CANISIUS COLLEGE ATHLETICS
To close out “Griffin Success Week”, the Canisius athletic department proudly announces that Jen Reininger andJ.P. Stevenson have been named the 2017-18 Canisius Female and Male Athlete of the Year.
Canisius women’s lacrosse player Jen Reininger and former baseball player J.P. Stevenson have been named the 2017-18 Canisius Female and Male Athlete of the Year, the athletic department announced Friday.
The Canisius Female and Male Athlete of the Year awards are the highest individual honor a Canisius student-athlete can receive. Reininger is the seventh women’s lacrosse player to win the honor, while Stevenson becomes the third baseball player to be the athletic department’s top male athlete. The Canisius Female and Male Athlete of the Year program started at the conclusion of the 2000-01 academic year.
Reininger, the 2018 MAAC Midfielder of the Year, led the Golden Griffins in goals (53), draw controls (107), ground balls (63) and caused turnovers (31), while helping lead the Blue and Gold to a share of the MAAC Women’s Lacrosse regular-season trophy. In her second season, she passed the 100-point milestone for her career in just 34 games and she ended the season ranked 25th nationally in draw controls per game (5.70) and 12th in the nation in ground balls per outing (3.20). In addition to being the 2018 MAAC Midfielder of the Year and an All-MAAC First-Team honoree, the Irondequiot, N.Y., native was also selected as an All-ECAC First Team choice while earning IWLCA All-Region accolades as well.
Reininger was one of four finalists for the Canisius Female Athlete of the Year. Former swimmer Rebecca Anthone, women’s basketball player Sara Hinriksdottir and volleyball player Sara Wesley were also nominated for the honor.
Stevenson, the baseball program’s career strikeouts leader, is the first baseball player to be named the Canisius Male Athlete of the Year since former Griff Kevin Mailloux was honored at the end of the 2008-09 academic year. An All-MAAC First-Team honoree and the 2018 MAAC Pitcher of the Year, Stevenson led the Griffs to a MAAC Tournament championship in May, the program’s third MAAC crown since 2013. For his efforts in the MAAC Championship tournament, which included a perfect ninth inning of relief in the title game against Monmouth, the New Glasgow, Prince Edward Island native was named the MAAC Championship Most Outstanding Player, making him the first Canisius pitcher to win that honor.
Stevenson led the MAAC with his 10 wins on the hill in 2018, where he fanned 93 batters in 99.0 innings of work. He finished his last season on Main Street with a career-low 2.73 ERA, while holding opposing batters to a .197 batting average for the 2018 season.
Stevenson was one of five male finalists for the Canisius Male Athlete of the Year Award. Former men’s basketball player Jermaine Crumpton, former men’s lacrosse player Connor Kearnan, rising senior Dylan McLaughlin for the hockey program and former diver Travis Wright were also up for the award.
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