The Florida State Student-Athlete Advisory Committee handed out the final honors of the 26th Annual Golden Nole Awards on Saturday, with beach volleyball winning the Director’s Cup for Service.
“Giving back to the community is a fundamental part of the mission of Florida State University, and our student-athletes have always embraced that,” athletics director David Coburn said. “Our teams battle it out every year for the Director’s Cup for Service, and they take a lot of pride in it. I congratulate our winners and all our programs in this effort.”
The Director’s Cup for Service is awarded based off of average hours per student-athlete, as beach volleyball turned in a total of 31 hours per player for a grand total of 684 hours. The Seminoles focused their efforts volunteering to serve youth, health and human services.
“I am so excited that our team won the Director’s Cup for Service, “FSU beach volleyball coach Brooke Niles said. “We have been trying to win this since I have been here and it is great that we were finally able to do so. Living a life of service is something that is really important to our team. They do an amazing job of making time for others even with practice, weights, studies and family responsibilities. I am so proud of our team.”
Men’s swimming finished as the runner-up, averaging 29 hours each, tallying 1,061 total hours. The team was also recently recognized by Helper Helper with the highest total of community service hours among NCAA Division I men’s teams.
Winners for the ACC Top 6 for Service were also awarded. These six student-athletes were chosen based on the number of hours and impact they had on the community this year.
Erin Murphy | FR | Beach Volleyball | St. Petersburg, Fla.
Murphy has completed 125 hours of community service while serving as FSU’s student liaison for Big Brother Big Sisters of the Big Bend. She has shown an unwavering commitment to volunteering as a sports coach at local middle schools, assisting at the FSU’s Student Disability Resource Center, food serving at the Kearney Center, and interacting with seniors at local Elk Lodge’s.
Kyle DiMatteo | SO | Men’s Swimming & Diving | Boynton Beach, Fla.
DiMatteo gained 78 hours of service hours through his involvement as an assistant director of outreach for FSU’s Mental Health Council. He has volunteered to push seminars and group discussions for a “Seize the Awkward” campaign on-campus. This initiative served to combat negative stigmas surrounding mental health in specific student populations across campus targeting Greek Life and Athletics.
Nina Kucheran | SO | Women’s Swimming & Diving | Sudbury, Ontario
Kucheran accumulated 61 community hours throughout the academic year, with her most significant contribution to the community as a youth mentor with the HOPE Mentoring Program in Downtown Tallahassee. She has also consistently volunteered advocating for mental health awareness within our campus’ student population and specific to student-athletes.
Rachael Johnson | FR | Women’s Cross Country | Tampa, Fla.
Johnson acquired 48 outreach hours during this academic year. Amongst volunteering in our Tallahassee community, she has been recognized due to her initiative leading as a volunteer with Metropolitan Ministries, a non-profit in her hometown. During each holiday break, Johnson took time to combat hunger for families in-need by shopping for donated food and providing stocking stuffers/toys for children with the Ministries Holiday Tents.
Trentorria Green | SO | Women’s Track & Field | Quincy, Fla.
Green completed 43 hours of community service throughout the year, over 16 various service opportunities. Some of her well-rounded outreach ventures included: volunteering for sports events with displaced individuals at the Kearney Center, joining in the Miracle League sports program for disabled youth, and representing FSU student-athletes in a Thanksgiving Food Drive for local Leon County residents in-need.
Chaz Neal | rFR | Football | Zephyrhills, Fla.
Neal has been involved with a multitude of community service endeavors logging a total of 40 hours at 20 service opportunities during this academic year. He has proven to be dependable through his efforts for local youth programs including, volunteer reading sessions with elementary students in under resourced Leon County schools, Miracle League sports for disabled youth, Big Bend Cares, Inc., and hospital visits to the children’s ward.
All told, Florida State student-athletes contributed a total of 6,683 hours of community service in 2019-20.
2019-20 Golden Nole Award Winners
Unconquered Spirit: Sam Donaway – Swimming and Diving
Senior Sensation Award: Trent Forrest, GR – Basketball; Devan Hultquist, rSR – Beach Volleyball
InspiratioNOLE Award: Bryn Nahrung, SO – Men’s Tennis; Ka’Tia Seymour, JR – Track & Field
Unconquered Award: Jaiden Lars-Woodbey, SO – Football; Tiana Jackson – Volleyball
Doc Fauls Award: Cole Minshew rSR – Football; Anna Shelnutt, SR – Softball
Women’s Basketball: Nicki Ekhomu, SR – Bolingbrook, Ill.
Men’s Basketball: Trent Forrest, GR – Chipley, Fla.
Men’s Golf: John Pak, JR – Scotch Plains, N.J.
Women’s Golf: Amanda Doherty, SR – Brookhaven, Ga.
Men’s Swimming: Vladimir Stefanik, SR – Varin, Slovakia
Women’s Swimming: Dorothy Halmy, SR – Shenandoah, Texas
Men’s Diving: Cam Thatcher, SR – Toledo, Ohio
Women’s Diving: Ayla Bonniwell, SR – Ithaca, N.Y.
Men’s Tennis: Rana Roop, SR – Oslo, Norway
Women’s Tennis: Nandini Das, SR – Mumbai, India
Soccer: Gabby Carle, JR – Levis, Quebec
Softball: Dani Morgan, SR – Newnan, Ga.
Baseball: Chase Haney, rSR – Winter Garden, Fla.
Volleyball: Madison Sullivan, SR – Jacksonville, Fla.
Beach Volleyball: Madison Fitzpatrick, JR – Tallahassee, Fla.
Football: DeCalon Brooks – rSO – Tampa, Fla.
Men’s Cross Country: Kasey Knevelbaard, GR – Caruthers, Calif.
Women’s Cross Country: Megan Mooney, SR – Thornton, Colo.
Men’s Track: Trey Cunningham, JR – Winfield, Ala.
Women’s Track: Ka’Tia Seymour, JR – Palatka, Fla.
Men’s Field: Jacore Irving, JR – Chattahoochee, Fla.
Women’s Field: Shanice Love, SR – Kingston, Jamaica
