The Westminster College Department of Athletics and the Student Athlete Advisory Committee hosted the fifth annual Westminster Exceptional Sports Performances of the Year awards last week at the Orr Auditorium on the New Wilmington campus.

The WESPY’s honored team MVPs for all 18 varsity sports teams, as well as recognizing top athletic achievements throughout the 2007-08 academic year.

Highlighting the event was the awarding of the annual David B. Fawcett and Marjorie A. Walker Awards, given annually to honor and acknowledge those individuals who best exemplify the qualities of fairness, sportsmanship, leadership, determination and competitiveness.

The Fawcett Award was given to senior men’s soccer player Andrew Saporito, a graduate of Penn-Trafford. The Walker Award was presented to senior golfer and women’s basketball player Emilee Ackerman from Hempfield Area.

Saporito, a 5-foot-10 forward, ranked fifth in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference with 27 points — nine goals and nine assists. He earned first-team all-PAC honors while helping the Titans compile a 11-6-3 record and a PAC-best regular season record of 5-0-1 before qualifying for the Eastern College Athletic Conference Division III South Championships.

Ackerman, a first-team all-PAC performer in both of her sports, became the first Titan women’s basketball player in the history of the program to earn an honorable mention for the All-America team. In addition to receiving this recognition, Ackerman’s postseason awards include CoSIDA ESPN The Magazine First-Team Academic All-America and D3hoops.com First Team All-Great Lakes Region.

Her 1,483 career points and 554 points this season are school records.

— Submitted information