Kerstin Darsney Interview | Kelly Freitas Interview | Ryan McGrath Interview | A.J. White Interview | Photo Gallery

LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell Athletics Department honored its annual award winners and graduating student-athletes at the Senior Salute on Wednesday Evening. Senior Kevin Boyle (Manalapan, N.J.) of the men's ice hockey team and sophomore Kerstin Darsney (Rowley, Mass.) of the women's track and field team took home the Male and Female Lester H. Cushing Outstanding Athlete Awards during the event held at the UMass Lowell Inn and Conference Center.
                                                                    
Other major award winners included field hockey's Kelly Freitas (Manchester, N.H.), who won the Laurie A. Mann Award, ice hockey's Ryan McGrath (O'Fallon, Mo.), who took home the David J. Boutin Award, and ice hockey's A.J. White (Dearborn, Mich.), who took home the Unsung Hero Award.

The ice hockey and women's soccer teams earned the Bob Griffin Academic Awards, posting cumulative grade point averages of 3.21 and 3.40, respectively, while the second-annual Mr. And Ms. Rowdy Awards were handed to Connor Doyle (Swansea, Mass.) of the men's cross country and track and field team and Georgia Cowderoy (Ashmore, Queensland, Australia) of the field hockey team.
 
Boyle wrapped up his senior campaign emerging as one of the nation's top goalkeepers. The Co-Hockey East Player of the Year and Hockey East Tournament MVP ranked fourth in the nation in goals against average (1.83), fifth in wins (24), tied sixth in save percentage (.934) and tied for third in shutouts and starts with seven and 39, respectively. His performance between the pipes led the River Hawks to the NCAA East Regional Finals for the first time since the 2013-2014 season, and to the Hockey East Championship for the fourth consecutive year. He also established a single-season school record in shutouts, in addition to breaking current UMass Lowell Hall of Famer Dwayne Roloson's school record for minutes played (2,2342) along the way. The senior was one of five finalists for the 2016 Mike Richter Award, given to the nation's most outstanding goaltender.
 
Darsney has set two school records in her first two years as a River Hawk. This past season, the sophomore set the school record in the triple jump, winning the event at the New England Championships before rewriting it once more with a leap of 40 feet and 10 ½ inches to finish fourth and earn All-ECAC honors at the IC4A/ECEC Championships. She also won the Pentathlon at the Harvard Multi Meet with a school-record 3,662 points, while taking the high jump title at the Crimson Elite Meet.
 
Freitas is now a two-time Laurie A. Mann Award winner, after receiving the accolade as a junior in 2015. The Team IMPACT Ambassador is a four-time NFHCA Academic Squad honoree and a three-time America East Fall Honor Roll selection, who carries a 3.68 GPA as a graphic design major. She has served as the UMass Lowell Student-Athlete Advisory Committee President for 2015-2016, as well as representing the university on the America East Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. The midfielder/back started all 19 games this season with two goals and four assists for eight points.
 
McGrath, a regular in the lineup throughout his four years, finished his final season with seven goals and 13 points. The forward is a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, and is extremely active in the Team IMPACT Program, acting as the liaison between the hockey team and Team IMPACT their match Lucas St. Onge. McGrath is a Criminal Justice major and carries a 3.33 GPA.
 
Two-year UMass Lowell track and field captain Shanna Kornachuk '06 was the honored alumna.