CHICAGO – The UIC Department of Athletics hosted the 10^th annual Sparkys Awards on Monday evening, a celebration of the many achievements of Flames student-athletes. The program is designed to honor the accomplishments of UIC teams and individuals over the past year; in the classroom, in competition, and in the community. Jeremiah Paprocki, public address announcer for the Chicago Cubs, hosted the 2023 iteration of the event.
 
RISING FLAME AWARD
The Rising Flame Award is awarded to a male and female student-athlete in their first year of competition at UIC who has made a significant impact on their team's competitiveness. Among the nominees for the male Rising Flame Award were men's swimming and diving's Bruno Carrillo, men's cross country's Daniel Chavez, and men's soccer's Paul Brauckmann. Carillo took home the first award of the evening following his performance at the MAC Championships, finishing third overall in the three-meter dive. On the female side, the nominees were women's soccer's Sophia James, women's basketball's Sarah Zabrecky, and women's diving's Kerrie Morrison. Morrison was named the winner of the Rising Flame Award after being recognized at the freshman diver of the meet at the 2023 Missouri Valley Championships.
 
FIRE UP AWARD
The Fire Up Award is awarded to an athlete who is always supporting athletes, encouraging a sense of community, and helping build the "Flames Family". The nominees for the award were men's cross country's Luke Malone, volleyball's Kayanna Jones, and softball's Alannah Cran. Malone was presented with the Fire Up Award for his involvement with the Student Athlete Advisory Committee, and his tireless support of Flames athletics.
 
PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
The Performance of the Year Award is awarded to a male and female student-athlete that had an extraordinary performance in a competition. The male nominees were men's tennis' Aleksa Bucan, men's track's Max Rivera, and men's basketball's Toby Okani. Okani tallied a double-double in UIC's Nov. 22 win over Holy Cross, earning him the Male Performance of the Year. The female nominees were women's diving's Ciara McCliment, women's golf's Dasa Urbankova, and women's basketball's Jaida McCloud. McCliment was presented the award for her performance at the 2023 Missouri Valley Conference Swimming and Diving Championships.
 
 TEAM OF THE YEAR
The Team of the Year Award is awarded to the men's or women's team that had an extraordinary season of competition. The teams honored as nominees were women's basketball, volleyball, and women's soccer. The award was presented to the women's basketball program following their record-shattering turnaround in 2023.
 
COACH OF THE YEAR
The Coach of the Year Award is awarded to a head coach who led their team to success during the season. The three nominees were volleyball's Justin Ingram, women's soccer's David Nikolic, and women's basketball's Ashleen Bracey. Coach Bracey was named the 2023 Coach of the Year Award winner, leading her program to unprecedented success in her first year at the helm.
MISSION DRIVEN SERVICE
The Mission Driven Service Award is awarded to the UIC program that dedicates the most time to bettering the community, and selflessly serving in the Chicago area. This year's Mission Driven Service Award winner is the softball program, who has done countless community services activities across campus and throughout Chicago and is always trying to help out those in need.
 
TEAM MVPs
The Team MVP Award is awarded to an individual who led their team to success during the season. The list of Team MVP Award winners is below:
 
Fall

• MSOC: Josh Torres
• MCC: Daniel Chavez
• WCC: Theresa Meija
• WSOC: Lauren Keiser
• VB: Paola Santiago

Winter

• WTF: Olivia Dumas
• MTF: Max Rivera
• MBB: Toby Okani
• MSD: Cole Tremewan
• WBB: Jaida McCloud
• WSD: Taira Juronis

Spring

• BSB: Charlie Szykowny
• WTEN: Agnes Gustafsson
• MTEN: Aleksa Bucan
• MTF: Dathan Maton
• WTF: Nyarai Terry
• WGOLF: Dasa Urbankova
• SB: Christina Toniolo 

Spirit

• CHEER: Giselle Mendoza
• DANCE: Ania Szydlowski

CHANCELLOR'S CUP
The Chancellor's Cup Award recognizes the outstanding academic performance of our teams. 
This award is given to the men's and women's programs with the highest collective GPA's. The men's tennis team won the award on the men's side, posting a 3.58 GPA across the spring and fall of 2022. On the female side, the women's tennis team took home the Chancellor's Cup, boasting a 3.73 GPA over spring and fall of 2022.
 
ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
The Athlete of the Year is awarded annually to a female and male student-athlete who demonstrated superior athletic achievement and the finest attributes of leadership, sportsmanship, and teamwork. The male nominees were men's track's Max Rivera, men's swimming and diving's Cole Tremewan, and men's soccer's Josh Torres. Tremewan was honored as the Outstanding Diver at the 2023 Mid-American Conference Championship after winning both the one-meter and three-meter diving competitions. The sophomore was named First-Team All-Missouri Valley Conference following his performances at the conference meet. On the women's side, the nominees were women's golf's Dasa Urbankova, women's basketball's Josie Filer, volleyball's Paola Santiago, and women's diving's Ciara McCliment. Filer and Santiago were named co-winners of the award after Filer finished her lone season with the Flames as the team's leader in points, points per game, rebounds, rebounds per game and was second on UIC's roster in blocks and steals. She recorded her 1,000^th career point in March and was named to the MVC All-Newcomer Team and All-MVC Third-Team.
Santiago had a 2022 season to remember, finishing the season with 364 kills, 302 digs, 54 assists, 53 blocks and 24 aces. She was named to the 2022 MVC volleyball All-Conference First Team and is UIC's tenth member of the prestigious 1,000 kills / 1,000 digs club.
 
ULTIMATE FLAME
The Ultimate Flame Award is awarded to a senior student-athlete who is the ultimate Flame. Nominees must have a GPA of 3.0 or higher, be a significant athletic contributor to their team's competitive success, be actively engaged in mission-driven service, be a leader on their team, and an outstanding representative of the "Flames Family." On the men's side, the nominees were men's soccer's Andres Moreno, men's tennis' Pelle Strandberg, and baseball's Charlie Szykowny. Moreno took home the award, as he was a key member of the UIC men's soccer team over his four seasons on campus. This past season, Moreno played in 15 matches, making eight starts. He scored three goals and added one assist on the season. Andres was named to the Missouri Valley Conference All-Academic Team and has a 3.68 GPA. He's also a member of the student-athlete advisory committee. The female nominees were women's basketball's Tiana Jackson, women's golf's Brooke Beyer, and volleyball's Paola Santiago. Jackson won the Ultimate Flame Award as she played in 33 games this past season, starting 21. 
Off the court, Jackson is an active member of the campus community and has been UIC's President of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Jackson was UIC's recipient of the 2023 Winter State Farm MVC Good Neighbor Award and was named to the MVC Scholar-Athlete Honorable Mention Team.