is something of a rarity for our Department to present. In the past 25 years, it has been awarded only a handful of times. It seems fitting that the last time we presented this award, which was in 2015, it was to a Minnesotan with a dedication and commitment to connecting people through the positive power of yoga. What makes this year’s presentation particularly special though is that it is the first time we have bestowed it upon a student-athlete.
It is rigorous enough to balance academics with a varsity sport, as all of the student-athletes in this room know all too well. As an education major, a big commitment to observation and student teaching has also been in the mix for the last several years for Elizabeth Bourassa, or as we know her, Lizzy B. It makes sense then that the word balance is the focus of why we are recognizing Lizzy B as she has juggled all of those commitments while serving others as a yoga instructor and leader.
Lizzy B has been a certified instructor for quite some time now, driven by the intent of making life better for anyone and everyone through the mindful practice of yoga. She has led sessions for her own team on spring break trips and throughout the season. She has had sessions for the greater student-athlete population through SAAC and teams reaching out to her directly to lead them. As a club leader, Lizzy B has led weekly sessions for the Yoga Club. Earlier this spring, she gave of her time in-season to have a morning yoga session for Junior Moms' Weekend. She has used the connective power of yoga beyond campus as she has also been an instructor for Notre Dame students and has led classes for the local community at BEND Yoga in South Bend.
The concept of being the first student-athlete to be honored with an award is not new for Lizzy B - she was the first student-athlete to be honored with the Saint Catherine's Medal for leadership, scholarship, faith, and service of others through both Yoga Club, her work with the former Office for the Common Good, and helping to establish and grow the Saint Mary's Sustainable Farm.
Everything she has done to receive this recognition reflects her heart as a teacher. Lizzy B has been and continues to be someone whose commitment and dedication to others – to her teammates, to her fellow Belles, to the greater College community, and to her future students – is embodied in her actions of service. She is someone who cares authentically and draws people into spaces where they can find a way to center themselves. For our Department and particularly for the Yoga Club, the impact Lizzy B has had to leave the club in a better place than she originally found it is something that will resonate long beyond her time as a Belle.
A native of New Brighton, Minnesota, Elizabeth is the daughter of Kevin and Trisha Bourassa. She will graduate with a degree in both mathematics and secondary education along with a minor in environmental studies. We are proud to present the 2024 Helen Holland Voll Award to Elizabeth Bourassa.
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Competitive Spirit Award - Haley Greene
Presented to the senior athlete who demonstrates the passion and love for sport by work ethic, desire to succeed, and commitment to teammates.
In the world of running, you have to trek the terrain as it lies ahead of you. In that moment before the starting gun goes off, every runner has to decide – will the course burn them up, or will they burn up the course. It is undeniable that there is a fire that burns inside of Haley Greene. For her, it was always going to be that she was going to use that fire to burn up the course. She is an absolute competitor – passionate, driven, committed – and that fiery spirit has helped elevate her cross country teammates and this program.
At the first competitive race of her collegiate career, Haley burst onto the scene with a top five finish for her team with a 6k time just over 25 minutes at the Calvin Invitational. Later that season, she was the second finisher on the team after breaking into the 24s for the first time in a 6k at Oberlin. Her fire burned brighter and stronger as the season went on, and she was the team's top finisher at both the MIAA Championships and NCAA Regional races with back-to-back PRs. By the end of the season, she had taken more than a minute off of her 6k time.
The next season, an injury tried to throw water on her fire. Haley was not able to pick right up where she left off. Rather than letting that injury sideline her, she trusted the process, rekindled the flame, and found a way to burn even brighter. In her first completed race of the season in October of that year, she was the second Belle across the finish line at Oberlin. Two weeks later, she capped off the comeback in triumphant fashion with a 6k PR at the MIAA Championships.
By her senior season, Haley’s fire was fully stoked from start to finish this past fall as she cemented herself as one of our best and most competitive performers. She took nothing for granted this last fall, knowing what it was like to have it taken away. She channeled her drive and work ethic to fuel success for herself and her teammates alike, particularly in her approach to leading this year’s first-year group through training and the approach to competitive collegiate racing. Her hard work and fire materialized themselves in her leadership by action. She was in the top five for the Belles at every race of her senior campaign. She posted personal records in both of the team’s 5k races of the year. Haley tacked on a PR at the MIAA Championships with a 23:06.7. With a sub-23 6k so close she could almost taste it, you can bet Haley was not going to be stopped. In her final race for the Belles, she capped off her career with a 22:50.9 for her first 6k time below 23 minutes while helping the team to their highest finish at an NCAA Regional race since the 2015 season.
The fight, the comeback, the success – none of those things happen on their own. You have to harness the passion within, put in the work, and lace up your shoes with purpose and drive every single day to make it happen. There is a quote that is known far and wide – it’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of fight in the dog. Haley is a fighter, and the size of the fight within her has driven her success of burning up every challenge she has faced.
A native of Saline, Michigan, Haley is the daughter of Michele and Gregg. She will graduate with a degree in neuroscience and a minor in psychology. We are proud to present the 2024 Competitive Spirit Award to Haley Greene.
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Improvement Award - Haley Angel
Presented in recognition of significant improvement as a student-athlete over a four-year period of time.
There are a lot of times when improvement by a student-athlete is subtle and unmeasurable. Minor adjustments to technique or honing particular skills in and of themselves are improvements that every coach hopes each of their student-athletes can achieve. It is always the hope that those improvements translate to success in competition. After all, we all want every athlete to improve and to be the best that they can be.
For Haley Angel, the numbers certainly do not lie in showing the improvement of her golf game over the past four years. Haley has put in the work, and her dedication to being the best she can be for her team is clear to see. In her freshman season for the Belles, Haley had an 84.6 scoring average and twice posted scores in the 90s. The next season, that scoring average moved down to an 84.3. During her junior year, she took a full stroke off of her scoring average from the pervious academic year with an 83.2. This year, Haley has hit her full stride on the course. Her scoring average heading into nationals is an 80.2. She has not had a round in the 90s since her sophomore season, and she has turned in scores in the 70s five times in this school year alone.
Digging even further into those numbers, Haley's growth of her game in conference play has been remarkable. Her scoring average as a freshman in MIAA play was an 83.6 and she finished outside the league leaders for All-MIAA consideration. This year, every one of her rounds in conference play was below the scoring average from her first year. She shot an 82 or better in each of the team's conference competitions. Haley shot a career-low 75 to help the team to the win at the third MIAA Jamboree and erase an eight-stroke deficit in the conference standings. She earned medalist honors at an MIAA event for the first time in her career earlier this spring to help her team build a crucial lead over Adrian in the league standings with a commanding victory at the fourth MIAA Jamboree.
Perhaps the moment where her improvement was on full display was two weeks ago at the MIAA Spring Finale. In 36 holes of play, Haley did not have a score on a single hole above a bogey on a challenging course in less-than-ideal conditions. At the end of the team competition, which saw the Belles clinch the team’s eleventh MIAA Championship and the program's twelfth NCAA Championship berth, Haley was in a three-way tie for season medalist and Most Valuable Golfer honors. The trio went to a playoff, and Haley's commitment to improving her mental and physical approach to her game came to full fruition. After back-to-back pars on the first two holes of the playoff, Haley stayed steady after a less-than-ideal drive landed left of the fairway. Short of the green on her second shot, Haley was on the green with her third shot while her opponent missed the green with back-to-back shots. All of the work and dedication – the focus on her short game, the growth in her mental game, the hundreds of repetitions in the golf room and on the course, the time sacrificed to make up for practice missed due to clinicals and to make herself better – culminated in Haley sinking a massive putt for birdie to capture the playoff and Most Valuable Player honors.
When so much in sports can fall beyond an athlete's control, the hard work put in to improve can be controlled. That work – the work seen and unseen, the hours poured in beyond to make her senior season go from good to great – is what separates Haley from the pack. That improvement IS seen. It is significant. And today, it is recognized.
A native of Tampa, Florida, Haley is the daughter of Joanna and Jeffrey Angel. She will graduate with a degree in nursing and a minor in biology. We are proud to present the 2024 Improvement Award to Haley Angel.
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Impact Award - Holly Skrip
Presented to the senior athlete who elevates the intensity and focus of a game beyond what statistics can measure.
It takes a person with intensity, focus, and grit to play defense in any sport. Defense is hardly glamourous. It is not rewarded with big statistics, but its impact is huge and crucial to any team’s success. And when it comes to describing a player like Holly Skrip, impact and intensity are two of the biggest traits anyone who has watched her play are quick to point out about her game.
From the beginning of her time with the Belles Soccer program, Holly has always brought an undeniable level of intensity as her passion for the sport has resonated through the years.
Playing center back in defense oftentimes translates to being a literal last line of defense. To be effective, a player has to be locked in when an opposing player is barreling down on them and the ball. In a one-on-one moment, focus and poise in the face of pressure are a must. Anyone who has watched Holly can see when she is locked in, focused, and poised against the pressure. Ultimately, when she and other defenders are successful, it is almost as if nothing happens – no shot goes into the statistics, no goal is put on the scoreboard, no celebration ensures. It is those moments – the lack of materialization of something tangible – that Holly has had a true impact on the pitch.
A team captain this year, Holly contributed to one of the best year-over-year improvements for the soccer program in recent history. The Belles had their lowest goals-against average since the 2013 season. A team captain this year, Holly's presence was key to that measurable level of success. Her impact in the backfield saw the team shave off over one goal per game allowed in contests from the 2022 to the 2023 season. As a team, the Belles shut out five opponents on the year and allowed the fewest goals since the 2012 season. As the leader of the backline, Holly was integral to a defensive effort which allowed just 77 shots on goal, marking the fewest shots on goal conceded in over 20 years. For a defender and measuring success, less is more – the fewer chances for the opponent, the higher the chances for the team to succeed. Holly's role and impact for the Belles might not have always been the headline of recaps and stories but it has certainly seen and felt.
Off of the pitch, the intensity and focus Holly has carries through all aspects of her life. From her out-of-season workouts in the gym to her plans to pursue a job with the Department of Justice or the Department of Defense, she holds herself to a high standard. She channels her focus into every facet of her life. Holly acts with intention and purpose, and her impact will go far and wide throughout her future just as it has every time she has put on a Saint Mary's soccer uniform.
A native of Chicago, Illinois, Holly is the daughter of Ron and Laura Skrip. She will graduate with a degree in neuroscience with a concentration in neurobiology along with minors in both mathematics and biology. We are proud to present the 2024 Impact Award to Holly Skrip.
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Composure Award - McKenna Shoupe
Presented to the senior athlete who shows unparalleled poise and self-control in the face of pressure and competition.
Sports are inevitably filled with ups and downs, big highs and big lows, wins and losses. There is a saying that goes "it's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters". The composure to get through the rough times is what leads to the good ones. On the softball field for the past four years, McKenna Shoupe is a player who has shown that poise and ability to ride the storm to get to the other side.
McKenna knows exactly what she could bring to the game every time she stepped on the field for the softball program. Speed. Focus. Steadiness. She was reliable, determined, and quietly confident. For all of those reasons, McKenna immediately made an impact and stepped into the lineup for the Belles in her freshman season. In less than ten games, she established herself as the starting center fielder as well as the lead-off batter for the team. She went on to lead the team in on-base percentage and stolen bases and was named as an MIAA Position Player of the Week during that freshman season. From that season onward, McKenna continued to be the backbone of the Belles outfield. If and when her spot in the batting order changed, she focused on doing what was needed of her to help the team succeed without a second thought. Her demeanor coupled with her speed and confidence on the base paths proved to be another area where McKenna’s composure was on full display. Base running is one of the few areas in the sport where a player has full control – it is you, your speed, and 60 feet separating you from base to base. And McKenna’s approach to stealing bases was almost clinical – the only thing flashy about the way she stole bases was her speed. Over her four seasons, she led the team in stolen bases each season and amassed 40 steals over her career. Each of those stolen bases in her eyes was another chance for the team to score and another opportunity for the team to succeed.
Beyond her statistics, it has been her approach to the game that has demonstrated her composure. When she was up to bat or in the outfield, anyone watching could sense that she was locked in and ready to face whatever pressure came her way. She believed she was going to get on base every time she stepped up to the plate, and she was going to do everything in her power to make that happen. When she did get on base, she was going to make the other team pay for it by stealing a base or scoring a key run. If there was a ball in the air on the defensive side – no matter how shallow or deep the ball was hit – she believed she could and would catch it, and nothing was going to stop her. She regularly ran down balls in the gaps and made seemingly uncatchable catches. She had a deep willingness to put her body on the line for a diving catch.
The base paths and the outfield were her domains. And while many players hold those same beliefs and approach, her calm, collected, and composed way of approaching every opportunity is truly what set her apart. She has always allowed her actions to speak louder than her words. She quietly went about her work on the field day in and day out, and her body of work over the past four seasons for the Belles softball team speaks volumes of the way her quiet confidence and composure set the tone much as a lead-off batter in a game does.
A native of Edwardsburg, Michigan, McKenna is the daughter of Michelle and Tom Shoupe. She will graduate with a degree in accounting. We are proud to present the 2024 Composure Award to McKenna Shoupe.
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Mary Ellen Smith Academic and Athletic Achievement Award - Elle Deardorff
Presented for outstanding academic and athletic achievement and future promise as a Saint Mary's graduate.
Mary Ellen Smith served as our Dean of Students from 1986 – 1992. She was a dedicated leader, educator and avid supporter of all students during her tenure at Saint Mary's. She was especially supportive of the athletic department and of all student-athletes. Every student-athlete knew Mary Ellen. She was at our home events, award banquets, fundraisers, and would even assist in driving our teams to away contests. Through Mary Ellen’s leadership and commitment to improving the athletic experience, she advocated for and oversaw the transition to our move from NAIA to NCAA Division III. Mary Ellen Smith passed away suddenly on June 1, 2015. To ensure that her contributions to Saint Mary's College Athletics will not be forgotten, we have re-named our academic and athletic achievement award in her honor.
Every student-athlete in this room knows the difficulty of balancing academic and athletics. It takes an immense amount of effort to succeed in the classroom and in a sport, and Elle Deardorff has done just that while competing in a sport with arguably the longest season – basketball – and navigating a challenging degree – nursing.
Elle's athletic resume speaks for itself as she has quietly built a record-book-level career in only three seasons. It was incredibly fitting that the first shot from the floor Elle made in her career was a three-pointer. She hit three three-pointers in her collegiate debut against North Central, led the team in scoring in that game, and started what proved to be a prolific career from behind the arc. Elle went on to lead the team in made three-pointers after hitting close to 30 percent of her attempts. From there, the success on the court continued to grow despite the fact that every scouting report on Elle was focused on trying to shut her down from deep range.
Her junior season saw Elle drain 46 three-pointers and post an impressive 31.7 three-point shooting percentage. Her single-season total for threes was the most since All-American and Saint Mary’s Hall of Famer Alison Kessler's 2008 total. Named an MIAA Athlete of the Week this season, she tallied second-most three pointers in a single season with 62 as a senior. She sunk a staggering eight three pointers in the Belles' contest at Albion to set the new standard for most made threes in a single game in program history while breaking a 35-year-old record. She is the third player in program history with back-to-back seasons of shooting better than 30 percent from three-point range while leading the team in triples after posting a 36.7 three-point shooting percentage. She is second all-time in made three pointers in a career with 135. Everyone knew Elle was going to shoot threes. Everyone was going to try to stop her. But no one could.
Academically, Elle has earned Dean's List honors and MIAA Honor Roll accolades multiple times and is on track to add each of those recognitions this spring. She was a 2024 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honoree this winter. Elle was named to the Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Honor Society for ranking in the top 35 percent of this year's graduating class. She has also been involved in the Student Nurses Association and Psychology Club, was a team captain, and served her team as a representative on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Elle is the consummate student-athlete.
A native of Logansport, Indiana, Elle is the daughter of Brad and Shari Deardorff. She will graduate with a degree in nursing. We are proud to present the 2024 Mary Ellen Smith Academic and Athletic Achievement Award to Elle Deardorff.
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Marvin Wood Outstanding Senior Athlete Award - Amanda Tracy
Presented to the outstanding senior athlete.
When you look at the body of work that she has put together over her college years, it is easy to see why the description of 'outstanding' is something that seems to follow Amanda Tracy wherever she goes.
From day one, Amanda has put in the time and effort to be the runner she is, and her work has paid off with massive dividends. Anyone who was on campus early enough saw Amanda putting in that work every morning as she made her way out on a run as the sun started rising during her freshman year. Her coachability along with her dedication to her off season training in that first year were foundational to the groundwork of the things she went on to do in her career.
When it came time to compete in her sophomore season, Amanda was ready. She finished third for the team at the highly-competitive Calvin Knight Invitational as the Belles edged out Division II member Davenport by three points to claim fifth. From the beginning of the year to the end, she took 47 seconds off of her 5k time and was the team’s second finisher at the NCAA Regional. That season was just scratching the surface of what was within Amanda. She had a taste, but she knew she was capable of much more. As she learned more about what it meant to race in competitive collegiate races, she invested in her mental preparation to unlock the talent she always had. That commitment to herself through mental and physical preparation along with her dedication to her team are what truly allowed Amanda to turn a corner, and she never looked back.
As a junior she put up another personal record in the team's only 5k of the season before posting three consecutive 6k personal records over the final three races of the season, including her first two sub-24 minute 6ks. As a senior, she would not be denied. She added yet another PR to her list by shaving off over a minute from her previous-best 5k time in the opening race of the season. She then put up a 6k personal record time at Wheaton two weeks later. At the end of September, Amanda ran the fifth-fastest 5k time in program history at the Calvin Invitational and finished with her first sub-19 minute time of 18:52 for yet another PR. She was far from done there. At the MIAA Championships, Amanda broke into sub-23 territory for the first time with a 22:23, which ranks as the sixth-fastest 6k time in program history.
A two-time team captain, Amanda was in the team's top three finishers at every race she competed in during her career. Moreover, she was the Belles’ top finisher in each race of her senior season.
It is clear to see that Amanda has elevated her performance each year on the cross country course to reach the level of outstanding. She is the first runner in seven years to earn All-MIAA in a sport where you truly have to earn it by finishing 14th in the conference race. Her name can be found in multiple instances under the fastest 5k and 6k times in program history. She is one of only three runners in program history with two top-ten times at the 6k distance in the same year. Moreover, her 6k times trail the only two runners to have earned multiple All-MIAA honors in Saint Mary’s cross country history.
Outside of athletics, Amanda has been named as the Class of 2024 Outstanding Senior, an honor only four other Saint Mary's student-athletes have garnered. She is the first to earn both honors. She is truly 'outstanding'.
A native of Orland Park, Illinois, Amanda is the daughter of Edward and Diane Tracy. She will graduate with a degree in elementary education along with minors in both mild intervention and early childhood education. We are proud to present the 2024 Marvin Wood Outstanding Senior Athlete to Amanda Tracy.
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