1-General | 6/12/2021 3:00:00 PM

Barry University Athletics hosted the Sixth Annual Bucky Awards on virtually Saturday, June 12 on Facebook Live.

The Bucs celebrated the past year's accomplishments of the student-athletes with awards for Newcomer of the Year, Most Improved Athlete, Career Achievement, Best Game, and Best Play, the Strong Man/Woman Awards, the Professor Neill Miller Scholar-Athletes of the Year , and Female & Male Athletes of the Year. Additionally, the Sister Jeanne O'Laughlin Service Award, and the Assistant Coach of the Year  were awarded.

Newcomer of the Year

Deniz Khazan A junior from Netanya, Israel, Khazan led the women's tennis team to the national championship with a perfect 11-0 record at #1 singles and a 10-1 mark in doubles. She clinched the national championship match in a second-set tiebreaker over the previously #1 ranked player from UIndy.

Most Improved Athlete    

Trinity Bosecker A native of Theills, N.Y., Bosecker had a transformational season. The 6-3 forward went from playing in just six of 27 games and averaging less than a point and rebound per contest to playing in 10 of the 11 games and averaging 7.0 points and 6.6 rebounds. She increased her field goal shooting from 25.0 to 58.8 percent. She also became the blocked shot leader in the conference with over two per game.

Career Achievement

Julie Razafindranaly Razafindranaly has enjoyed a stellar career with the Bucs. She led the team to a pair of Sunshine State Conference titles and three straight NCAA Division II national championships, becoming one of just a handful of 3-time national champions in Barry history. An ITA singles All-American in 2020, she was also the 2020 Barry Female Athlete of the Year. She set the school record for singles winning percentage after going 54-1 for her career.

Best Game

Baseball, a 9-8 win over Florida Southern on Apr. 22 The Bucs fell behind early, but battled back to knock off the Moccasins. Trailing 8-3 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning, the Barry bats came to life and the wheels fell off for the Mocs as the Bucs batted around and scored six runs to take the lead. Richie Sobalvarro, JC Garcia andAndrew Rapoza all had RBI. Willie Escala, who had scored the first run of the frame on an error after swiping third, came through with a two-run single to right to give the Buccaneers the lead. Nick Vanderhoef and Ben Terwilliger set the Mocs down in order over the last two frames. Anthony Bennetti got the win in relief and Terwilliger picked up the save.

Best Play

AJ Ewart, an eagle at the Southeastern Collegiate Chasing a school, tournament and course record, Ewart stepped up on the par-5 14th and sank an eagle putt to go -6 under for the round. He finished at -9 (63), one stoke off the school, course and tournament record at the Southeastern Collegiate.

Assistant Coach of the Year

Michael Donald Donald led the women's soccer program from August through March after Sarah Dacey resigned. He ran the program single-handedly, developing practice plans, and running the sessions on his own, as well as dealing with the myriad health restrictions and NCAA compliance issues during the year. He even jumped in to help the men's soccer program when they were short of players so that they could scrimmage.

Sister Jeanne O'Laughlin Service Award

Matt Santos-Vitorino Santos-Vitorino works countless hours, takes on innumerable tasks and plays a huge role in keeping the student-athletes safe and healthy. This year, with the onset of CoVID-19, he served on the University's Health Care Taskforce and was integral in getting our student-athletes back on campus and competing for championships.

Strong Man of the Year

Jose Tabares, baseball Freshman from Miami, Fla.

Strong Woman of the Year

Tara Marinkovic, Rowing Senior from Belgrade, Serbia

Professor Neill L. Miller Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year

Marlon Buck A junior, from Viena, Austria, Buck maintains a 4.0 GPA in sport mangement and business administration.

Professor Neill L. Miller Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year

Taylor Checkley A senior biology major from Wimauma, Fla., Checekley earns her second-straight Scholar-Athlete of the Year award. She has a perfect 4.0 cumulative grade point average for her career as a Buccaneer.

Male Athlete of the Year

Alessandro Giuliato Alessandro Guiliato ended the season as the #1-ranked singles player in NCAA Division II, after posting an 11-1 mark at #1 singles for the Bucs. He led the team to the Sunshine State Conference regular season and tournament titles, earning conference player of the year. They went on to claim the South Region Championship and the NCAA Division II National Championship.

Female Athlete of the Year

Deniz Khazan Khazan also earned Athlete of the year. She ended the season ranked #1 in the country in singles and #5 in doubles with partner Madeline Bosnjak. In addition to the national title, she led the Bucs to the Sunshine State Conference regular season and tournament titles and the NCAA South Region Championship.

Here are the team awards: