DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle Athletics Department announced the winners of the 2017-18 Eagles of Excellence and Steve & Vicky Ridder scholarships at the annual Athletics awards banquet held at the ICI Center on Wednesday evening. The recipients were selected from a pool of current Embry-Riddle student-athletes who submitted applications and were interviewed by a committee comprised of ERAU students, faculty and staff.
A commitment to academic achievement, campus and community involvement, personal holistic growth and a drive to excel in sport exemplifies the spirit of Steve and Vicky Ridder and the scholarship that bears their names. Each head coach is asked to submit a nominee that represents the ERAU athletics department ideal package - the student-person-player - and those nominees must then submit an essay describing the ways in which they exude the aforementioned characteristics.
The 2017-18 Steve & Vicky Ridder Scholarship was presented to Matt Graves and Sabrina Whiting.
Graves is a two-time winner of the Eagles of Excellence Scholarship and is a senior on the men's cross country and track teams. The Milford, Michigan native is the 13th-fastest runner in ERAU cross country history (25:37.20) and posted two top-four team finishes this past fall. Graves set four personal records on the track during the spring, and claimed four first-place finishes in the indoor and outdoor seasons. Graves has a 3.74 GPA in Aerospace Engineering and serves as the men's cross country Student-Athlete Advisory Committee representative. Graves is a seven-time Dean's List recipient, a member of the National Aerospace Engineering Honor Society (Sigma Gamma Tau) and the National Engineering Honor Society (Tau Beta Pi). Graves has spent time volunteering with the Hope for Hayley 5K and has participated in the Color Me Kate 5K, while also serving as the Community Service Chairman for the GE Professional Development Committee in the Dayton, Ohio region during his time in the Co-Op program at GE Aviation.
"Matt has proven himself to be an athlete who strives for constant improvement, a student who is committed to excellence and a person who is determined to lead," ERAU Head Coach
Mike Rosolino said. "As an athlete, he has worked hard to maximize his potential. As a student, he has truly excelled. As a person, he is a leader who puts the team first. Matt is the total package of outstanding student, great athlete and caring person."
Whiting, who is the women's basketball SAAC representative, hails from Temple Terrace, Florida and has excelled both on the basketball court and in the classroom. She has been the Eagles' leading scorer in each of her three seasons wearing the Blue and Gold, and on Feb. 7 she became the first member of the Eagles' 1,000-point club. A Homeland Security majoring with a 3.733 GPA, Whiting has volunteered for youth basketball clinics, church mission trips and hurricane relief efforts. She was named to the Commissioner's Honor Roll and the CoSIDA Academic All-District team as a sophomore, and was The Sun Conference Freshman of the Year and a member of the All-Defensive Team in 2014-15.
"Sabrina is one of the highest character young ladies I have ever coached in my 22 years in the profession," ERAU Head Women's Basketball Coach said of Whiting. "There is never a doubt in my mind that she will do the right thing always and is the best role model we could ask for in our program."
Graves and Whiting were also awarded Eagles of Excellence scholarships along with Carlos Becke, Patrick Byrne, Daniel Cashdollar, Ella Duggan, Lauren Ellenberger, Joshua Hickling, Brad Mapes, Lonnie Marts, Alex Orr, Sigrid Sandstrom and Ryan Sitler.
Becke (Hildesheim) is currently a junior on the 10th-ranked Embry-Riddle men's tennis team and comprises half of the seventh-ranked doubles team in NCAA II. He is Student-Athlete Advisory Committee representative for men's tennis and is also the program's Team Impact advocate. Becke has been engaged in a number of volunteer activities, including Food Brings Hope, Port Orange Family Days, Junior Achievement Day at South Daytona Elementary, and he also gives lessons to aspiring college tennis players. Becke is majoring in Business Administration with areas of concentration in Finance and Accounting and has a 3.96 cumulative grade point average.
Byrne is a senior on the Embry-Riddle men's golf team who utilized a red shirt for this past season. The Raymore, Missouri native has teed off in 64 total rounds with a career stroke average of 77.0. Byrne is a member of the exclusive sub-70 club at Embry-Riddle, a club that includes just 20 Eagles all-time. He has posted a 3.61 GPA in the Accelerated M.S. Aerospace Engineering program and has earned Dean's List recognition six times, President Team honors, and is an active member of the ERAU Honors Program. Byrne has volunteered for a canned food drive, charity golf tournament, Night to Shine and is a teammate with Nate in the Team IMPACT program.
Cashdollar (Evans City, Pa.) is a junior on the ERAU men's track & field squad and is a native of Evans City, Pennsylvania. Cashdollar set personal bests this spring in both the pole vault (4.65m) and the javelin (50.14m), four times earning first-place honors during the indoor and outdoor seasons. He has a 3.84 GPA in Aerospace Engineering and has earned Dean's List recognition in every one of his semesters at Embry-Riddle. Cashdollar has served as President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, has been a member of the Honors Program and the Treasurer and Secretary for the Diving Eagles Scuba Club. He has volunteered at the Daytona Beach Half Marathon, as well as at a local homeless shelter, serving meals along with the track & field team.
Duggan just finished her junior season with the Embry-Riddle volleyball team and is a native of Tauranga, New Zealand. Duggan has appeared in 64 matches and 185 sets over her three-year Eagle career, recording 1.15 kills and nearly 1.0 block per set, while totaling 320.5 points for the Blue and Gold. She carried a 3.6 GPA in Aerospace and Occupational Safety, earning Dean's List honors four times and honor roll honors once. Duggan serves as the volleyball team's SAAC representative, a Campus Outreach Leader, a Campus Outreach intern, a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and a member of the International Society of Air Safety Investigators. Duggan's volunteer activities include the Special Olympics, teaching Sunday School, a youth group leader, volleyball coach and river cleanup.
Ellenberger is a sophomore and two-year starter on the women's basketball team. She served as a team captain for this past season, leading the team with 3.9 assists per game while scoring 9.3 points and recording 5.4 rebounds per contest. Ellenberger has served as the sophomore class Leadership Council representative, assisted with the Sunshine State Conference basketball ournament, a Blue & Gold Gala volunteer and a sports marketing assistant for game day promotions. Her community service hours include time volunteering for Best Foot Forward, Night to Shine, Port Orange Parks and Rec, Kids Town as well as a volunteer for basketball camps and elementary schools as a guest speaker. Ellenberger, a native of Granger, Indiana boasts a 3.67 GPA in Business Administration.
Hickling is in his second season with the men's golf team, posting a two-year season stoke average of 76.1. Hickling has one top-five finish and one top-10 finish this season after four top-20 finishes a year ago. The Canvey Island, United Kingdom native carries a 4.0 GPA in Business Administration with a focus on Management and is a three-time Dean's List honoree. Hickling has volunteered with Hurricane Matthew cleanup, the Wounded Warrior Project and has formed a unique bond with the golf team's Team IMPACT teammate Nate, serving as the team's Team IMPACT ambassador.
Mapes (John's Creek, Ga.) is a junior on the men's basketball team who averaged 2.3 points and 2.1 rebounds in 13.3 minutes per game in 2016-17. He is enrolled in the Human Factors Psychology and Accelerated MBA programs and carries a 3.806 cumulative GPA. The men's basketball SAAC representative, he was the recipient of the 2016 Kyle Mas Scholar-Athlete award, was named to the ERAU President's Team and has been on the Dean's list every semester since his arrival at ERAU.
A two-time recipient of the Eagles of Excellence Scholarship, Marts (Jacksonville, Fla.) is entering his junior season as a member of the Eagles' track and field team. A Business Administration major with a 3.7 GPA, Marts has been very active on campus in his two years at the University. In addition to serving as SAAC president, he has been the College of Arts and Sciences representative in the Student Government Association, an advisor on the Student Union Advisory Board and a mentor for ERAU's First Year Initiatives program. He is also a member of the Environmental Awareness Committee and Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Orr is a junior from Chambersburg, Pennsylvania and also a repeat recipient of the Eagles of Excellence Scholarship. A captain of the cross country and track and field teams, Orr redshirted during the fall cross country season, but enjoyed a successful campaign on the track that included setting an ERAU record in the 5,000m (17:43.73). Orr has a 3.806 GPA in Aeronautical Science and is a member of the Alpha Ace Piloting Club. She is the women's track and field SAAC representative and volunteers in the local community with a variety of youth athletics event, as well as the Tree Initiative.
Sandstrom saw her first action as a member of the women's basketball team in 2016-17. She started in 24 of the Eagles' 26 games and averaged 5.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists, while maintaining a perfect 4.0 GPA in Software Engineering. She works on campus as a teaching assistant and has volunteered for numerous community events, including Best Foot Forward, Kids Town, The Tim Tebow Foundation and the Port Orange Rec Center.
Sitler is a junior in the Engineering Physics program, and like Sandstrom, he has a perfect 4.0 grade point average. Sitler saw action in 11 games with two starts as a defender on the ERAU men's soccer team. He is the secretary of the Experimental Rocket Propulsion Lab and works on campus as a Hall Tour Ambassador for the Department of Housing and Residence Life. He has volunteered with the Marine Science Center and has been named to the College of Engineering and College of Arts and Sciences Dean's Lists, as well as the Sunshine State Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll.
