Watch the Awards Ceremony on Demand
HAVERFORD, Pa. - The Haverford College athletic department celebrated its Class of 2021 at its annual Senior Student-Athlete Award Ceremony, held on Swan Field Monday afternoon.
Director of Athletics Wendy Smith '87 welcomed everybody in attendance and many more who tuned in online to help pay tribute to Haverford's senior student-athletes. Professor of Economics Anne Preston gave a toast to the senior student-athletes and spoke to their many contributions to the College. Softball captain Johanna Batterton '21 represented the senior class as she gave her personal reflection about what being a student-athlete at Haverford means not only for the past four years but for the rest of this group's life as they make the transition to alumni.
Always one of the highlights of the awards ceremony, the senior student-athlete tribute video was made available online prior to the outdoor event. The video highlighted the department's achievements in competition, the classroom, and the community and is still available on-demand through the links at the top of the article. The top 10 moments from the year were also profiled leading up to the event and are available at the top of this page.
Before the Senior Student-Athlete Awards were presented, seniors who have broken a significant college record during their time with the Fords were highlighted. Senior record holders from the Class of 2021 were Roxy Vassighi (field hockey), Fitz Dougherty (men's squash), Julianna Clark (women's basketball), Julia Pascarella (women's lacrosse), and Emma Souter (softball).
Smith closed out the night by unveiling the winners of the senior awards as determined by the athletic department and presented to the senior athletes by their respective coaches. The A.W. "Pop" Haddleton Award is given for perseverance, dedication, and loyalty, recognizing senior student-athletes for outstanding contribution to an athletic team but who may not have received the recognition that, for example, a regular starting player does. Nathan Akerhielm (men's cross country; track & field) and Marly Banatte (women's cross country; track & Field) earned this award for their commitment to their teams which helped lead both programs to great achievements during their four-year careers at Haverford.
The Stephen G. Cary '37 Award, which is given to the senior who has made the greatest overall impact on the Haverford athletic program through a combination of athletic participation and achievement, leadership, sportsmanship, and off-field athletic department involvement, was presented to Roxy Vassighi of the field hockey team.
Vassighi, a captain of the squad, was an honorable mention All-Centennial Conference selection in 2019, and paced the team in goals (9) and assists (19) that season as the Fords sprinted out to a 4-0 start and received votes in the NFHCA Coaches Poll in September. A vocal leader on the field, she is the program record-holder for assists in a single contest (4), a feat she achieved in a conference triumph over Washington College. As a key member of the penalty corner offense for the Fords, Vassighi will leave Haverford in the top 15 in program history for assists (12) and in the top 10 for assists per game. Off the field, she is a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and serves on the anti-racism subcommittee. Vassighi is also a member of the Oxford Blues A Capella group and was a student worker in the athletic training office, assisting in the training room and with game day operations during the winter and spring seasons.
The Gregory Kannerstein '63 Award, formerly the Alumni-Varsity Club Award, was presented to Julianna Clark (women's basketball), Fitz Dougherty (men's squash), and Jesse Turkson (men's basketball). The Kannerstein Award is presented to an individual or individuals whose combination of outstanding athletic achievement and leadership has been a significant factor in a team's competitive success and whose level of performance has brought distinction not only to the individual, but also the entire athletic program.
Clark helped the Haverford College women's basketball program to new heights with a standout career that began with the Centennial Conference Rookie of the Year award during the 2017-18 campaign. Clark led the Fords in three-pointers made that season (39) as Haverford earned an at-large berth in the NCAA tournament. Proving to be an academic force as well, the economics major was named Haverford's Archibald Macintosh '21 Award winner, an honor given to the top scholar-athlete in the first year class each academic year. Clark drilled a game-winner against Johns Hopkins in the Centennial Conference semifinals during that sophomore campaign as the Fords eventually ran past Gettysburg in the final to clinch the first of back-to-back Centennial Conference titles. Clark finishes her career ranked in the top five in program history in three-point field goals made (131) and three-point field goal percentage (.331). She was named second-team All-Centennial Conference last season, ranking in the top 10 in the conference in points, points per game, and field goals made. Clark leaves Haverford as the program's all-time single-game three-pointers made record holder with seven in a December contest at Franklin & Marshall.
Dougherty left an indelible mark on the men's squash program, and he was named a team captain in each of the last two seasons. He posted a team best 13-6 record during the 2019-20 campaign, seeing action near the top of the ladder. Dougherty is tied for fifth in program history with 40 career wins in just three seasons of intercollegiate action, and looked poised to take over the career wins record during his senior season. Dougherty remains etched into the program annals as he will graduate as Haverford's career winning percentage leader among players with at least 15 wins (40-12, .769 winning percentage). Dougherty also made history during his first season on campus, starting his tenure with the most wins by a first year player in program history (14). Named to the Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area team after the 2018-19 campaign, he became just the seventh men's player in program history to earn that distinction. He is also a two-time College Squash Association (CSA) Scholar-Athlete.
Turkson helped the men's basketball team make its first playoff appearance in nine years during the 2019-20 season as the Fords won 16 games for their second-highest total in program history. Joining a program that had won just four games the season prior to his arrival, Turkson was right in the middle of the Fords' resurgence as just the sixth first-team All-Centennial Conference selection in program history during his junior campaign. He was named the conference's player of the week twice during that season as ranked second in the Centennial in rebounding (8.2 reb./g) and seventh in scoring (14.4 ppg). He went for double figures 20 times that season. Turkson finished his career fourth in field goal percentage (.537), eighth in rebounds per game (7.9), and 10th in blocked shots (58). His 821 career points came in just 71 career games, an average of 11.6 points per night.
Emma Souter was the final award winner of the night as she received the Varsity Cup as the most outstanding athlete of the senior class. Souter was a unanimous selection for the Centennial Conference Player of the Year following the 2019 season when she led the softball team to first-place in the Centennial Conference regular season standings. During that season, Souter led the Centennial Conference in hits (52), doubles (18), total bases (85), and sacrifice flies (5), while ranking second in batting average (.397) and slugging percentage (.649). Nevertheless, her impact was immediate as those stats came just one year after she led all CC players in slugging percentage (.699) during her rookie season. In both of those years, Souter helped the Fords to the Centennial Conference Championship series. With a flair for the dramatic, it was her two-out grand slam in the seventh inning of the conference tournament that lifted the Fords into the 2018 championship game. Souter was a major reason why Haverford was the preseason favorite to capture the Centennial Conference Championship in 2020. Even with nearly two full seasons canceled, Souter graduates as the school record holder in career batting average (.395) and career slugging percentage (.640). She finishes her career ranked among the top players in program history in 13 different career categories.