Twelve seniors who have excelled in athletics and academics have been selected as winners of the Lysle "Spike" Garnish Scholar Awards from the University of Rochester's Department of Athletics and Recreation.
 
Ceremonies will be held on Saturday, September 11, during halftime of Rochester's football game versus Alfred State College. This is Rochester's second game of the season. It is the 132^nd year of football at the University. The game will kick off at 12 pm.
 
Presentations will be made by the Garnish Scholar Awards Committee, chaired by George VanderZwaag, Executive Director of Athletics. He will be joined by Gerald Gamm, Professor of Political Science and History, and the NCAA Faculty Athletic Representative.
 
The awards are presented in memory of Lysle "Spike" Garnish, a former coach and athletic trainer at the University of Rochester from 1930 to 1948. He became a trainer and assistant basketball coach in 1931. He was named an assistant baseball coach in 1932, and an assistant football coach from 1945-48.
 
"These students represent the ideal of the scholar-athlete," said VanderZwaag. "They lead our teams on the field of play while doing outstanding work in the classroom. I am continually inspired by what our students are able to achieve when given the opportunities at a great institution like Rochester."
 
Seven of the 2021 Garnish Scholars have competed in the NCAA Division III Championships during their time as undergraduates. One student earned All-America honors at the NCAA Division III zone diving championships.  
 
These are the Garnish Scholars for 2021:
Brian Amabilino Perez (Sant Cugat Del Valles, Spain/Biological Sciences major) – A two-time selection to the University Athletic Association All-Academic Team, Amabilino Perez has seen his scoring average rise each year – up to 11.2 as a junior. He enjoys studying molecular and cellular mechanisms and their involvement in disease. As a junior, he was a workshop leader in organic chemistry.
 
Caden Cole (Lehi, Utah/Computer Science) – He has started at linebacker in nearly every game – eight as a first-year, 10 as a sophomore (and one as a junior). He earned All-Liberty League honors in his first two years and was a First Team All-UAA choice as a first-year student in 2018. During his first year, he studied Electrical and Computer Engineering and developed a fondness for programming and software. That led to a switch to Computer Science as his major in his sophomore year.
 
Will Eisold (Pipersville, PA/Optical Engineering) – In 2018, he started the last 12 games of the year – including seven straight in the NCAA playoffs. He excelled as a defender, saving potential goals in three consecutive NCAA playoff games. Rochester reached the Final Four that year, a first in program history. He was a teaching assistant for Geometrical Optics and Physical Optics. Interned over the summer at a biomedical device company in Minnesota.
 
Adam Hopson (Ithaca, NY/Biological Sciences) – Hopson earned All-America honors on the 1-meter board as a junior. As a sophomore, he competed in the NCAA Zone Diving Championships finishing 16^th on the 3-meter board and 18^th on the 1-meter board. Finished in the top 3 nine competitions, six as the runnerup. Named a Scholar All-American by the College Swim Coaches Association of America. Also named a Provost's Circle Scholar by the University. Focusing on work in microbiology.
 
Eleanor Mancusi-Ungaro (Marblehead, MA/Chemistry and Environmental Science) – Walked on to the rowing team and found a home as the Coxswain. As a first-year, she was part of Rochester's Novice-8 boat which won the Liberty League Novice-8 title and was named the league's Novice Boat of the Year.  She helped Rochester boats win two titles that year, then guided the Second Varsity 8 and Second Varsity 4 boats to success at the Berman Cup.  One of two rowers to win the team's Unsung Hero Award after the season.
 
Kudzai Mbinda (Harare, Zimbabwe/Chemical Engineering) – He broke the Rochester school record for the 60 meter dash indoors in 2020. At the Liberty League championships, he was third in the 200 meters and fourth in the 60 meters. He had seven top-8 finishes that year. Outdoors in 2019, he ran in the All-Atlantic Regional and the Liberty League championships, finishing sixth in the 100 meters and fourth as part of the 4x100 meter relay team.
 
Julianna Okoniewski (Selkirk, NY/Brain & Cognitive Science) – Okoniewski has been named First Team All-Region in basketball by D3hoops.com as a sophomore and a junior, Co-Rookie of the Year and Third Team All-Region as a first-year. She was the UAA Rookie of the Year as a first-year, then First Team All-UAA as a sophomore. Her goal after graduation is to attend PA school to specialize in sports medicine and orthopedics.
 
Joseph Rende (Babylon, NY/Political Science) – Rende has played with two Liberty League championship baseball teams – in 2019 and in 2021. Both teams advanced to the NCAA Division III playoffs. He was a First Team All-Liberty League selection in 2021 and a Second Team All-Region honoree. He was named All-Region by d3baseball.com as well. He has worked at baseball camps in Rochester as well as at home on Long Island.
 
Emma Schechter (Belleair, FL/Data Science) – Schechter had an interesting first season for Rochester in 2018 – facing teams ranked #1, #2, #3, and #4 all in a span of three weeks. She earned All-UAA and All-Region honors in each of her first-year and sophomore seasons. In April, 2021, she was elected as a Provost's Circle Scholar. She spent this summer as an intern in data science at Verizon with the troubleshooting team in their customer service division.
 
Kailee Sowers (Wheaton, IL/Psychology) – Sowers played with a team that advanced to the NCAA Division III playoffs in her first year and held 12 opponents to a goal or less. The success continued in her sophomore year with four shutouts in the first five games. She is working with UR Health Labs by evaluating telehealth interventions for patients seeking remote care for physical and mental health. Her studies have built a strong interest in working with children with developmental disabilities. She was named as a Provost's Circle Scholar in April, 2021.
 
Amanda Strenk (Baldwinsville, NY/Chemical Engineering) – Strenk earned Liberty League Rookie of the Year plaudits for field hockey in 2019, First Team All-Liberty honors in 2020, and Second Team All-Region honors from the coaches' association. She was honored for three straight years on the National Academic Squad by the coaches' association. She spent consecutive semesters working in a professor's laboratory on microfluidic devices. When the research is published, she will be listed as a co-author, based on her research.
 
Olivia Waysack (Las Vegas, NV/Environmental Health) – In the Spring 2021 tennis season, she led Rochester to a 5-0 record against Division III opposition. She worked with the Health & Epidemiology Advanced Learning Program (HEAL) which helps students obtain a BS in Environmental Health or Epidemiology, and an MS in Epidemiology. As a sophomore, she traveled to India with Globe Med to learn about and design community public health programs.