NEW YORK — Columbia Athletics brought the 2024–25 academic year to a close in style on Tuesday evening, hosting the 102nd Annual Varsity C Celebration at Levien Gymnasium inside Dodge Fitness Center. Over 800 student-athletes gathered for a night of recognition, reflection, and celebration.

This year's event was hosted by NFL Network Insider and Columbia rowing alumnus, Ian Rapoport '02CC.
 
Held each spring, the Varsity C Celebration is Columbia's signature event honoring the achievements of its varsity student-athletes. The evening featured highlight videos and the presentation of the department's most prestigious awards, spotlighting excellence on the field, in the classroom, and within the community.

Cross Country/Tack & Field's Phoebe Anderson and Baseball's Griffin Palfrey were named recipients of the Connie S. Maniatty Award, presented to the top male and female senior student-athletes.

Anderson, a four-time All-American, led Columbia cross country and track with consistent national-caliber performances throughout her career. Palfrey, a 2024 First Team All-Ivy honoree, set a new Columbia program record for career RBIs in his final season.

The William V. Campbell Performer of the Year Award went to women's basketball's Kitty Henderson and men's tennis player Michael Zheng.

Henderson earned Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year honors and guided the Lions to a third consecutive Ivy League Championship and their first-ever NCAA Tournament win. Zheng made history by winning the NCAA Individual Tennis Championship and was named Ivy League Player of the Year after leading Columbia to a team title.

Two first-year athletes were recognized with the Rookie of the Year Award. Carolina Stutchbury (Fencing) earned All-America honors and placed third at the NCAA Championships. Grant Lester (Golf) was named Ivy League Rookie of the Year and led the team in scoring with a 71.82 average.

The long-standing watch presentations for the Columbia senior student-athletes earning the highest cumulative grade point averages with at least two varsity letters were presented to Winta Tewolde of women's tennis, who earned the Marion R. Philips Watch, and Andrew Fouty of men's swimming & diving, who earned the Dwight D. Eisenhower Watch. Named after former U.S. President and Columbia University President, Dwight D. Eisenhower, the award has been presented every year since 1948. Named for Marion R. Philips, who was a major force in founding Barnard's Intercollegiate Athletics Program which served as the foundation for today's Consortium, the women's scholar watch has been awarded every year since 1984.
 
Archery's Judith Gottlieb earned the Karen Blank Award, recognizing the top senior female student-athlete from Barnard College who demonstrates excellence in academics, athletics, leadership, and service.

The women's basketball team earned the Paul E. Fernandes Community Service Award, which is presented to the varsity sports program which achieves the most significant contributions and notable service to the University and local communities during each academic year. The Lions Cup, which honors the most outstanding team on the basis of points in several categories including academic, athletic, personal and social responsibility was given to the men's tennis team.

This year's Alumni Award recipients are football's Shawn FitzGerald '80CC and Teresa Saputo-Crerend '87CC '92BUS P'22CC of women's tennis.
 
The event also featured awards for Game of the Year, Top Performance of the Year, and Play of the Year. The finalists for these awards were determined by a vote on social media, and the winners were crowned by a fan vote from those in attendance at Varsity C. Women's basketball's win over Washington in the NCAA First Four and football's Ivy League title clincher against Cornell picked up Games of the Year. Riley Weiss' 4-point play against the Huskies and baseball's Sam Miller's walkoff grand slam against Cornell took home the Plays of the Year. Women's golf's Christine Chang's Ivy League Championship performance and Zheng's run to the NCAA Men's Tennis Championship were the Performances of the Year.
 
To support the 102nd Annual Varsity C Celebration and our student-athletes, please consider making a gift HERE.