The 2012-13 William Jewell College Men's and Women's Tennis Awards Banquet was held May 8 at the Yates-Gill College Union on the Jewell campus in Liberty, Mo.

On the women's side, junior Kristen Stivers was named the Allison Cobb Most Valuable Player as voted on by her teammates. Stivers went 12-8 in singles play and 11-10 in doubles while occupying the No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles positions.   Stivers also earned the Hardest Worker award by her teammates for the second consecutive season. 

First-year player Savannah Drew was honored by her teammates for Newcomer of the Year.  Drew finished the season with 14 singles wins, playing in the No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 singles slot.  She started out the season on a 10 match winning streak and also filled in toward the end of the season at No. 3 doubles and went 6-2.

Sophomore Conner Hazelrigg was voted by her teammates as the Ann Lewis Most Improved Award. Hazelrigg was a key component to Jewell's No. 2 doubles team and improved her singles play and was 4-0 at No. 5 and No. 6 singles respectively.           

Senior Jaimie Baker was named the Women's Tennis Sportsmanship winner for the season.  This marked Bakers second year in a row to earn the honor.    “Jaimie's team-first approach and selflessness has rubbed off on her teammates throughout her time here,” said Coach Paul Worstell.   She defines what we are looking for in a William Jewell women's tennis player and from this point forward the award will be named in her honor.”

On the men's side, first-year player Michael Rawat was awarded The Chad Thomason Men's Tennis Hardest Worker award.  Rawat, worked countless hours on the court and in practice to improve his game and spent a lot of hours outside of practice working on his game as well.    Rawat also walked away with the Newcomer of the Year award on the men's side.  Rawat finished the season 10-7 while occupying the No. 4 singles spot for Jewell.  Rawat also stepped in and went 4-0 in doubles play.

Junior Bryan Thomas was named The Jon Curtis Most Improved for the third consecutive season.  The Most Improved Award, named in honor of Jon Curtis by his teammate Brian Carney, is an award that embodies what college athletics is all about. When given an opportunity, a person with strong work ethic and dedication will use that opportunity to master the finer aspects of the game. In doing so, that individual can inspire others to improve. “Jon not only worked hard every day to get better, he made everyone around him a more complete player,” stated Carney. “In addition, his spirit strengthened our team morale and added enthusiasm to our practices.”   Thomas held his own playing No. 2 singles this season and was a part of Jewell's number one doubles team this season as well.  Thomas finished the year 9-6 in singles play and 12-6 in doubles.  

Sophomore player Jimmy Hunter was awarded the Brian Carney Best Sportsmanship award on the men's team for the second year in a row.   The award is named after Brian Carney who was a two-time NAIA National Tournament Participant, NAIA Scholar-Athlete, All-District, ITA National Championship Participant, and All-Conference selection while playing number one singles, number two singles, and number one doubles for Jewell from 1992-96. Carney sponsored this award because it encompasses the real life lessons learned from playing college athletics—upholding the highest ethical standards, practicing humility, working with team members/colleagues toward a common goal, and treating others of similar or different backgrounds with respect.  “I was very proud of Jimmy's play this season and no question his demeanor on the court lives up the standards of why Brian sponsored this award,” said Worstell.  
 
Junior Shane Giannetti was named the Charles Morris Men's Tennis Most Valuable Player for the second consecutive season.   The award was sponsored by Brian Carney to honor Coach Morris who was a former men's tennis coach at Jewell and is a member of the NAIA Hall of Fame.  “Coach Morris truly demonstrated leadership and personified excellence through his motto FF-RC-Again (Fight Fiercely, Respect the Conditions, and always come back to play Again the next day),” said Carney.    “He will be remembered by all of his former players as a true MVP.”   Giannetti finished second on the team in wins with 11 at the No. 1 singles position and finished with 12 wins at No. 1 doubles.     

“I am very proud of both teams and it was very exciting that both teams qualified for our GLVC tournament,” said Worstell.  “I am already looking forward to next season and to see both teams improve upon the success we had this season.”