Frank Applebaum (l) and Jenna Holmes (r) were CMS Athletes of the Year
Frank Applebaum (l) and Jenna Holmes (r) were CMS Athletes of the Year

CMS Announces Year-End Awards, Applebaum, Holmes Earn Athlete of the Year Honors

CLAREMONT, Calif. - The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps athletics department announced its annual year-end awards today, with Frank Applebaum of men's swimming and diving earning the CMS Male Athlete of the Year and Jenna Holmes of volleyball capturing the CMS Female Athlete of the Year, in a vote of the department's head coaches and support staff.

In addition to Applebuam and Holmes, Augusta Lewis of women's swimming and diving captured two awards (CMC Female Athlete of the Year, CMC Senior Female Athlete of the Year), as did Robert Liu of men's tennis (CMC Senior Male Athlete of the Year, Henry Krieger Award). Henry Pick of men's cross country/track and field earned the Harvey Mudd Athlete of the Year, while Scripps' three honors went to Caroline DelVecchio of track and field (Scripps Athlete of the Year), Ava Sealander of swimming and diving (Scripps Alumnae Athlete of the Year), and Riley Harmon of cross country/track and field (Noelle and Veronique Boucquey Outstanding Scholar-Athlete Award). Samay Rahim of men's soccer was the Claremont McKenna Dickinson Award winner, while Thomas Fleming of cross country/track and field won the Male Scholar-Athlete Award and Ananya Koneti of softball was the Female Scholar-Athlete Award recipient. 

Applebaum, who also won the Claremont McKenna Male Athlete of the Year, in addition to the department-wide honor, was chosen after winning a national championship in the 200-yard butterfly, while setting a new NCAA Division III record in the process with a time of 1:44.01, knocking over a half-second off the old record. He also earned first-team All-America honors in the 100 fly by finishing fifth, and was a part of a 400-yard medley relay team that finished second. 

Holmes had an immediate impact on the CMS volleyball team in her debut sophomore season, earning second-team All-America honors and the SCIAC Newcomer of the Year award. She helped the Athenas to their first-ever undefeated season in SCIAC play, was named the Most Outstanding Player of the SCIAC Tournament after leading the Athenas to the title, and was named to the NCAA Division III All-Tournament team after totaling 18 kills in the national semifinals against Calvin. 

Lewis capped off a stellar career with the swimming and diving program by earning All-America honors in three different individual events with top-four finishes, finishing second in the 400 IM, third in the 200 IM and fourth in the 200 breast. She also swept the IM events at the SCIAC Championships for the third time in her three seasons, finishing her career with seven individual league titles and two SCIAC Swimmer of the Year Awards. 

Liu had a spectacular senior season by vaulting to the top of the CMS singles lineup and compiling a 22-5 record. His only two dual losses in the regular season came to Division I USC and to Stan Morris of Middlebury, the eventual NCAA Division III singles champion. He earned All-America honors in the fall by winning the ITA West Regional and advancing to the ITA Cup quarterfinals, and then earned the No. 4 seed in the NCAA singles championship in the spring, while leading CMS to a 27-7 final record and its 11th straight regional title. 

Pick earned All-America honors in both the fall and the spring for CMS, finishing third at the NCAA Division III cross country championships while breaking the program record for an 8K race by over 40 seconds. He followed that up with a fourth-place finish in the 5000 meters at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the spring, earning All-America for the second time. In addition, the was named the SCIAC Men's Cross Country Athlete of the Year after winning the league championship for the second time. 

DelVecchio earned the Scripps Athlete of the Year honor after also earning All-America distinction in the spring, finishing sixth in the 400-meter hurdles. She was the SCIAC Champion in both the 100 and the 400 hurdles, and set a new CMS record in the 400-meter hurdles at the Bryan Clay Invitational, which she broke twice thereafter, including a 1:00.65 at nationals. Her efforts at SCIACs winning two events and contributing to a second-place relay helped CMS win its sixth straight league title with a narrow 24-point win over Redlands. 

Sealander earned the Scripps Alumnae Award, given to a Scripps senior who has outstanding athletic abilities as well as a deep involvement with campus participation/service on Scripps campus. Their athletic career was capped off by an All-American finish in the 100-yard butterfly, as well as All-SCIAC honors in three events. Sealander's name is on top of the CMS record books for three different relay splits (50 free, 50 fly, 100 fly) and also impacted the Scripps community through work with SAAC, research in the Keck Science Department and with BLEND, the school's affinity club serving mixed race/ethnicity students. 

Harmon earned the Noëlle and Veronique Boucquey Outstanding Scholar-Athlete Award from Scripps, established in 2006 by Thierry Boucquey, current Professor of French at the College, in honor of his daughters to honor a Scripps senior who has displayed athletic and academic achievement. Harmon was an All-American for the cross country team in the fall, the second time she earned that distinction, helping CMS to a second-place finish at nationals, just two points out of first. She also qualified for two events (5000 meters, steeplechase) in track and field season, earning the league title in the steeplechase. 

Rahim earned the Dickinson Award, given to a Claremont McKenna student-athlete who typifies those qualities of athletic participation which are beneficial to the student body in campus life as well as on the athletic fields. He served as the captain of a men's soccer team that went undefeated in the regular season against Division III competition for the first time in program history, earning first-team All-SCIAC and second-team all-region honors. He also was a familiar face around the athletic department through his role as a student worker with the recreation department and served as a mentor to his younger peers. 

Fleming was the CMS representative on the SCIAC's Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year honor, after graduating from Harvey Mudd with above a 3.95 GPA in computer science and mathematics. His career included a fifth-place finish in the 10000 meters in track and field, when he cracked the top 10 in school history, and he returned from injury this year to set PRs in both the 3000 and the 5000. 

Koneti, who also graduated with above a 3.95 as a science management major at Claremont McKenna, was a starter on the CMS softball team since her freshman season, when she helped the Athenas to a SCIAC regular season title and NCAA berth. She was hitting over .400 as a sophomore before the COVID shutdown, and earned the SCIAC Hitter of the Week honor once this season. She will be taking a gap year before attending medical school.

2021-22 CMS Year-End Award Winners

CMS Female Athlete of the Year: Jenna Holmes, Volleyball 
CMS Male Athlete of the Year: Frank Applebaum, Swimming and Diving
Claremont McKenna Female Athlete of the Year: Augusta Lewis, Swimming and Diving
Claremont McKenna Male Athlete of the Year: Frank Applebaum, Swimming and Diving
Harvey Mudd Athlete of the Year: Henry Pick, Cross Country/Track and Field
Scripps Athlete of the Year: Caroline DelVecchio, Track and Field
CMC Senior Female Athlete of the Year: Augusta Lewis, Swimming and Diving
CMC Senior Male Athlete of the Year: Robert Liu, Tennis       
Henry Krieger Award: Robert Liu, Men's Tennis                             
CMC Dickinson Award: Samay Rahim, Men's Soccer                
Scripps Alumnae Athlete of the Year: Ava Sealander, Swimming and Diving                   
Scripps Noelle and Veronique Boucquey Award: Riley Harmon, Cross Country/Track and Field      
SCIAC Male Scholar-Athlete Award: Thomas Fleming, Cross Country/Track and Field      
SCIAC Female Scholar-Athlete Award: Ananya Koneti, Softball