Claremont, Calif. (April 20, 2016)—Pitzer College congratulates student-athletes Ying Fry ’16, Sarah Markowitz ’16, Will Thorson ’16 and Andy Wright ’16, whose outstanding athletic performance and leadership were recognized at the 2015-16 Student Athlete Awards dinner on April 12 at Pitzer College.
Ying Fry, who is a two-sport threat in both soccer and lacrosse, won Pitzer’s Most Outstanding Female Student Athlete Award. During her four years at Pitzer, Fry has barely had a season off: she’s spent countless hours practicing and playing with the women’s soccer team in the fall then the women’s lacrosse team in the spring, earning eight varsity letters along the way. Fry played in 71 soccer games during her career, the highest game total for any senior Sagehen player. Although she hadn’t touched a lacrosse stick before she arrived at Pitzer, she worked her way into the lacrosse team’s starting line-up this semester. A sociology major and Asian studies minor, Fry was recently awarded a Fulbright fellowship to teach English in Taiwan.
Sarah Markowitz, a four-year starter for the women’s lacrosse team, won the Daley Award for Athletic Achievement. Tied for the second-most goals in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC), Markowitz led the team in points last year when the Sagehens won the SCIAC Championship and advanced to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Sweet 16. She has earned second-team All-SCIAC twice (2014, 2015) and scored more than 135 goals during her college career. An environmental analysis major, Markowitz earned SCIAC All-Academic Team and IWLCA Honor Roll distinctions in 2015. Off the lacrosse field, Markowitz advocates for environmental sustainability, promoting conservation as an AmeriCorps member and raising awareness about climate change with the nonprofit Know Tomorrow. The Daley Award is named after Dan Daley ’89, who was an All-American wide receiver in 1988 and racked up numerous SCIAC honors in both football and track.
Will Thorson, co-captain of the Sagehens Men’s Swim team, won the Judie & Frank Fenton Award for Athletic Leadership. Thorson is one of the fastest swimmers in the 100-meter butterfly in Sagehen history. He has earned NCAA cuts on medley relays and has been named to the SCIAC all-conference team. He qualified for the finals at the SCIAC championships all four years. A leader out of the pool as well, Thorson has served on Pitzer’s Student Senate for three years and is an admission fellow. An economics major, he has co-produced Pitzer’s Institute for Entrepreneurship’s Ideas Fair and helped new students adjust to college life as a mentor and residence hall council president. The Fenton Award for Athletic Leadership was named by Steven Fenton ’92 in honor of his parents; Fenton was a record-breaking four-time all-SCIAC baseball player.
Andy Wright, a co-captain of the Sagehens Men’s Swim team, won Pitzer’s Most Outstanding Male Student Athlete Award. One of the fastest distance swimmers in Sagehen history, Wright is a four-time finalist in the 1650-free at the SCIAC Championships, where he finished 11th this year and 6th at the 2014-15 SCIAC championships. A double major in media studies and English & world literature, he was selected SCIAC All-Conference Academic for the past two years. On dry land, he is a Pitzer Writing Center fellow and hopes to work with nonprofits, either by teaching or helping to create platforms for communities to express themselves.
