UNF announces annual awards

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Four University of North Florida student-athletes donned annual athletic department accolades for their achievements during the Ospreys' and Lady Ospreys' final season of transition into NCAA Division I competition, the UNF Athletic Department announced Friday.

The end-of-the-year awards were given to the following student-athletes:

Male Athlete of the Year: John Frawley, Senior (Baseball)

Female Athlete of the Year: Ashley Battaglia, Junior (Softball)

Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Will Pearce, Junior (Track/Cross Country)

Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Patricia Lanoue, Sophomore (Swimming)

Frawley, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla., native, defied the odds and came back from arm surgery and nagging injuries throughout his career to make 2009 a season to remember. He has already tied the UNF single-season record for shutouts, blanking both Campbell and Lipscomb.

An accounting major, Frawley has pitched four complete-game wins in a row and is a perfect 4-0 in conference play while compiling a 5-1 overall record. He leads the team in strikeouts and ERA, and he has been named the Atlantic Sun Conference Pitcher of the Week twice.

One of the best all-around catchers in the history of UNF softball, Battaglia originally came to UNF as an infielder and quickly made the adjustment to catcher. Last year she hit better than .300 and threw out more than 60 percent of would-be base stealers in earning All-Atlantic Sun Conference honors.

This season, Battaglia, a criminal justice major from Hollywood, Fla., led the team in hits, batting average, home runs, RBI and doubles, and her 25 doubles leads the Atlantic Sun and set the school record for doubles in a season.

Pearce has maintained a 3.82 grade point average as a biology major this year while running both cross country and track events for the Ospreys. He made an immediate impact for the Ospreys after joining the squad in January 2008. Pearce has finished as the runner-up at the Atlantic Sun Indoor Championships in the 1500 meters the last two years as well as the conference runner-up in the outdoor 1500.

This year, he is looking to better that spot at the Outdoor Championships and currently holds the best 1500 time in the conference. Pearce also has the third-best 1500 time in UNF history, behind Jerry Reckart and UNF Olympian Zeph Joseph. During the fall, Pearce was the team's No. 1 runner on the cross country squad, finishing 19^th at the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship. Pearce is a Jacksonville native.

Lanoue has accumulated a 3.98 grade point average as a member of the Lady Osprey swimming team. From Pointe-Claire, Quebec, Canada, Lanoue shattered the UNF record in the 200-butterfly, swimming the event in 2.03.75 at this year's Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association Championships to finish in second place and earning all-conference honors in the process. She also teamed with teammates Megan Boudreau, Sara Taylor and Lyn Ann Nelson to set a record in the 800-freestyle relay at the CCSAs. Lanoue is pursuing her bachelor's degree in health science.

The Athlete of the Year honor is presented to both a male and female student-athlete that performs at the highest level on the field or court of competition during the year – thereby helping his/her team to great achievement. The Scholar-Athlete of the Year homage is given annually to a male and female student-athlete recognized as the best of the best, performing at the highest level both in the classroom and on the field.

UNF completed its final season of probationary competition at the NCAA Division I level and will join the highest ranks of collegiate competition as a full-fledged Division I member in 2009-10, making the Ospreys and Lady Ospreys eligible for NCAA and A-Sun postseason play.

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