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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Apthorpe, Chiricosta Earn MAC Medal of Excellence
May 13, 2014 | Baseball, Women's Tennis
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The Medal of Excellence is a newly-created award which will be presented annually to a total of 24 individuals -- one male and one female student-athlete from the graduating class of each of the 12 conference member institutions.
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"The Medal of Excellence Award is a reinforcement of the core values that we as a conference and each of our member institutions all possess with excellence in academics, athletics, leadership and service," said MAC Commissioner, Jon A. Steinbrecher. "We congratulate all of our 24 Medal of Excellence Award winners."
Apthorpe, a native of Windham, Ohio (Windham H.S.), was recently named the Senior Male Scholar Athlete of the Year at Bowling Green's Athletics Honors Night. He is currently fourth all-time at BGSU for career innings pitched. Apthorpe has served as a captain in each of the past three seasons, and has been the Falcons' Opening Day starter in each of those seasons as well. He is the only player to be named a three-time captain in Danny Schmitz's 24-year head coaching career, and just the second in the school's 95-year history.
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Last season, Apthorpe became just the first player since 1999 to start 17 games for the Falcons, starting two games in the MAC Tournament and one game in the NCAA Tournament. In the MAC Tournament, Apthorpe tossed seven scoreless innings against Toledo, picking up the win to send BGSU to the Championship game. He was named Academic All-MAC last season, and was a semifinalist for the Senior CLASS Award earlier this season.
Chiricosta, a native of Avon Lake, Ohio (Avon Lake H.S.), ended her career as the winningest player in BGSU history. Her school-record total of 190 career victories as a Falcon included 96 singles victories, also a program record. She finished her BG career with 94 doubles wins, good for second on that school list.
In her senior season, Chiricosta was named the MAC Player of the Year -- becoming the first-ever Falcon to win that award -- and was named to the all-conference first team as well. Additionally, she was the female recipient of the Falcon Medal of Honor, the highest award given by the BGSU Department of Athletics. BGSU's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) President in 2013-14, she has earned Academic All-MAC honors in each of her first two seasons of eligibility, and has been named an ITA Scholar Athlete in each of her first three seasons (note: those awards have not yet been announced for 2013-14).
On the court, Chiricosta had a 41-23 record as a senior, leading the Falcons in singles (19), doubles (22) and total wins for head coach Penny Dean. In league play, she posted a 6-2 singles mark at the top flight, and went 5-2 in doubles action.
The MAC's Medal of Excellence Award winners will be recognized during Tuesday evening's Honors Dinner Ceremony at the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel as part of the MAC Spring Meetings.
To be honored with the Medal of Excellence Award, student-athletes had to participate on the varsity level in a conference sponsored sport and shown evidence of academic success with a minimum 3.50 accumulative grade-point average, exhibited athletics excellence, leadership and service. Selection of the recipients was made by each MAC institution.
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2014 MAC Medal of Excellence Award Winners
Akron: Reinaldo Brenes (men's soccer); Ariane Beaumont-Courteau (women's track & field)
Ball State: Tyler Merkel (men's golf); Audrey Bickel (softball)
Bowling Green: Cody Apthorpe (baseball); Nicole Chiricosta (women's tennis)
Buffalo: William Regan (men's basketball); Kristen Sharkey (women's basketball)
Central Michigan: Kyle Smith (men's track & field/cross country; Simone Lazar (field hockey)
Eastern Michigan: Cy Maughmer (football); Stephanie Clarke (women's soccer)
Kent State: Nathaniel Vance (football); Jessacca Gironda (women's soccer/softball)
Miami: Mason Krysinski (football); Sarah Mueller (field hockey)
Northern Illinois: Richard Connors (football); Kimberly Gotlund (gymnastics)
Ohio: Travis Wilkins (men's basketball); Juliane Accurso (women's track & field/cross country)
Toledo: Zachary Kerin (football); Lauren Rafdal (volleyball)
Western Michigan: Oliver Mayer (men's soccer); Michelle Watson (women's soccer)
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