Stacey Forte named recipient of Aggie Stillman Award
Albany, NY—The Sage College’s department of athletics gathered to recognize and honor the outstanding performances of the 2014-2015 year with the naming of the athletic award winners for the 15 varsity athletic teams. In addition to awarding the Gator Award, for the Most Outstanding Player, the department also named the 2014-2015 Female and Male Athletes of the Year, the Dean Sharon Robinson Senior Male and Female Scholar-Athletes of the Year, which is given to the senior student-athlete with the highest overall grade point average, as well as the Aggie Stillman Perseverance Award.
In her nearly forty year career at Sage, Aggie was a friend, mentor, professor, class advisor, and the Gators’ biggest fan. She radiated pride and enthusiasm in everything she did, while embodying the Sage spirit of patience and perseverance against any and all odds. In her honor, Sage bestows The Aggie Stillman Perseverance Award to the person affiliated with Sage Athletics that best exemplifies those traits which made Aggie so special. Aggie waged a personal battle with cancer for over 20 years finally succumbing to the disease on May 13, 2008.
Senior women’s volleyball player senior Stacey Forte (Bay Shore, NY/Brentwood) was named the recipient of the Stillman Perseverance Award for her contributions and accomplishments in overcoming injuries during her time with the team and the ability to become an impact player for the team.
Sage capped one of the most-successful seasons in program history with the 2014 Skyline Conference Championship and the program’s third appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament. Lead by veteran head coach Sandy Augstein-Collins, the Gators went 25-7 this past season and were a perfect 9-0 in conference play. Along the way, the Gators won 20 consecutive matches this fall. Forte added 38 kills and 28 digs this past season with the Gators as they combined for a .219 attack percentage with an impressive 335 aces. Sage’s women’s volleyball team went unbeaten in the Skyline Conference in 2014 and won the Skyline Conference Champion and earned an NCAA Tournament bid.
Augstein-Collins said of Forte, “Stacey has been a solid contributor for the women's volleyball program.” Augstein-Collins added, “She enjoyed a breakout first season at Sage earning all-tournament selections and was named the women's volleyball rookie of the year. She missed her sophomore season as she served our country in the United States Marine Corps. She returned for her junior year, earning a starting position, and injured her ACL in the very first match of the season. The injury ended her season just when it was beginning. Stacey worked very hard at her pre and post-surgery rehabilitation. She was determined to get back on the court. I've never seen a volleyball athlete return to the court in less than a year from an ACL injury, but Stacey did it. She was a pivotal contributing member of the team as a senior helping the team to a school-record 20 match win streak and a conference championship.”
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