NJCU Athletics | May 29, 2020

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University senior center back Michael Almeida of the men's soccer team has been selected as the 2019-20 recipient of the Thomas M. Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, the NJCU Athletics Department announced on May 29 on day 19 of The 2020 Gothics during the Gothic Knights' virtual month-long awards series.
 
Almeida, who also was the recipient in 2018-19, becomes just the third male student-athlete in the 29-year history of the award to be a repeat winner and one of just seven individuals, male or female, to win the award more than once.
 
A three-year member of the NJCU men's soccer team and a two-year team captain who has played 50 games as a Gothic Knight since transferring from Rutgers, Almeida was a two-time All-New Jersey Athletic Conference honoree, taking home Second-Team All-NJAC distinction in Fall 2019 after being tabbed Honorable Mention All-NJAC as a junior in 2018.
 
"To join some great company, to be a two-time winner back-to-back, is an honor," said Almeida. "To represent the school academically in my sport, to achieve what I did with my team in the sport, and of course academically, it's an honor. I thank everyone. I could not have done this without the help of my teammates on the field, my advisors giving me the classes I wanted and the help I needed. Without everyone at NJCU, I wouldn't have been able to achieve this so thank you everyone."

THOMAS M. GERRITY SCHOLAR-ATHLETE of the YEAR MULTIPLE-TIME RECIPIENTS (NJCU HISTORY) 3-Time Winners Kristy A. Zielinski (Softball), 1998-99, 1999-00 and 2000-01 Edison D. Bilbao (Men's Soccer), 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09 Autumn N. Fortunato (Women's Bowling), 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19 2-Time Winners Julia J. Caseres (Women's Soccer), 2010-11 and 2011-12 Kenneth J. Lisk (Men's Volleyball), 2010-11 and 2011-12 Brittany A. Hoffman (Women's Soccer), 2012-13 and 2014-15 Michael C. Almeida (Men's Soccer), 2018-19 and 2019-20

 

Academically, Almeida will graduate this semester with a 3.549 grade point average while majoring in Marketing. A two-time Academic All-NJAC honoree, he will be named a Second-Team Academic All-NJAC selection in June after earning Honorable Mention Academic All-NJAC honors last season. Almeida is a three-time Dean's List recipient—Fall 2017, Spring 2019 and again this semester with a 3.90 GPA in Spring 2020 despite studies moving to a remote learning format midway through the semester due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
Almeida, discussing the balance it takes to achieve this award, added: "It definitely wasn't easy—countless hours studying, working on homework. I've worked full-time the past three years. I would multitask often, studying on the way to games, before games, after games, before practices, after practices—to make sure I had the time to still go out and play with my team and practice and dedicate the hours needed to achieve what we did as a team. It's countless hours of hard work, but in the end, it pays off and it's well worth it."   

The Thomas M. Gerrity Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award is the most prestigious honor any New Jersey City student-athlete can receive. The award is named after Gerrity, the second athletic director in then Jersey City State College history, who served from 1959-1977, while also coaching multiple sports including women's fencing while launching three sports as its first-ever head coach—men's soccer (1959-60), cross country and track and field. He coached the college to back-to-back National Intercollegiate Championships in Women's Fencing in 1942 and 1943; to this day those remain the only team national championships in school history. His 1964 men's cross country team won the NJSCAC title.
 
A charter member of the NJCU Lawrence R. Schiner Athletics Hall of Fame in 1979, the NJCU outdoor athletics facility—The Thomas M. Thomas M. Gerrity Athletic Complex—is named in his honor. Meanwhile, the most elite award for men's and women's outdoor track and field in the NJAC is also named in his memory— The Thomas M. Gerrity Most Outstanding Athlete. 
 
In a given year, there will be one male and/or female winner, if the selection committee feels that a qualified candidate exists. The criteria for the Thomas M. Gerrity Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award are:

• Cumulative GPA of 3.2 with a minimum of 24 credits earned.
• Must have earned 24 credits in two consecutive full-time semesters in the previous year at NJCU.
• Distinction in his/her sport(s) (honors, statistics, records, etc.) in the year of nomination.
• Has displayed the positive qualities (e.g. citizenship, sportsmanship, attitude, and leadership) in representing oneself, team and institution, based on those characteristics fostered by Mr. Thomas Gerrity, Athletic Director (1959-1977) and Professor Emeritus.
• Participation and leadership in campus activities, not designated as athletic or academic, after all other criteria have been met.

 
The award was presented live during an NJCU Zoom Watch Party with Associate Director of Athletics for Internal Operations Jeffrey L. Jordan, the second winner of the award in 1991-92, presenting the accolade. Brian Gerrity, the grandson of Thomas M. Gerrity and the current Senior Associate Director of Athletics/Executive Director of the Mercer Athletic Foundation at Division I Mercer University in Macon, Ga., also joined the announcement call, representing the family.
 
"From the get-go, Mike has been the model student-athlete," said fourth-year head coach Joe Cullen. "He's a guy who has never been an issue. He's a coach's dream. Anything you need from him, on the field, off the field, in the locker room, in the classroom. Everything's done to a T without ever a second thought. I'm sure there are a lot of viable and worthy candidates for this award but it's no surprise to me that Mike Almeida (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) was the one selected today. He managed to play for us, collected a near 3.6 GPA and worked more than 40 hours a week in a full-time job—all while doing this. To be able to do all three of those things at one time is incredible. I really tip my hat to him because it's not easy to play a college sport, it's not easy to go to college and it's not easy to work a full-time job and he managed to do all three of them at the same time. He's been a pleasure to coach. Nobody deserves this award more. I think he will go down as one of the best players in recent NJCU men's soccer history." 
 
This season, Almeida co-captained a team that registered the best start to a season in the 61-year history of the program, opening this year with a 9-0-0 ledger. NJCU qualified for the postseason for the first time since 2012, reaching the ECAC Division III Championship field before falling in the ECAC Quarterfinals.
 
This season Almeida was limited to 15 games (14 starts) due to injuries, but still proved to be the team's vocal leader coming out of the back, playing in 1,247 minutes of regular and postseason season action. He played in eight of nine NJAC games, missing one contest due to caution cards and led the Knights defensively in four conference games decided by just one goal. He contributed to NJCU's 14 total shutouts in the last three seasons. He assisted on two game-tying goals in the ECAC Round of 16 as NJCU advanced past McDaniel.
 
In three seasons since transferring to NJCU from Rutgers, Almeida played in 50 games, starting 49 times while logging 4,334 minutes of action. Coming out of the back, he produced 15 points (five goals, five assists) with two game-winning goals on 41 shots (25 on goal). 
 
In week one of the 2018 season, he was named NJAC Defensive Player of the Week. He intends to join the New Jersey State Police after graduation but has one season of eligibility remaining and could continue his studies in 2020 and play a fourth season.
 
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PAST RECIPIENTS
YEAR	MALE ATHLETE of the YEAR	FEMALE ATHLETE of the YEAR
1990-91	Philippe M. Marseille (Men's Volleyball/Soccer)	Colleen Phillips (Women's Cross Country)
1991-92	Jeffrey L. Jordan (Men's Basketball)	None selected
1992-93	Michael A. Eder (Men's Volleyball)	None selected
1993-94	None selected	Toni Ann Salvatore (Softball/Women's Volleyball)
1994-95	Rino Poli (Men's Volleyball)	Karen F. Flicker (Women's Volleyball)
1995-96	Roger A. Campbell (Men's Soccer)	Shannon F. DeNise (Women's Soccer)
1996-97	Arvin D. Rada (Men's Volleyball)	Kerri Lee Ranaudo (Women's Soccer)
1997-98	None selected	None selected
1998-99	Eric D. Oberer (Men's Tennis)	Kristy A. Zielinski (Softball)
1999-00	Neophytos G. Zambas (Men's Soccer)	Kristy A. Zielinski (Softball)
2000-01	Brian E. Barrow (Men's Soccer)	Kristy A. Zielinski (Softball)
2001-02	None selected	None selected
2002-03	None selected	None selected
2003-04	P. Baba Guisse (Men's Soccer)	Eryn N. Cully (Women's Bowling) Jennifer D. Viens (Women's Bowling)
2004-05	None selected	Jennifer D. Viens (Women's Bowling)
2005-06	None selected	Kathleen M. Weissman (Women's Bowling)
2006-07	Edison D. Bilbao (Men's Soccer)	None selected
2007-08	Edison D. Bilbao (Men's Soccer) Jonathan F. Bilbao (Men's Soccer)	None selected
2008-09	Edison D. Bilbao (Men's Soccer) Jonathan F. Bilbao (Men's Soccer)	None selected
2009-10	None selected	Nicole R. Sarica (Women's Soccer)
2010-11	Kenneth J. Lisk (Men's Volleyball)	Julia J. Caseres (Women's Soccer)
2011-12	Kenneth J. Lisk (Men's Volleyball)	Julia J. Caseres (Women's Soccer)
2012-13	Brian D. Ferrante (Men's Golf)	Brittany A. Hoffman (Women's Soccer)
2014-15	Sheldon H. Coure (Men's Volleyball)	Brittany A. Hoffman (Women's Soccer)
2015-16	Chinwe I. Wosu (Men's Basketball)	None selected
2016-17	Nicholas J. Ruscingno (Baseball)	Autumn N. Fortunato (Women's Bowling)
2017-18	David A. Penaherrera (Men's Volleyball)	Autumn N. Fortunato (Women's Bowling)
2018-19	Michael C. Almeida (Men's Soccer)	Autumn N. Fortunato (Women's Bowling)
2019-20	Michael C. Almeida (Men's Soccer)	None selected
Historical Notes:
• Year is for calendar year ending December 31; award is presented following year.
• Due to a change in the awards system and a return to the awards banquet in April 2015, there were no awards for the 2013-14 academic year.
• In 2014-15, a change in requirements were made. Prior to 2014-15, to be eligible, candidates must have a cumulative GPA of 3.2 with a minimum of 48 credits earned at NJCU towards a degree. with a minimum GPA of 3.0 and 24 credits earned at NJCU (summer session(s) may be included from the previous year).