FORT MYERS, Fla. – A year after having to honor its student-athletes virtually due to COVID-19, the FGCU Department of Athletics was able to celebrate the NESTIES in person at Alico Arena on Monday evening. The annual awards show and senior send-off event honored the best that represent the Green and Blue while also acknowledging the unique challenges presented by the past year.
 
Along with honoring the department's seniors, six different awards were handed out, highlighted by the Kavanagh Eagle Scholar-Athlete Award.
 
The award recognizes the ability of the winner(s) to combine athletic and academic success (minimum 3.20 GPA) with community service.
 
This year's recipients were women's tennis redshirt senior Maja Ornberg (Kil, Sweden/ De la Gardiegymnasiet, Lidkoping) and beach volleyball senior Kayla Whetstone (Arlington, Texas/Arlington Lamar HS). Ornberg is the first representative from women's tennis to earn the honor since 2003 when Petya Jesse Yaneva was presented the then-titled Eagle Scholar-Athlete Award. Whetstone is the first-ever beach volleyball only player to earn the award. Last year's honoree, Amanda Carroll was a two-sport athlete competing in both volleyball and beach volleyball.
 
The duo were finalists alongside Taylor Bauman (Jacksonville, Fla./Atlantic Coast HS) of softball and Mason Studstill (Titusville, Fla/Rockledge HS/Eastern Florida State/Miami) of baseball with all four recognized in a video package for the prestigious award.
 
Five other annual awards were presented on the night. The Wings Up Team Spirit Award which is given to the program which exemplifies Eagle spirit and team support. The 2021 honor went to the volleyball team for the third year in a row. The award is based off six categories: Dirty Bird memberships, Wings Up app downloads, attendance at games, spirit displayed at those games, social media support of their own team and other sports and promotion and interaction with fellow students and community members.
 
The Stanley 'Butch' Perchan Award, previously named the Green and Blue Award, is annually bestowed upon a staff member(s) who personifies the proverbial definition of someone who bleeds Green and Blue. Six years ago, Kavanagh announced that the award would be renamed the Stanley 'Butch' Perchan Award in honor of Senior Associate Athletics Director for External Affairs Emeritus Butch Perchan. Perchan presented the 2021 award to this year's recipient, Strength and Conditioning Coordinator Randy "Pops" Popple.
  
The Community Service Award is presented annually to the student-athlete who best exemplifies FGCU Athletics' dedicated commitment to volunteerism on campus and throughout the Southwest Florida community. The 2021 honoree was redshirt senior Ailsa Clark (Navarre, Fla./Navarre) of women's golf. Clark has volunteered with numerous groups including the Muscular Dystrophy Association of Southwest Florida, the Salvation Army, the Wings of Shelter, and the Project Life Movement to name a few.
 
The Carl McAloose Spirit Award is given to at least one male and female student-athlete who best exemplify former Director of Athletics Carl McAloose's spirit and love for FGCU Athletics, as well as dedication to their team and teammates. This year's recipients were both former walk-ons who became starters, leaders, and key figures on their respective squads – senior Alyssa Blair (Sun Prairie, Wis./Sun Prairie HS) from women's basketball and senior Richie Garcia (Davie, Fla./West Broward HS) from baseball.
 
The Most Inspirational Award, which was renamed the Duane Swanson Sr. Inspirational Award at the 2011 ceremony, was presented to baseball's Studstill and Life Skills Coordinator/Academics Coordinator Maggie Hohne.
 
EAGLE SCHOLAR-ATHLETE WINNERS MAJA ORNBERG AND KAYLA WHETSTONE
 
MAJA ORNBERG: A fifth-year member of the women's tennis team, Ornberg graduated with her communications degree in Spring 2020 with a 3.74 GPA. She is currently pursuing her post-baccalaureate degree in psychology where she holds a 3.70 GPA. Throughout her time at FGCU, she's been named to the Athletic Director's Honor Roll nine times, and the Dean's List on five occasions, and the President's List once.

On the court, the Sweden native has been an immediate impact since stepping foot on campus. She was named the ASUN Freshman of the Year on 2017, and as a sophomore, Ornberg became the first Eagle in program history to be named the ASUN Player of the Year. A three-time First Team ASUN member and an All-Academic honoree, Ornberg has been a mainstay in the FGCU lineup on the No. 1 court throughout her career. Overall she has produced nearly 50 wins in singles and over 30 wins in doubles competition. Named an ASUN Winner for Life in 2020, Ornberg las logged over 100 hours of community service, working with tennis clinics and other organizations such as the American Heart Association and Operation Christmas Child.
 
Head Coach Courtney Vernon on Ornberg:
"As our No. 1 player for the past five years, Maja has impacted her teammates and myself in such a positive way both on and off the court. Her work ethic, consistency, and tenacity toward achieving her goals are second to none. Regardless of the external influences in her day, she came to each practice ready to work hard and be the best teammate she could be. In addition to her academic and athletic excellence, Maja is an incredibly kind, calm, and steady person. She has a unique ability to develop great relationships with anyone she meets and is a person of strong character and values with whom I am fortunate to have had the pleasure of working alongside."
 
KAYLA WHETSTONE: Academically, Whetstone carries a 3.9 cumulative GPA as a double-major in economics and finance. She is a four-time President's List honoree, a three-time Dean's List selection as well as a seven-time AD Honor Roll student who has completed over 80-plus hours of community service. Additionally, she is a soon to be published co-author of a research project alongside Dr. Amir Neto.  
 
As a member of the FGCU beach volleyball team, Whetstone recently became the program's all-time wins leader despite losing all but four matches of her junior season due to Covid-19. She is currently 66-24 (.736) in her career, which includes a team-best 22-9 record overall this year. The Arlington, Texas native is the only Eagle with multiple 20-win seasons after establishing the program's single-season wins record as a sophomore when she went 24-5.  
 
A preseason all-conference selection last year, Whetstone went 4-0 in the Covid-shortened season. In 2019, she was named First Team All-ASUN and was honored with the AVCA's Top Flight Award for having the best winning percentage in the state of Florida among No. 3 pairs and the fifth-best in the country. Along with Snowy Burnam, she went 5-1 in the ASUN tournament, which represents the most wins in one postseason in program history and earned the duo a spot on the all-tournament team. As a rookie, she went 16-10 and was named to the ASUN's All-Freshmen Team after breaking the program's rookie wins record. She also teamed with Burnam to become FGCU's first-ever duo to be named the ASUN pair of the week. 
 
Kayla has contributed over 80 hours of community service during her career at FGCU working with Miracle League DFW, Keep Lee County Beautiful, Treeline Elementary, the Winter Games, Read Across America, and the Naples Humane Society.
 
Head coach Chris Sweat on Whetstone
"Every coach is looking for a 'generational' athlete for their team – one that a coach will look back upon and know the significant impact that individual had on the program. For me, Kayla is that person. Since her freshman year, she has been the example of being coachable, of being a leader, and of working hard both in athletics and academics. She stepped in right away to make sure everyone involved with the beach volleyball program was about excellence in everything we do. She carried that confidence from her freshman year into the next three with huge wins, being the loudest cheerleader for her teammates, and ready to execute whatever game plan we devised. Off the court, she is a leader and example that every coach wants for their program. Her leadership in numerous councils and programs throughout campus and her work as a tutor for other students have certainly impacted a great number of people outside her circle. It is a great honor and pleasure to see Kayla nominated for this award."
  
2020-21 EAGLES CLUB MOST OUTSTANDING MALE AND FEMALE ATHLETES NOMINEES
Previously called the Most Outstanding Male and Female Athlete Award, it was renamed to the Eagles Club Most Outstanding Male and Female Athlete Award at the 2017 ceremony. The Eagles Club is the official booster organization which helps financially support and raise funds for each of FGCU's 15 programs. The winners of this award will be announced at the 'Welcome Back Picnic' in August, as not all teams have finished their seasons at this time. All nominees have either earned First Team All-Conference or better (i.e. Freshman of the Year), swimmers who came in first at the conference championship meet or for baseball and softball that have not yet finished, are individuals whom are under strong considerations for such accolades.
 
Men's Soccer: Ethan Dudley, O'Vonte Mullings, Shandel Senior, Gustavo Vasconcelos
Women's Soccer: Kajsa Lang
Volleyball: Chelsey Lockey, Erin Shomaker, Cortney Vanliew
Beach Volleyball*: Kacie Johnson, Kayla Whetstone
Men's Golf*: Van Holmgren, Frankie Capan Iii
Women's Golf*: Sarah Edwards
Softball*: Reedy Davenport, Nene Rowe
Baseball*: Brian Ellis, Richie Garcia, Joe Kinker, Mason Studstill
Swimming & Diving: Petra Halmai, Wiktoria Czarnecka
Women's Tennis*: Maja Ornberg
Men's Tennis*: Magnus Johnson
Women's Basketball: Kierstan Bell, TK Morehouse
* Anticipated; ASUN honors not yet released
 
2020-21 FGCU ATHLETICS AWARD WINNERS
Ken Kavanagh Eagle Scholar-Athlete Award: Maja Ornberg, Kayla Whetstone
Wings Up Team Spirit Award: Volleyball
Stanley "Butch" Perchan Award: Randy Popple (Strength & Conditioning)
Community Service Award: Ailsa Clark (Women's Golf)
Carl McAloose Spirit Award: Alyssa Blair (Women's Basketball), Richie Garcia (Baseball)
Duane Swanson Sr. Inspirational Award: Mason Studstill (Baseball), Maggie Hohne (Life Skills Coordinator/Academic Counselor)