New York, N.Y. – Isabella Tartaglione and Sam Watson of Mount Saint Mary have been named the 2014-15 Skyline Sporting Award recipients in voting conducted by the league’s directors of athletics.
Tartaglione played at the No. 2 doubles flight and third singles position for the Knights’ women’s tennis team in 2014. The sophomore registered four victories in singles play and added three wins in doubles action this season. Tartaglione was known to frequently congratulate her opponents during matches when they made quality shots, regardless of if she was winning or losing on the court. The Pine Bush, N.Y., native is a two-year participant in both Relay For Life and Campus Orientation, a member of Student Government, and serves as a tour guide for the MSMC Admissions Office.
A team captain this past season during his junior campaign, Watson placed first in the 200-yard backstroke (2:06.95) and second in the 100-yard backstroke (58.55) at the 2015 Skyline Swimming Championships (Jan. 30-31) as MSMC finished second overall. The Groton, Conn., resident also volunteered to swim the 1,000-yard freestyle for the Knights at the Championship despite just one career start in the event in an effort to help the team obtain more points in the team standings.
Watson works with Catholic Charities of Newburgh, volunteers at the AARP Tax-Aide Program, and participates in both Relay For Life and The Giving Tree, sponsored by Campus Ministry. He is also a member of the Mathematics Honors Society, and tutors teammates in math and business while running a weekly study hall for the team this season.
“Overall, Sam Watson is one of the most caring and genuine individuals I’ve ever had the pleasure of coaching. He is goal-oriented and has extremely high expectations of himself - both in the classroom and in the pool - and holds his teammates accountable to the team goals and their individual goals,” says Mount Saint Mary head coach Danielle Lindner.
Nominees for the Skyline Sporting Awards must be named to his/her sport’s All-Sportsmanship team in the fall, winter or spring of the current academic year, be in good academic standing, embody the highest standards of leadership, integrity and sporting conduct, demonstrate enthusiasm about the sport in which they compete and have noteworthy act(s) of sporting conduct during the specified academic year. A total of 139 student-athletes were named to the All-Sportsmanship teams of the league’s 17 sports during the 2014-15 academic year.
Joanie Cooney of Sage and Maritime’s Dave Sparozic were the inaugural recipients of the Skyline Sporting Awards in 2013-14. From 2007-2013, the Skyline Conference instituted the Sportsmanship Trophy to gauge team sportsmanship among its member schools.