L-R: Jon Quigley, Mary Carmody, Maurice Sumter, Katie Murphy, Kevin Johnson, Amber Mason
(Ashley Mason not available)
2005-06 ATHLETICS REVIEW (PDF)
April 27, 2006
FARMVILLE, Va. -- Longwood University announced its annual student-athlete award winners at the school’s Athletics Awards Banquet Thursday night in Farmville. The two top award winners for 2005-06 are senior Ashley Mason/Virginia Beach (Princess Anne) and junior Maurice Sumter/Alexandria (T.C. Williams), both basketball players named the female and male Athletes of the Year, respectively. The Lancers are nearing completion of year three of the University’s four-year NCAA Division I Reclassification toward official Division I Certification in September 2007.
Mason, a 5-10 forward on the women’s basketball team (9-19), started 22 games this year while leading the team in scoring (16.4), rebounding (8.6), and field goal percentage (52.0). She had a career-high of 34 points at IPFW (1/28), and tied her career-high of 15 rebounds twice this year while also recording nine double-doubles and ten 20-plus point games. Ashley earned Division I All-Independent 2nd-Team, ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III 1st-Team, and Division I Independent All-Academic Team honors; and was also selected to All-Tournament Teams at the Lancer Invitational, UNC Greensboro, and Virginia Tech. Mason finished her outstanding career with 1,261 points to rank 10th all-time, along with 597 rebounds, 172 assists, 130 steals, and 53 blocks. Ashley is a criminal justice major and the daughter of James Mason and Lisa Mason O’Neal.
Sumter, a 6-5 guard-forward on the men’s basketball team (10-20), started 29 games this year while leading the team in scoring (15.5), steals (1.9), blocks (1.0), and minutes (33.6); adding 5.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists. He had a season-high of 28 points against IPFW (1/30) while recording 25 double-figure scoring games, including five 20-plus point games. Maurice earned Division I All-Independent 1st-Team honors; and was also selected to the College of Charleston Classic All-Tournament Team. Sumter also surpassed 1,000 career points at Liberty (2/13), ranking 13th all-time with 1,087 points. Maurice is a business management major and the son of Maurice Sumter and Nancy Sumter.
The Jimmy Yarbrough Inspiration Award was presented for the first time as well, honoring the memory of and memorializing the former Longwood senior associate director of admissions who died April 14, 2005. The award recognizes a student-athlete who exhibits exemplary performance academically, in intercollegiate competition, and in community service. The initial winner is junior field hockey defender Katie Murphy/Virginia Beach (Princess Anne), also President of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
A complete list of the major award winners is below, and additional student-athlete biographies follow as well.
2005-06 Longwood University Athletics Banquet Award Winners
Female Athlete Of The Year: Ashley Mason/Virginia Beach € Senior € Women’s Basketball
Male Athlete Of The Year: Maurice Sumter/Alexandria € Junior € Men’s Basketball
Jimmy Yarbrough Inspiration Award: Katie Murphy/Virginia Beach € Junior € Field Hockey
Female Henry I. Willett Scholar-Athlete Award: Amber Mason/Virginia Beach € Senior € Women’s Basketball
Male Henry I. Willett Scholar-Athlete Award: Kevin Johnson/Forest € Senior € Men’s Golf
Freshman Female Athlete Of The Year: Mary Carmody/Cortland, New York € Women’s Golf
Freshman Male Athlete Of The Year: Jon Quigley/Annandale € Baseball
JIMMY YARBROUGH INSPIRATION AWARD
KATIE MURPHY
Junior € Field Hockey € Virginia Beach € Princess Anne
Katie is a junior member of the field hockey team from Virginia Beach with a 3.03 GPA while majoring in therapeutic recreation … She started 14 matches this year as a defender with seven defensive saves, third-best in Division I; adding one goal and one assist for three points while helping the team to one shutout and earning one NorPac Conference Defender of the Week honor … Katie competed this year after extensive rehabilitation from preseason surgery for compartment syndrome in all four lower leg muscle compartments … She attended numerous meetings and served on various committees throughout 2005-06 as President of the SAAC … Katie has spent countless volunteer hours with a local cerebral palsy youth, as a ‘Classic Companion’ with an elderly member of the community, at the Holly Manor Nursing Home, and at Camp Respite; and is the daughter of Danny and Sandy Murphy.
JAMES M. YARBROUGH (1957-2005)
As a Longwood University student, Jimmy Yarbrough was a high-scoring guard on the first two men’s basketball teams … Later, as senior associate director of admissions, he worked to find scholarship money so that high school students from disadvantaged backgrounds could attend Longwood … Thus, it’s only appropriate that one of Longwood’s most popular employees, who died April 14, 2005, is being memorialized with a new award for student-athletes that will honor his memory … The Jimmy Yarbrough Inspiration Award, initiated by the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, recognizes a student-athlete who exhibits exemplary performance academically, in intercollegiate competition, and in service to the community … Yarbrough played basketball at Longwood for two years (1976-77 and 1977-78) and still holds the single-game scoring record (46 points) and record for field goals (16) in a game while ranking third in career scoring average (19.5) … Yarbrough, a Longwood alumnus (B.S. ’82, M.S. ’96), died after battling non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma for eight years … He had worked in the admissions office since 1989 and had developed a devoted following among high school students for his legendary skill as a speaker … Yarbrough is survived by his wife, Allie, and three children: Neal, Jason, and Anne.
FEMALE HENRY I. WILLETT SCHOLAR-ATHLETE AWARD
AMBER MASON
Senior € Women’s Basketball € Virginia Beach € Princess Anne
Criminal Justice Major … 3.54 GPA
Amber is a four-year member of the women’s basketball team from Virginia Beach with a 3.54 GPA while majoring in criminal justice … She started 25 games this year while averaging 11.0 points, second-best on the team, and 5.3 rebounds, also second-best on the team … Amber also led the team in assists (2.4), steals (2.0), free throw percentage (69.9), and minutes (32.3) … She earned Division I All-Independent Honorable Mention, Division I Independent All-Academic Team, and Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association Women's Scholar-Athlete Team honors … Amber finished her outstanding career with 1,013 points, 550 rebounds, 240 assists, 242 steals, and 47 blocks; and is the daughter of James Mason and Lisa Mason O’Neal.
MALE HENRY I. WILLETT SCHOLAR-ATHLETE AWARD
KEVIN JOHNSON
Senior € Men’s Golf € Forest € Jefferson Forest
Business Administration Major – Accounting Concentration … 3.42 GPA
Kevin is a four-year member of the golf team from Forest with a 3.42 GPA while majoring in business administration with a concentration in accounting … He played 15 rounds this year while averaging 77.67, fourth-best on the team … Kevin also posted a new school-record for 36-holes with his rounds of 67-65—132 en route to winning the Longwood/Hampden-Sydney Challenge this spring … He is a recipient of the Jay Christopher DeBoer Scholarship, and the Accounting Faculty Award, while also serving on the College of Business & Economics Student Advisory Board … Kevin finished his career with a 78.59 average; and is the son of Daniel Johnson.
FRESHMAN FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
MARY CARMODY
Women’s Golf € Cortland, New York € Cortland
Mary is a member of the golf team from Cortland, New York majoring in kinesiology … She played every round this year while averaging 79.95, second-best on the team … Mary posted a low 18-hole score of 75, a low 36-hole score of 153, and a low 54-hole score of 232 while tying for third-place at the Winthrop Intercollegiate this spring; she is the daughter of Timothy and Adelaide Carmody.
FRESHMAN MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
JON QUIGLEY
Baseball € Annandale € W.T. Woodson
Jon is a member of the baseball team from Annandale majoring in business administration … He has started 39 games this year and has a .291 batting average with other stats that include hits (43), runs (19), doubles (6), home runs (3), RBI (16), and multi-hit (9) games … Jon also sports a .953 fielding percentage as a catcher; and is the son of Miles and Lynne Quigley.
