Sports Banquet Honors Georgetown Athletes in Qatar
On April 3 Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service in Qatar (SFS-Q) held its second annual Sports Banquet at the Georgetown building in Education City. The banquet honored Georgetown Hoyas athletes and supporters in recognition of their significant contributions during the 2012-13 season and playoffs in Qatar.
As awards were handed out for Male and Female Athlete of the Year, Most Valuable Player (MVP), Most Improved Player (MIP) and many others, the award recipients, coaches and deans gave inspiring speeches. Female Athlete of the Year Dima Wahbeh told guests, “Don’t forget to believe in yourself, work as a team and bleed Hoya blue every single day” to rousing audience cheers of Hoya Saxa!
Attendees agreed that it has been an exciting year for members of all the Hoyas teams. Men’s football ranked second in the fall 2012 Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) football season, and captured first place in the HBKU football tournament. The cricket team made a strong showing as well and played competitively throughout the year against Education City competition.
The men’s basketball team had their most successful season ever in 2012-13 with 11 wins, including a six game winning streak. They ranked third in the Qatar Basketball League Tournament in February and second in the HBKU Basketball League. The women’s basketball team competed in the Qatar Basketball League and the HBKU Basketball League and continued their legacy of excellence in athletic competition with a very good record.
Congratulations to all the award winners!
Female Athlete of the Year: Dima Wahbeh (women’s basketball team captain)Male Athlete of the Year: Saleh Al-Mana (men’s football team captain)Hoya Fan Award: Mohamed Al Hinai
Men’s Basketball:Most Improved Player Award: Talal Al-NaamaSportsmanship Award: Kevin Lee YangMost Valuable Player: Konstantinos Kyprianou
Women’s Basketball:Most Improved Player Award: Jehan SalehSportsmanship Award: Khadija MahsudMost Valuable Player: Dima Wahbeh
Cricket:Most Improved Player Award: Owais KhanRookie of the Year Award: Ahwaz AkhtarMost Valuable Players: Atul Menon and Salar Khan
Men’s Football:Most Improved Player Award: Majed Al-MaadeedRookie of the Year Award: Burhan MahmoudSportsmanship Award: Malik HabayebSenior Leadership: Saleh Al-ManaMost Valuable Player: Souleyman Mana
Scholar-Athlete Awards: (given to student athletes who achieved excellent academic standing during the Fall 2012 semester)
Shady AbdelhamidAhwaz AkhtarSara Al MesnadShadi Al ShebliAl Jawhara Al ThaniAsli AltinsikJackie FulghamMalik HabayebOwais KhanNikhil LakhanpalKhadija MahsudShoaib MehmoodAtul MenonAndrea QuevedoBadr RahimahRumsha ShahzadXiaofei WangKevin Lee YangHaroon Yasin Muhammad (Sarim) ZiaGabriella Zoia
Hoya Fan of the Year Award:Mohamed Al Hinai
Members of the University community who hosted or gave out awards included Alex Silberman, SFS-Q student development officer and men’s basketball coach; Uday Rosario, SFS-Q community engagement administrator and cricket coach; Sara Berhie, SFS-Q student development officer; Jacqui Snell, SFS-Q student development officer and women’s basketball coach; Chris Wilson, HSSE manager and men’s football coach; Sherif Elgindi, Class of 2016 and men’s football team manager and statistician; John Ngurugwe, HSSE coordinator and men’s football assistant coach; Kevin Gomes, SFS-Q student development officer and men’s football assistant coach; and Kevin Lee Yang, Class of 2015 and men’s basketball team member. Associate Dean Daniel Stoll presented the scholar-athlete awards and Associate Dean Brendan Hill gave the final awards of the evening.
The evening concluded with remarks from senior Malik Habayeb who said he will “cherish the connections made through sports at Georgetown.” He added that over the last four years he has learned that the “values of sportsmanship can be applied to many aspects of life.”
A final cheer went up from the audience, Hoya Saxa!