E.J. Lopez, Ellen Yamasaki, Alyssa Woodward, Joseph Eyen, Adrian Brandon and Ashley Morello
Claremont, Calif. (April 15, 2015) — Pitzer College congratulates student-athletes Adrian Brandon ’15, Joseph Eyen ’15, E.J. Lopez ’15, Ashley Morello ’15, Alyssa Woodward ’15 and Ellen Yamasaki ’15, whose outstanding athletic performance and leadership were recognized at the 2014-15 Student Athlete Awards dinner on April 13 at Pitzer College. For the first time, this year two students received the Judie & Frank Fenton Award for Athletic Leadership and the Daley Award for Athletic Achievement.
Adrian Brandon won the Judie & Frank Fenton Award for Athletic Leadership. Playing guard for the Sagehens Men’s Basketball team, he started every game this season, averaging 8.4 points and 5.6 rebounds. As a Sagehen, he has earned National Association of Basketball Coaches honors and been selected to the SCIAC All-Academic Team. Brandon is a double major in environment analysis and studio art; his work in Pitzer’s upcoming senior art show examines professional sports culture and how people of color who are professional athletes are treated in comparison to those who are not in the sports industry.
Joseph Eyen won the male Most Outstanding Student Athlete Award. As a co-captain and guard on the Sagehens Men’s Basketball team, Eyen had a career-high 18 points on six three-pointers in his final collegiate game, a 71-62 home win over Whittier. His coach says Eyen is more than an impact player: “Joe is like having a coach on the floor.” A three-time SCIAC All-Academic team selection, Eyen is majoring in political studies and minoring in environmental analysis at Pitzer.
E.J. Lopez, who started at third base for the Sagehens Baseball team all four years, won the Judie & Frank Fenton Award for Athletic Leadership. Lopez was voted team captain in both his junior and senior years. In 2013, Lopez played all 45 games and batted 8-for-18 in the SCIAC tournament and hit a home run in the NCAA Division III Regionals against No. 1 Linfield. A human biology major, he has earned first-team All-SCIAC and second-team All-West Region honors.
Ashley Morello won the Daley Award for Athletic Achievement. She plays outfield and bats at the top of the order for the Sagehens Softball team. Last year, she led the team with a .415 batting average and earned third-team All-West Region and second-team All-SCIAC—only the sixth player in program history to earn All-Region honors. A double major in history and demography with a minor in studio art, Morello has earned SCIAC All-Academic honors during her Sagehen career.
Alyssa Woodward won the Daley Award for Athletic Achievement. She has helped the Sagehens Women’s Water Polo team win three SCIAC titles in her first three years and her team is poised to make another championship run this season. Woodward has led her team in scoring all three seasons and is a three-time first-team All-American. She recently crossed a major milestone by scoring the 300th goal of her career. A studio art major with a minor in mathematics, Woodward will exhibit artwork at Pitzer’s upcoming senior art show that reflects upon what is considered “healthy.”
Ellen Yamasaki, a two-sport threat who plays volleyball and competes in track and field, won the female Most Outstanding Student Athlete Award. As an outside hitter and setter on the volleyball team, Yamasaki finished eighth in program history in career kills and was named both captain and team MVP her sophomore year. During her first year, she earned SCIAC Freshman of the Year and second-team All-SCIAC selection honors. In track and field, she competes in both jumps and throws, and is eighth in program history in the hammer throw. An anthropology major, Yamasaki competed in a heptathlon this year, demonstrating her all-around athleticism in seven events.
