2015 Athletics Awards and Hall of Fame

AACC celebrated its student athletes and honored former athletic coordinator Bruce Springer at the annual Athletics Awards and Hall of Fame Ceremony

May 6, 2015

Annual Athletics Awards Ceremony Celebrates Student Athletes and Hall of Fame Inductee

Anne Arundel Community College celebrated its student athletes Wednesday night and honored its longtime former athletic coordinator Bruce Springer at its annual Athletics Awards and Hall of Fame Ceremony.

Springer was inducted into the AACC Hall of Fame for his leadership during 45 years as instructor, coach and coordinator of athletics at the college. Six athletes were named to the college’s top athletics awards and additional athletes were recognized by their teams with most valuable player, most improved and unsung hero awards.

Springer came to AACC as a physical education instructor and coach in 1967 after lettering in football and track at University of Maryland while earning his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. At AACC, he coached men’s basketball, cross country, track and field, indoor track, women’s tennis and football. He also coached girls’ basketball, track and field and softball at Broadneck High School and won multiple Coach of the Year awards at both AACC and Broadneck.

His experience in the classroom and on the field led him to be chosen as the interim coordinator of AACC Athletics in 2005 before taking the helm in 2006 until his retirement in 2013. During his 45 years at AACC, he served on various committees for the National Junior College Athletic Association and Maryland JUCO athletics conference.

The winners of the top six awards are:

The Louis L. Siegert Award for outstanding female athlete of the year – Tiffany McKinney of Edgewater and a South River High School graduate, women’s basketball. She averaged 23 points per game was first in Maryland Junior College Conference competition. She also was MD JUCO Student of the Month, was named All Conference, All Region and All American.
The Dr. David S. Jenkins Award for outstanding male athlete of the year – Brent Orbell of Severn, an Old Mill High graduate, men’s soccer and baseball teams. He was an All American soccer player as a freshmen, as well as named All Conference and All Region, with 11 goals and five assists. As a two-season baseball player, he had six stolen bases, 13 runs batted in and a .286 batting average.
The Dean William W. Evans Award honors the outstanding female scholar athlete – Katrina Kyllander of Glen Burnie, who graduated from Greenway High in Minnesota, women’s volleyball. She made 163 points in 18 matches, scored 33 aces and 129 kills or spikes. She was named All Region 20, All Region Tournament Team and All Conference.
The Dr. John S. Laycock Award honors the outstanding male scholar athlete – D.J. Davis of Edgewater, a South River High graduate, men’s lacrosse. Playing the position of attack, he was an offensive leader on the team. The engineering major has close to an A average.
The Dr. Andrew G. Truxal Award for the outstanding graduating female athlete – Ashley Wilkins of Pasadena, a Chesapeake High graduate, women’s soccer. She played 34 games, made eight assists and scored 23 goals – including five game-winning goals and a penalty kick in overtime at nationals. During her half season as goalie during the 2014 season, she led the conference in statistics.
The Dr. Andrew G. Truxal Award for outstanding graduating male athlete – Kevin Fitzmaurice of Gambrills, a DeMatha Catholic High graduate, baseball team. A pitcher, he appeared in 16 games, allowed just 28 earned runs and 25 walks in 68 innings, had an earned-run average of 3.69 and batted a home run. Coaches believe he has a future at the next level of baseball.

Also announced were two former athletes who entered the National Junior College Athletic Association Hall of Fame this year: Jenn Gappert Phelps, an All-America midfielder on AACC’s women’s lacrosse teams in 2004 and 2005 and an assistant coach at AACC since 2008, was inducted this spring into the Women’s Lacrosse Hall of Fame; Maury LaPointe, an All-America who played midfielder on the men’s lacrosse teams in 1994 and 1995 before transferring on a lacrosse scholarship at University of Maryland. He will be inducted May 8 at the Community College of Baltimore County-Essex.