LAKELAND, FL - Florida Southern College held its annual Athletic Academic Awards Banquet on Monday evening as it recognized its top student-athletes in an event held at Streamline Sale Arena at Jenkins Field House. More than 500 student-athletes, coaches, staff, and invited guests were in attendance.

The event included the recognition of the Pat McFadden Scholar-Athletes of the Year, as well as the Athletic Director's Scholar-Athlete Awards, senior awards, and the inaugural Support of Excellence Award.

Nicole Mattson of the Moccasin volleyball team earned the Pat McFadden Award on the women's side, while Matthew Holmes of men's swimming was the recipient on the men's side. Mattson, who carries a 3.72 grade-point average as a double major in mathematics and computer science, is a two-time all-American, a two-time South Region Player of the Year, and earned SSC Player of the Year honors as a senior this year. She helped lead the Moccasins to an NCAA Division II national runner-up finish as a junior and is a four-time Sunshine State Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll selection and a CoSIDA Academic all-District honoree.

Holmes won back-to-back individual national titles in the 400-IM, is a 19-time all-American in six different events, and is a two-time SSC Swimmer of the Year. He holds school records on both the 200 and 400-IM events and has four other top-10 times in the school's all-time record books. Holmes recorded 38 individual wins in his career, and holds a 3.59 GPA as a sports management major. He will become a four-time SSC Commissioner's Honor Roll recipient when the Spring Honor Roll is released following the conclusion of the academic year.

Established during the 1991-92 school year, the award is named for former Florida Southern athletics academic counselor Pat McFadden, and is presented to the male and female student-athletes with the best combination of athletic and academic success.

The Support of Excellence Award went to women's tennis assistant coach Paul Walker. The award will be given annually to an assistant coach or staff member who works tirelessly behind the scenes to help Florida Southern's student-athletes maintain their excellence both academically and athletically. Walker has served in a volunteer role with the Mocs for several years and has traveled all around the country to support the Mocs, who are currently ranked No. 18 in the country. The award was handed out by women's tennis seniors Selin Devrimci and Lorena Rionda.

The Athletic Director's Scholar-Athlete Award winners comprised of the student-athletes with the highest cumulative grade point average through the Fall 2018 semester. To be eligible for the Athletic Director's Scholar-Athlete Award, a student-athlete must have completed at least 60 credit hours as a student at Florida Southern.

2018-19 Athletic Academic Awards Banquet (Mikaela Queen & Leslie White/FSC Athletics)

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