The Athlete of the Month Award is something that has been around for a long time, and for years it has provided a platform for the very best athletes to be recognized for their talents, hard work, and endurance.

For Pace athletes, this award allows athletes from any sport to gain some recognition for their excellence in a given month, even if it’s one of the less popular sports on campus.

That was the case for sophomore cross-country star Sara Digiovanna, who was the female Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) Athlete of the Month for September. Digiovanna was recognized after putting up some big numbers, including having one of the fastest times for any cross country runner in four years, with a time of 19:37 back on Sep. 14, when the cross country team competed at the Long Island University Post Invitational.

“Being named athlete of the month was pretty exciting,” said

Digiovanna, who also posted a time of less than 19 minutes in two 5K runs. “Cross country isn’t a sport people really care or know much about so it was nice to see that my hard work wasn’t forgotten.”

Another student that was recognized for the month of Sep. was junior wide receiver Cameron Davis, who had 22 receptions for 340 yards, resulting in three touchdowns for the Setters in their first four games of the season, while also posting career highs with 10 receptions for 133 yards and one touchdown in the September 28 game against Merrimack College.

While this is a great opportunity for athletes to get recognized, it’s also good for students, faculty, and other athletes on different teams.

“I think the ‘athlete of the month’ is a great idea because it gives people on campus and in other sports information on athletes that may not be on their team,” Digiovanna said.

This award allows any athlete to be recognized, giving students the opportunity to learn about different athletes on campus as they see their accomplishments. It can also promote a healthy rivalry between teammates, as junior marketing major Priscilla Modesto suggested.
“As these athletes gain recognition for their accomplishments, it can also create some healthy competition between teammates, and push them to want to be the best they can be each week,” Modesto said.

Students can vote for the athletes of the month by tweeting their picks to the Pace Athletics twitter account.