BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Juniors Pallavi Verghese and Mikah Liu of the women's and men's tennis teams were named the 2025-26 Student-Athletes of the Year as the Pratt Department of Athletics and Recreation celebrated its annual awards ceremony, The Charlies, last Friday evening.
Vergese was dominant atop the women's tennis lineup with a 10-2 singles record, going undefeated in conference play and named Tournament MVP in leading Pratt to back-to-back Atlantic East titles. She collected five Player of the Week nods this season and is a strong contender for AEC Player of the Year honors, which will be announced later this week.
Liu led the men's tennis team to their best tournament finish as divisional runner-up and assembled a 9-4 singles mark at the top spot. He nabbed six AEC Player of the Week honors and is also a strong contender for Player of the Year and All-Conference honors.
Melis Kavlicoglu and Kurt Thomas Jr. were named Newcomers of the Year. Both were Atlantic East Rookies of the Year in their respective sports, Kavlicoglu in women's cross country and Thomas Jr. in men's basketball and Kavlicoglu also a bronze medalist in the 800-meter at the Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
Alyssa Trujillo of the women's soccer team was given the SAAC Leadership Award for exceeding expectations as a SAAC representative throughout the season.
Colleen Russell of the women's volleyball team was presented with the Ariana Dillon Memorial Award in memory of the dual-sport student-athlete and architecture major who passed away three years ago as she was about to commence her fourth year at Pratt. It will be presented to a student-athlete who maintains a GPA of 3.5 or higher and demonstrates a dedication and commitment to both athletics and the Pratt community as a whole as Ariana did.
The Equestrian Team was recognized with the Team Engagement Award for being the most active team within the athletics department and the Pratt community this past year.
Senior Letters were presented to 19 student-athletes who are graduating or have exhausted their eligibility and have competed in their final season and have appeared in a minimum percentage of contests over at least two seasons.
Team MVPs and Coaches Awards were presented by the coaching staffs in 14 sports.
The Department of Athletics thanks Atlantic Orthopedics and Sports Medicine and Pepe Rosso for their support of this year's event.
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2025-26 Award Winners
Department Award Winners
SAAC Leadership Award - Alyssa Trujillo (Women's Soccer)
Ariana Dillon Memorial Award - Colleen Russell (Women's Volleyball)
Team Engagement Recognition Award - Equestrian
Female Newcomer of the Year - Melis Kavlicoglu (Women's Cross Country/Track & Field)
Other finalists: Vedika Chauhan (Equestrian), Maggie Hughes (Women's Volleyball), Lola Mactavish (Women's Basketball), Olivia Tao (Women's Tennis), Chloe Tien (Women's Soccer)
Male Newcomer of the Year - Kurt Thomas Jr. (Men's Basketball)
Other finalists: Jackson Brock (Men's Cross Country/Track & Field), Raymond Liang (Men's Volleyball), Alex Litzenberger (Men's Soccer), Wyatt Myers (Men's Tennis)
Female Student-Athlete of the Year - Pallavi Verghese (Women's Tennis)
Other finalists: Kylie Grant (Women's Basketball), Melis Kavlicoglu (Women's Cross Country/Track & Field), Kate Nolan (Women's Soccer), Grace Plunkett (Equestrian), Colleen Russell (Women's Volleyball)
Male Student-Athlete of the Year - Mikah Liu (Men's Tennis)
Other finalists: Dylan Costa (Men's Soccer), Thomas Graetz (Men's Basketball), Liam Reilly (Men's Cross Country/Track & Field), Max Wang (Men's Volleyball)
Senior Letterwinners
Team Award Winners
Equestrian
MVP: Grace Plunkett
Coaches Award: Alin Kutan
Men's Basketball
MVP: Kurt Thomas Jr.
Coaches Award: Mekhi Davis
Men's Cross Country
MVP: Liam Reilly
Coaches Award: Jackson Brock
Men's Golf
MVP: Gauthama Thiruvengadam
Coaches Award: Anirudh Bharath
Men's Soccer
MVP: Alex Abbruzzese
Coaches Award: Hayden Pettit
Men's Tennis
MVP: Mikah Liu
Coaches Award: Caleb Callahan
Men's Track and Field
MVP: Anthony Cowell
Coaches Award: Mohit Kariea
Men's Volleyball
MVP: Max Wang
Coaches Award: Jude Fox
Women's Basketball
MVP: Kylie Grant
Coaches Award: Lola Mactavish
Women's Cross Country
MVP: Coralie Norenberg
Coaches Award: Giovanna Lisa
Women's Soccer
MVP: Kate Nolan
Coaches Award: Katherine Thomsen
Women's Tennis
MVP: Pallavi Verghese
Coaches Award: Quinn Steinman
Women's Track and Field
MVP: Melis Kavlicoglu
Coaches Award: Milla Tenenblat
Women's Volleyball
MVP: Colleen Russell
Coaches Award: Maggie Hughes
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