Celebrating athletic excellence
LAU holds it annual athletic awards dinner in Byblos and Beirut.
Each year LAU students compete in a plethora of sports: basketball, volleyball, futsal, football, tennis and table tennis. To recognize outstanding athletic achievement and sportsmanship, a special awards ceremony is held on each campus at the end of the year. There was certainly a lot to celebrate, with this year’s crop of athletes being heralded as the finest group that Director of Athletics on the Beirut campus Sami Garabedian has had the pleasure of working with in his 19 years at LAU. Joe Mouajaes, director of athletics at LAU Byblos, echoed the sentiment wholeheartedly, acknowledging the tremendous amount of talented athletes and teams worthy of recognition.
The Byblos campus’ Men’s Varsity Basketball Varsity team was crowned champions of the University Sports Conference (USC) 2013, a league of the best nine reputed universities in the country. This is the third consecutive year the team comes out on top. Team Members: Captain Milo Abou Jaoude, Richard Abi Faris, Al Hasan Dandash,Karam Mechref, Guy Abou Antoun, John Assi, Johnny Nemr, Pierre Njeim, Karim Daher, Paul Dib, Narek Zadikian, Patrick Chehwan, Ziad El Ali, and Mathew Dib.
Head coach of men’s basketball and Director of Athletics, Joe Mouajes, in Byblos with his championship-winning team.
Thai Kickboxing’s Cindrella Ghrawi, a second-year student majoring in radio, TV and film, received the award for best female athlete. Ghraui described her involvement with the sport as a turning point in her life.
Contrary to the stereotype of athletes as ‘jocks’, LAU’s finest sportspersons are also amongst its finest academics. Many of those present were congratulated on their exemplary GPAs. It is not by chance that they succeed both on and off the court. As Emma de Rujiter, an exchange student from Belgium and winner of the ‘Legacy Award’ for her contribution to the women’s volleyball team, pointed out, athletics provides many skills that are valuable in the academic sphere: including teamwork, optimism and determination.
Thai Kickboxing’s Hani Chehimi, a third-year marketing student, received the award for best male athlete.
To celebrate a year of remarkable athletic success, LAU Beirut gathers athletes to participate in its annual Athletic Awards Dinner.
Women’s futsal earned the bronze metal in FSUL tournament.