FORT MYERS, FLA. – One of FGCU's highest individual honors has been announced today as rising junior O'Vonte Mullings (men's soccer), Evdokia Popadinova (women's soccer) and Keri Jewett-Giles (women's basketball) have been selected as the 2019-20 Most Outstanding Athletes. The trio will be honored this fall at the annual Student-Athlete Welcome Back Picnic.
 
The award recognizes the annual top overall female and male FGCU student-athlete as voted on by the coaching and administrative staff. To be part of the initial candidate pool, student-athletes needed to have earned all-conference first-team honors (or second-team honors for 2019-20 only) or have been named as a league player of the year (or superlative player of the year) in their respective sport.
 
"We congratulate three extremely well-deserving honorees, each of whom had another tremendous season in the Green & Blue," said Director of Athletics Ken Kavanagh. "Wishing all of our spring sports had been able to complete their seasons to have been considered, but nonetheless, it was still very impressive to witness the depth of our finalists pool, especially amongst our incredibly talented women."
 
For Popadinova, this was the second time she has earned the accolade after being part of a trio of women selected in 2018-19. She is the seventh all-time FGCU student-athlete to receive the award in multiple years: Kelly Powe (Softball – 2004, 2005), Kate Schrader (Basketball – 2006, 2007), Sarah Hansen (Basketball – 2012, 2013), Jordi Vives (Men's Tennis – 2014, 2015), Whitney Knight (Basketball – 2015, 2016), and Tabby Tindell (Soccer – 2015, 2017).

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KERI JEWETT-GILES – WOMEN'S BASKETBALL – FORT MYERS, FLA. – DUNBAR HS – SOUTHERN MISS
WBCA Honorable Mention All-American … ASUN Player of the Year … Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Semifinalist … All-ASUN First Team … Produced a team-high 16.6 points per game while chipping in four rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.6 steals per contest while starting all 33 contests … Averaged 17.7 points in ASUN play while tallying seven games with 20-plus points …  Shot 203-for-466 (.436) from the field, including 64-for-196 (.327) from 3-point range while making 78-for-104 (.750) from the foul line … Reached 1,000 career points vs Saint Francis … Career-high 35 points on 12-for-20 shooting (5-for-7 from 3-point range) vs LSU … Finished 80th in the nation in assist to turnover ratio (1.83), 41st in total points (548), 18th in steals (85), and 25th in steals per game among other stats … Broke program's Division I era single-season scoring average record … Also shattered program's records for total points and single-season average in ASUN regular season play … One of just three players in program's Division I era to record a 500-point season (548), falling just 22 points shy of breaking the record before the season was cut short due to CoVID-19 … In ASUN play, finished sixth in assists per game and led the conference in steals per game (2.9) … Ranked 12th nationally among all Division I players in career steals and resided in the top 50 in assists and the top 100 in points … 21 points and eight assists vs Saint Francis (11/22) … 12 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals against Notre Dame (11/28) … 19 points and six rebounds vs No. 20 USF (11/29) … 24 points on 8-for-13 shooting vs South Dakota State (11/30) … 20 points vs Temple (12/22) … 22 points, career-high 10 rebounds, six assists and four steals vs Liberty (1/6) … 25 points vs North Alabama (1/18) … Three 25-point games total for the year plus 12 20-plus point games.
 
"I am extremely honored to be selected as one of the best student-athletes at FGCU this year," said Jewett-Giles. "I am grateful for the experience I was able to have as an Eagle and proud of what we were able to accomplish together on the court. This is an amazing group of all-time student-athletes to be among and I am thankful to all who helped support me during my career." 
 
"Keri had a remarkable season. She has grown so much as a player the past three years improving her game in every area," said head women's basketball coach Karl Smesko. "She is incredibly well-rounded and is a high-volume, high-efficiency scorer, as well as an exceptional defender. Keri has worked diligently on the court and in the classroom. She is very deserving of this honor."

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O'VONTE MULLINGS – MEN'S SOCCER – TORONTO, ONTARIO – NORTHVIEW HEIGHTS SECONDARY
All-ASUN First Team (unanimous pick) for a second-straight season … All-Atlantic Region Third Team selection … ASUN All-Tournament … Led the Eagles with 20 points scoring nine goals while dishing out two assists … Netted three game-winners … Scored two goals on two occasions, both proving to be wins for the Eagles … All three of his game-winning goals came in ASUN play: at Lipscomb, at Liberty, and against North Florida … Eagles were 6-1 overall when he scored a goal in a match.
 
"I want to thank those who supported me for this prestigious honor," said Mullings. "I could not have had the season I produced without the help of our entire coaching staff, my teammates, and most importantly, my family support system back home in Canada. I'm excited on what we can build on going into the 2020 season and I'm looking forward to getting back to campus and continuing the work towards bringing back another ASUN title and NCAA berth."

"O'Vonte is more than a special talent - he is widely appreciated and respected for his passion for the game, his work ethic, and his consistency in all realms," said head men's soccer coach Jesse Cormier. "He is an exceptional student-athlete who is always striving to improve and excel. His positive impact and leadership in the program is also growing each day, as he has now become an influential upperclassman."

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EVDOKIA POPADINOVA – WOMEN'S SOCCER – HADZHIDIMOVO, BULGARIA – NIKOLA VAPTSAROV – NORTHWESTERN OHIO
United Soccer Coaches Third Team All-American … United Soccer Coaches Third Team Scholar All-American … United Soccer Coaches All-South Region First Team … ASUN Player of the Year … All-ASUN First Team (unanimous) … ASUN All-Tournament Team … Earned All-American honors for the second-consecutive year, making her one of two FGCU women's soccer players to be named All-American twice … The eighth FGCU student-athlete to receive All-American recognition … Became the fifth player in program history to earn ASUN Player of the Year honors after being named Preseason Player of the Year … Was unanimously selected to the ASUN's First Team All-Conference … Earned a spot on the All-Academic Team for the first time in her career, as well as a place on the First Team Academic All-District list … Found the back of the net during the ASUN Tournament and was named to the ASUN All-Tournament team for her efforts … Led the league in regular-season conference goals (six) and points (13) … Totaled 24 points off 11 goals and two assists … Finished her career ranked second all-time in game-winning goals (11), third in career goals (25), sixth all-time in points (59) … Started all 17 matches for the Eagles … Netted her first goal of the season during the victory over Northeastern … Contributed a combined seven points during the wins over Creighton and Marshall … Tallied three multi-goal games, two of which came during conference play.
 
"I am extremely thankful to be chosen among the most outstanding athletes at FGCU! I enjoyed every single minute the last two years and I will forever be grateful for my experience," said Popadinova. "I want to thank my coaches, my teammates and everyone who was involved with my successes. It's a huge honor to leave as a repeat recipient of the most outstanding athlete award. I hope that for the future I will continue to represent the best of FGCU at the professional level!" 
 
"This caps off an amazing year for Evi and we are so proud of everything that she has accomplished," said head women's soccer coach Jim Blankenship. "Although she has already been recognized on a national platform, to have her again receive such a prestigious award from FGCU Athletics is really exciting. She has put in as much work and was as dedicated to her game and the school as anyone I've ever coached. She was a force both within the conference and nationally, and I think that she perfectly encompasses what the Most Outstanding Athlete Award signifies. We cannot wait to see what she accomplishes next and feel like she has unlimited potential that we hope to see her pursue in the future." OTHER 2019-20 CANDIDATES:
SHAK ADAMS (M. Soccer) - All-Atlantic Region Third Team, All-ASUN First Team, ASUN All-Tournament
THOMAS DELPLACE (M. Soccer) - All-ASUN First Team … ASUN All-Tournament
LUCAS KIPROTICH (Cross Country) - All-ASUN Second Team
RYAN MEDILAH (M. Soccer) - All-ASUN First Team
AUSTIN REDONDO (Cross Country) - All-ASUN Second Team
TYTIONIA ADDERLY (W. Basketball) - ASUN Defensive Player of the Year … All-ASUN First Team 
DANA AXNER (Volleyball) - AVCA First Team All-Southeast Region … ASUN Defensive Player of the Year … All-ASUN First Team … ASUN All-Tournament Team
MARJORIE BOILESEN (W. Soccer) - 2019 United Soccer Coaches All-South Region First Team … All-ASUN First Team
OPAL CURLESS (W. Soccer) - CoSIDA Second Team Academic All-American
WIKTORIA CZARNECKA (Swimming) – All-CCSA First Team, 3x All-CCSA Second Team, All-CCSA Third Team
LAURA EDMONDS (W. Golf) - ASUN All-Conference Team
SARAH EDWARDS (W. Golf) - ASUN All-Conference Team
PETRA HALMAI (Swimming) - CSCAA All-American … CCSA Swimmer of the Year … NCAA Qualifier … 2x All-CCSA First Team – 3x All-CCSA Second Team
LINDSEY PATTON (W. Soccer) - United Soccer Coaches Third Team Scholar All-American … United Soccer Coaches All-South Region First Team … ASUN Defensive Player of the Year … All-ASUN First Team … ASUN All-Tournament Team
JULIA RODRIGUEZ (Swimming) – All-CCSA First Team, 2x All-CCSA Second Team
ERIN SHOMAKER (Volleyball) - ASUN Freshman of the Year … ASUN All-Freshmen Team
CORTNEY VANLIEW (Volleyball) - AVCA Honorable Mention All-Southeast Region … ASUN Player of the Year … All-ASUN First Team
REESE WAKEFIELD (Diving) - CCSA Diver of the Year … CCSA Conference Championships Diver of the Meet
 

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PREVIOUS AWARD WINNERS
2018-19: Preston Kilwien (M. Soccer) & Cortney VanLiew (Volleyball/Beach Volleyball)/Evdokia Popadinova (W. Soccer)/Nasrin Ulel (W. Basketball)

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ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 82 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 13 seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just nine seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 38 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Seven FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport – including women's basketball (No. 24, 2019-20) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as three of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green and Blue posted a department-best sixth-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors' Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. In 2018-19, the Eagles had an ASUN and state of Florida best seven teams earn the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate (APR) in their sport and have had the highest percentage of teams so honored from these two groups over each of the past three years. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.46 GPA in the classroom in the spring 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 22 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall and 2020 Spring semesters each saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher team GPA. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours in 2017 – being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.
 
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