Photo Courtesy of Pepperdine Athletics
Pepperdine Women’s Soccer captured a team-high four awards at the annual PEP Espys, a student-athlete awards ceremony hosted by the Athletics department, on Sunday, April 15.
Senior Bri Visalli took home the award for “Female Athlete in a Starring Role” and junior Michelle Maemone was awarded the “Female Athlete in a Supporting Role.” Redshirt junior Brielle Preece was the recipient of the “Female Breakout Athlete of the Year” award.
The Women’s Soccer Team also took home the award for “Best Moment of the Year” for their 1-0 first round victory over Cal State Fullerton in the 2017 NCAA Tournament back in November.
The event, held in Elkins Auditorium, was hosted by seniors Adria Johnson of Women’s Volleyball and Weston Barnes of Men’s Volleyball.
“The PEP Espys are always a great event to be a part of every year,” Barnes said. “To be able to host it and see the support each athlete has for one another, no matter the team, is truly spectacular because we are united together as Waves.”
Prior to the awards show, members of the athletics department walked the red carpet in Joslyn Plaza before heading into the auditorium.
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-lang=”en”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Not a bad day at all for the 2018 PEP ESPY’S! <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/WavesUp?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#WavesUp</a> <a href=”https://t.co/kX9x9oJnp0″>pic.twitter.com/kX9x9oJnp0</a></p>— Pepperdine Athletics (@PepperdineWaves) <a href=”https://twitter.com/PepperdineWaves/status/985699727193681926?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>April 16, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Adria Johnson was selected as the recipient of the Maurice Hilliard Award — which is given in honor and memory of the late athletic chaplain — for exemplifying the attributes of Christian faith, character and leadership.
Seniors Kevin Maeda of Men’s Cross Country/Track and Maddie Dilfer of Women’s Beach Volleyball were named the Male and Female Scholar-Athletes of the Year respectively. Maeda was also named the Male Wave of the Year and senior Megan House of Women’s Basketball was named Female Wave of the Year.
“It’s truly a blessing to go out and compete every race in a Waves uniform,” Maeda said. “To represent the University, the athletic program and its values, it’s truly something I will never forget from my time here at Pepperdine.”
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-lang=”en”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Presented by Don Shores, your Scholar-Athletes of the Year are Kevin Maeda <a href=”https://twitter.com/PeppXCTrack?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@PeppXCTrack</a> and Maddie Dilfer <a href=”https://twitter.com/WavesBeachVB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@WavesBeachVB</a> <a href=”https://t.co/P9C8Vtt3RO”>pic.twitter.com/P9C8Vtt3RO</a></p>— Pepperdine Athletics (@PepperdineWaves) <a href=”https://twitter.com/PepperdineWaves/status/985711449178689536?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>April 16, 2018</a></blockquote>
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The Wave of the Year awards were presented by the Waves Leadership Council and honors student-athletes for their outstanding contributions in spirit and service to the athletics program and the university community.
Student-athletes, staff and coaches voted on the remaining awards. The full list of winners is listed below:
- Maurice Hilliard Award: Adria Johnson, Women’s Volleyball
- Male Wave of the Year: Kevin Maeda, cross-country/track
- Female Wave of the Year: Megan House, Women’s Basketball
- Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Kevin Maeda, cross-country/track
- Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Maddie Dilfer, Beach Volleyball
- Female Athlete in a Starring Role: Bri Visalli, Women’s Soccer
- Male Athlete in a Starring Role: Sahith Theegala, Men’s Golf
- Female Athlete in a Supporting Role: Michelle Maemone, Women’s Soccer
- Male Athlete in a Supporting Role: Mark Urban, Men’s Water Polo
- Female Breakout Athlete of the Year: Brielle Preece, women’s soccer
- Male Breakout Athlete of the Year: Sam Paur, men’s water polo
- Female Newcomer of the Year: Brook Bauer, women’s beach volleyball
- Male Newcomer of the Year: Colbey Ross, Men’s Basketball
- Best Moment of the Year: women’s soccer beating Cal State Fullerton on Bri Visalli’s late goal in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament
- Best Upset of the Year: Women’s Tennis beating Vanderbilt in the semifinals of the 2018 National Team Indoor Championships
- Anchor Award: Brian Fasel, Pepperdine community supporter
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Follow Arthur Puu on Twitter: @arthurpuu
