May 3, 2018
ARLINGTON, Texas - UT Arlington Athletics took a break from the competition on Wednesday night, honoring success in 2017-18 and celebrating the careers of its graduating seniors at College Park Center in the annual All Sports Banquet, presented by Texas Trust Credit Union.
With UTA president Dr. Vistasp Karbhari and First Lady Lisa Karbhari, President and CEO of Texas Trust Jim Minge, representatives from each of the table sponsors, alumni, fans and student-athletes in attendance, it was a night of celebration of the many accomplishments during the 2017-18 academic season in UTA Athletics. From celebrating the women's wheelchair basketball team national championship, to honoring the athletes of the year, awards were a plenty.
"It is always a great night being able to celebrate the achievements of our student-athletes in and out of competition," UTA Director of Athletics Jim Baker said. "The All Sports Banquet gives us a time to honor their accomplishments on the field, on the court, in the classroom and in the community. We have a tremendous set of young men and women that deserve our congratulations for everything that they accomplished this year. I am very proud of all of our Mavericks and look forward to their continued success beyond their time at UT Arlington."
Baker opened the night's activities with a celebration of accomplishments for teams in 2017 that had their success just after the previous year's banquet, honoring the 2017 Baseball squad that captured the Sun Belt West Division title, as well as the Men's Outdoor Track and Field team that won the title on the track.
The events continued as each of UTA's 15 Division I programs and men's and women's wheelchair basketball teams had their seniors recognized as well as a recap of the success.
Led by student-athletes, the night culminated in the awards ceremony of the special awards for individual student-athletes that displayed tremendous success both in and out of competition. The Texas Trust "Star Award" was given to UTA women's track and field team member Chloe Lewis, the SAAC President. The Big Al's Community Service Awards were given to student-athletes that displayed leadership in giving back to the community. The athletes honored were women's basketball's Rebekah VanDijk and baseball's Logan Austin.
Team awards were handed out to the men's and women's squad with the highest GPA. For the sixth consecutive season on the women's side, it was tennis that captured the honor, while the men's side saw UTA baseball coach Darin Thomas accept the award for his squad.
The UTA Maverick Club Student-Athletes of the Year were awarded to Alexus Henry of UTA women's track and field, while the men's honor went to men's basketball's Kevin Hervey.
The B.G. Wilson Scholar-Athletes of the Year were awarded to students that demonstrated the highest regard for being a student-athlete, student first, and athlete second. The women's honor went to VanDijk, while the men's went to UTA tennis' Guanarteme Nuez, who just earlier in the day learned that he had been selected to the 2018 NCAA Singles Championship tournament later in May.
A standing ovation was needed for the final honoree, the winner of the UTA Faculty / Staff Loyalty Award went to Senior Associate Athletic Director John Mocek, who has been a part of the Maverick family since 1974, playing for the baseball team and then taking a journey through the department.
