Esports Racks Up Postseason Awards

DANBURY, Conn. — The 2023 Spring season ended on a high note for the St. Mary's University Esports team as 16 student-athletes were named to the ECAC All-Academic team, while three brought home individual awards.
 
Ana Loza, a freshman from Artesia, N.M., was tabbed the Rookie of the Year for Fortnite, while David Kamel (San Antonio) brought home the same award in Halo. Senior Aaron Lozano was named the ECAC Player of the Year in Halo.
 
Loza and her duo Tanaja Alexander (Dayton, Ohio) successfully qualified for the first round of the Spring 2023 playoffs. As a freshman, she's maintained a high term and cumulative GPA while juggling student-athlete responsibilities, honors program requirements, a small business, and her challenging course work. She holds a club officer position in the Accounting Club and is an active member of the St. Mary's campus community.
 
As a freshman, Kamel helped the team earn a 2nd and 3rd place finish in the Fall 2022 and Spring 2023 seasons, respectively. He's grown as an individual, a student, an athlete, and a Halo player through his dedication to the team, learning new strategies, and utilizing feedback to make himself the best teammate possible.
 
As captain of the St. Mary's Halo Infinite team, Lozano led the team to numerous victories including 3rd place in the Spring 2023 and 2nd place in the Fall 2022 seasons. He's gone above and beyond as a mentor to the underclassmen on his team, set an example as a servant leader, and excelled in his senior design project while fulfilling all his student-athlete responsibilities.
 
Martin Beirne IV (Houston), Marshal Davis (Rockport, Texas), Angelina DeSilvester (Seguin, Texas), Olivia DeSilvester (Seguin), Esmerelda Gomez, Sebastian Gonzalez Vilcarromero, Kamel, Gabriel Lopez (Boerne, Texas), Loza, Lozano, Alexandra Mancillas (Helotes, Texas), Elizabeth Moralez (San Antonio), Jett Nicolet (Corpus Christi, Texas), Carolina Pinales (Brownsville, Texas), Alexander Small (Adkins, Texas), and Carlos Tami (San Antonio) were all named to the All-Academic team, presented to student-athletes who recorded a 3.2 GPA or above for the spring semester.
 
The Rattlers had the fourth-most student-athletes named to the team with 16 and were part of 133 student-athletes honored by the league.