FORT MYERS, Fla. - Tytionia Adderly, Jahan Rajaee and Marcelo Tebet have each been named recipients of the department's Carl McAloose Spirit Award.
 
Named in honor of FGCU's first Director of Athletics, the award is presented to recognize senior male and female athletes who best exemplify McAloose's spirit and love for FGCU athletics, as well as dedication to their team and teammates.

"Each of these three wonderful Eagles epitomize what this award represents to its core," said Director of Athletics Ken Kavanagh. "They were inspiring leaders and teammates in their own unique ways while constantly providing maximum efforts in their overall pursuits, as well as serving as tremendous role models for both their peers and our younger fans."
 
Adderly (Jupiter, Fla./Cardinal Newman HS) joins her former teammate, Lisa Zderadicka, in producing back-to-back recipients from the women's basketball program. The senior recently graduated as the program's all-time leading rebounder and earned a spot on the ASUN's All-Decade team after a career-best season in which she averaged 7.5 points, 10.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.1 steals.
 
"Ty is a tremendous competitor who allows her play to speak for her," FGCU women's basketball head coach Karl Smesko said. "Her competitive spirit lifted her teammates every day. She is someone who took great pride in parts of the game that many others ignore. On top of that, she has been the best defender and rebounder in program history, she shared the ball and the spotlight, and she worked very hard to make others look good."
 
Adderly finished her record-shattering career as the only player in ASUN history with at least 800 points, 1,000 rebounds, 300 assists and 200 steals in a career. She ranks second in conference history in rebounds and became the ASUN's first-ever back-to-back defensive player of the year. She tallied 18 of FGCU's 24-best single-game rebound totals while leading the Eagles to three ASUN regular season titles and a trio of NCAA Tournament appearances.
 
"This is an award I didn't expect, but I'm thankful and honored to see that I am thought of as someone who is truly dedicated to their team and teammates," Adderly said. "I'm really appreciative of the honor."

Rajaee (Gainesville, Fla./F.W. Bucholz HS) becomes the second recipient from the men's soccer program in the past three years, joining Miguel Jaime (2018). The senior midfielder served as vice president of the Eagles Council this past year.
 
"Jahan is a remarkable person. He suffered many injuries and setbacks, but he never gave in to any of it," FGCU men's soccer head coach Jesse Cormier said. "He was so resilient and remained focused on achieving his goals at FGCU. He went from being on the fringes of the team to being arguably our most complete player last year. His work ethic, polished technique and tactical intelligence separated him from everyone else at times in training. These qualities helped propel him to become an excellent student and also build the necessary confidence on the field to not only be successful at FGCU but to also have interest from professional clubs."
 
After compiling two points on a pair of assists over his first three seasons, Rajaee netted his first career goal against Georgia Southern en route to three goals and two assists while starting 16 of 19 appearances this past fall. He concluded his career with 20 starts over 43 appearances. Academically, the environmental engineering major was also tabbed as a member of the CoSIDA Academic All-District and ASUN All-Academic teams. Overall, he helped lead the Eagles to one ASUN regular season title and an NCAA Tournament appearance in his career.
 
"It's an absolute honor to be recognized with this award," Rajaee said. "Many of the previous winners were all-time greats at FGCU and to be mentioned with them is a privilege. All credit goes to my teammates, my coaches and the staff that put me in positions to thrive."
 
Though the CoVID-19 pandemic ended Tebet's (Londrina, Brazil/Colegio Anglo Americano) final season as a member of the men's tennis program after nine matches, the senior wrapped up his career with over 60 combined wins between singles and doubles while appearing in nearly every match the team played over his tenure in Fort Myers. The Brazilian was named the Southeast's recipient of the 2020 ITA Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship Award, as well as the Rafael Osuna Sportsmanship Award, becoming the first player in program history to collect two ITA Regional awards and just the second to earn any recognition.
 
"Melo is the epitome of what any coach is looking for in a student-athlete, and we are so blessed at FGCU to have him as an alumni," FGCU men's tennis head coach CJ Weber said. "Melo will bleed Green and Blue the rest of his life. He is one of the most loyal guys I have ever met, and he has represented FGCU so well over the years. Everywhere I go, I get compliments on his professionalism and maturity, and the leadership he has displayed to the entire team on what it means to sacrifice for those that have given you an opportunity is simply remarkable. I have so much respect for him, and I look forward to him being my assistant coach for the next couple of years. I will learn more from him than he learns from me, and it's just great to be able to continue to have him around as an example to the current players on the team."
 
The interdisciplinary entrepreneurial studies major had his most successful season on paper during his junior campaign, where he led the Eagles to both the ASUN regular season and tournament crowns. After clinching the conference championship match and punching the team's ticket to the NCAA Tournament with a 7-5 third-set win over UNF, he was named the tournament MVP.
 
"FGCU has been my home for the past two and a half years," Tebet said. "It is a place where I grew as a man, as a leader and as a competitor. I had the best experience a student-athlete could ever have, and I'm thankful for all the amazing moments shared with my teammates and coaches. I am happy and honored to be the recipient of this award, it means a lot to me."
 
For a list of previous McAloose Spirit Award winners, visit here.
 
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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.
 
--FGCUATHLETICS.COM--