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LOS ANGELES - A pair of trips to the NCAA Sweet 16 was the highlight of the 2016 Lions Athletic Fund Iggy Awards on Wednesday, April 27th at the Doubletree by Hilton Los Angeles Westside. Women's volleyball and women's soccer, who had historic runs in the their respective NCAA tournaments, were part of the many honors recognized at the 11th Annual Iggy Awards.

The leaders of those Sweet 16 teams - women's soccer senior Jocelyn Blankenship and volleyball sophomore Sarah Sponcil - shared Female Athlete of the Year honors while men's soccer senior goalie Paul Blanchette was named Male Athlete of the Year.

Blankenship, who captained her team to a program record in overall wins (15) and conference wins (7), earns her third career All-Region honor and was a First Team selection for the first time. The Eastvale, Calif., native paced the Lions with seven goals and eight assists for a team-high 22 points this fall. She was one of seven players to start all 22 matches, scored two game-winning goals and had the assist on six additional game-winners.

Sponcil led the LMU volleyball team to their second Sweet 16 in program history, earning AVCA All-American Honorable Mention honors. She finished the season with a team-best 447 kills at a rate of 3.58 per set. She hit .268 on the attack while also pacing the squad in aces (36) and digs (363). The six-rotation player also managed 18 double-doubles to lead the team in the category.

As for Blanchette, he was the West Coast Conference Goalkeeper of the Year honor, the second in his career. The senior also won the award outright in 2013 when the Lions went 13-4-3 overall and 9-2-1 in WCC play. This fall, Blanchette earned a 9-6-0 record in goal, posting an LMU record eight shutouts along the way. He made 59 saves and tallied a 1.06 goals against average while also moving the LMU career record in shutouts to 19.

The Athlete of the Year honors were just three of the 35 Lions Athletic Fund Iggy Awards handed out on Wednesday. The Iggy's honors highlighted an evening full of recognition and laughs as the evening included the traditional senior farewell videos.

Check out the LMU Sports Network Senior Video on What it Means to be a Lion
.

The 2015-16 Iggy Award Winners and Nominees:

ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Female: Jocelyn Blankenship - Women's Soccer & Sarah Sponcil - Volleyball
Male: Paul Blanchette - Men's Soccer

INDIVIDUAL SPORT ATHLETE OF THE YEAR IGGY (nominees for overall Athlete of the Year)
Female:
• Bridgette Alvarez, Water Polo
• Jocelyn Blankenship, Soccer
• Hannah Calton, Swimming
• Elvira Juravliova, Tennis
• Amanda Kretsch, Cheer
• Ruth Morris, Rowing
• Danielle Shanahan, Cross Country/Track
• Sarah Sponcil, Volleyball
• Sophie Taylor, Basketball
• Meghan von Behren, Softball
Male:
• Paul Blanchette, Soccer
• Cassidy Brown, Baseball
• Connor Campbell, Golf
• Cameron Heath, Rowing
• Adom Jacko, Basketball
• Dayne Jagga, Water Polo
• Cristobal Rivera, Tennis
• Brandon Vientos, Cross Country/Track

STUDENT-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Female: Callie Taylor - Women's Soccer
Male: Emanuel Di Stasio - Men's Water Polo
Student-Athlete of the Year Nominees:
Female: Hannah Calton, Swimming; Kingsley Hill, Water Polo; Amanda Kretsch, Cheer; Danielle Shanahan, Cross Country/Track; Sterling Shuster, Softball; Sarah Sponcil, Volleyball; Callie Taylor, Soccer; Sophie Taylor, Basketball
Male: J.D. Busfield, Baseball; Connor Campbell, Golf; Matt Connelly, Men's Rowing; Emanuel Di Stasio, Men's Water Polo; John McFarlin, Soccer; Cristobal Rivera, Tennis

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Female: Cole Souza - Men's Soccer
Male: Gabbie Sanfillippo - Women's Soccer
Freshman of the Year Nominees:
Female: Brittany Aldredge, Cheer; Hannah Bandimere, Softball; Alex Bauer, Rowing; Sky Flores, Water Polo; Emily Hubert, Cross Country/Track; Elvira Juravliova, Tennis; Gabbie Sanfilippo, Soccer; Cheyanne Wallace, Basketball; Isabel Willis, Swimming
Male: Niko Decolati, Baseball; Riley Elmes, Golf; Dane Jagga, Water Polo; Lukas Moenter, Tennis; Koby Pederson, Cross Country/Track; Sage Rodriguez, Rowing; Cole Souza, Soccer; Munis Tutu, Basketball

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Female: Jamie Lea - Women's Volleyball
Male: Brandon Brown - Men's Basketball
Newcomer of the Year Nominees:
Female: Jamie Lea, Volleyball; Kristi Mikami, Cheer; Amanda Miller, Swimming; Ruth Morris, Rowing; Charlee Pruitt, Soccer
Male: John Bovill, Soccer; Brandon Brown, Basketball; Blake Redman, Baseball

MOST IMPROVED OF THE YEAR
Female: Meghan von Behren - Softball
Male: Cassidy Brown - Baseball
Most Improved Athlete of the Year Nominees:
Female: Raquel Angelone, Soccer; Nicky Kevorken, Volleyball; Savanna Kim, Swimming; Masury Lynch, Rowing; Caitlin Schafer, Water Polo; Meghan von Behren, Softball; Maddi Vorgitch, Cross Country/Track
Male: Griffin Bell, Soccer; Cassidy Brown, Baseball; Shane Farley, Rowing; Petr Herman, Basketball; Grant Lapovich ,Cross Country/Track; Billy Pollock, Golf; Cristobal Rivera, Tennis; Kirk Wilenius, Water Polo

MUSCLE MILK SPORTS PERFORMANCE IGGYS
Individual - Female: Sarah Sponcil - Volleyball
Individual - Male: Joe Murray - Baseball
Team - Female: Volleyball
Team - Male: Baseball

PRIDE AWARD HONOREES
• Trent Benson, Men's Rowing
• Luke Bohuslav, Men's Tennis
• Avery Bush, Volleyball
• Benjamin Davis, Cross Country/Track
• Louisa Del Valle, Women's Rowing
• Ryan Erickson, Baseball
• Samantha Garcia, Cross Country/Track
• Stephanie Horwitz, Swimming
• Shannon Kent, Women's Soccer
• Amanda Kretsch, Cheer
• Stephanie Maciel, Softball
• Ashtynn Nelson, Women's Water Polo
• Mary Kate Reid, Swimming
• Sterling Shuster, Softball
• Tessa Soriano, Cheer
• Rachelle Suaava, Volleyball
• Hannah Tedrow, Volleyball
• Tyler Testman, Men's Water Polo
• Billy Wilson, Baseball
• Madi Wright, Cheer

COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD HONOREES
• Jo Blankenship, Women's Soccer
• Hannah Calton, Swimming
• Mark Dotseth, Men's Soccer
• Michael Duncan, Cross Country/Track
• Jill Farley, Women's Soccer
• Samantha Garcia, Cross Country/Track
• Katie Hungerford, Women's Water Polo
• Liam Jennis, Men's Water Polo
• Lia Jorgensen, Swimming
• Bradley Kritzer, Crew
• Lauren Owens, Women's Water Polo
• Paige Saunier, Cheer
• Ann Shoen, Rowing

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