Valparaiso University’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) announced its year-end awards on Sunday evening at the seventh annual Athletic Recognition Ceremony (ARC) Awards.

Sophomore men’s basketball player Alec Peters (Washington, Ill./Washington) was named Valparaiso’s Male Student-Athlete of the Year, while junior women’s soccer player Rita Craven (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way North) was honored as the Female Student-Athlete of the Year. Freshman men’s basketball player Tevonn Walker (Montreal, Quebec/Vanier College) earned Male Newcomer of the Year accolades, and redshirt freshman women’s soccer player Vanesa Abad (Barrington, Ill./Lake Zurich [Ohio State]) received Female Newcomer of the Year honors.

Peters was named Male Student-Athlete of the Year after cementing himself as one of the top mid-major underclassmen in the country. Peters paced the Crusaders with 16.8 points and 6.7 rebounds per game in 2014-15, claiming Horizon League Tournament MVP accolades after being named a First Team All-League honoree. The sophomore, who also was a First Team All-Region choice, ranked among the top-20 in the nation in 3-point percentage (46.6%) and finished among the top-10 in the nation in Ken Pomeroy’s Offensive Efficiency metric.

Craven earned Female Student-Athlete of the Year honors after completing a standout junior campaign on both sides of the ball for the Horizon League champion Crusaders. Craven became the first NSCAA All-American in program history, earning Third Team All-American accolades after being named Horizon League Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year. She tallied five goals, four of which were match-winners, and three assists, finishing in a tie for second on the team with 13 points. Her four match-winners matched Valpo’s single-season record.

Walker picked up the Male Newcomer of the Year award after making an immediate impact on the court for Valpo as a rookie. Walker was a Horizon League All-Freshman Team selection, starting all but one of Valpo’s 34 games and averaging 10.3 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. The freshman led the Crusaders with 37 steals, and ranked among the league’s top-15 in league-only play in three different categories.  Walker scored in double figures 18 times on the season as well.

Abad received Female Newcomer of the Year accolades after picking up Horizon League Freshman of the Year honors following a strong debut season for the Crusader women’s soccer team. Abad tallied six goals on the season and added an assist as well, ranking among the top-ten in the league in both goals and points. Both of Abad’s goals within Horizon League play were of the match-winning variety, as she scored the eventual winners at Wright State and at Green Bay.

In addition Sunday, junior men’s tennis player Brian Hickey (Western Springs, Ill./Fenwick) was the recipient of the Bill Steinbrecher Sportsmanship Award and senior women’s basketball player Jessica Carr (Arcadia, Ind./Hamilton Heights) received the Rebecca D. Carter Memorial Award, given to the male and female student-athletes who have best exemplified integrity and sportsmanship while representing Valparaiso University. 

The Coaching Staff of the Year award went to the women’s soccer coaching staff – head coach John Marovich and assistant coaches Vanessa Vella and Kelly Sherwood – for their work leading the Crusaders to the best season in program history, an undefeated Horizon League campaign, a league title and a trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Director of athletics Mark LaBarbera also presented the inaugural Anderson-Hoffman Memorial Service Award, named in honor of former student-athletes Roger Anderson and Greg Hoffman – Anderson, a cross country and track athlete, was killed in action in Vietnam in 1968, while Hoffman, a men’s basketball player, passed away in Japan in 1968 while serving as a Prince of Peace volunteer. The inaugural award went to men’s soccer senior Tom Serratore (Tinley Park, Ill./Andrew), whose tireless work in organizing the annual St. Baldrick’s fundraiser has helped result in over $150,000 being raised to fight childhood cancers in the last five years.

The awards were voted on by SAAC, which has representatives from all 21 of Valparaiso’s athletic teams. In addition, each Crusader team had a team award presented at Sunday night’s awards ceremony. The night’s program also featured recognition of all the student-athletes who have earned athletic or academic honors this year and a number of highlight and parody videos throughout the show, including a closing video featuring all of the athletic department’s graduating seniors.