Hannah Huddleston
Women's Ultimate
Hannah Huddleston is a graduating senior, captain, and pillar of the Women's Ultimate team. She is their shut-down player on defense while still making exceptional grabs on offense and big, yard-gaining passes. She is a 2023 Callahan nominee, a USA Ultimate honor recognizing dedication to the program, Spirit of the Game, and all-around athleticism. Her contagious joy both on and off the field will be sorely missed next year, but we are excited to see where ultimate takes her next. Her first stop: the United Kingdom for Team USA at the U-24 World Championships.
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Alex Lee
Taekwondo
Alex Lee started Taekwondo in 2004 and has since traveled the world to compete in Taekwondo events. He earned a bronze medal at the 2016 World Poomsae Championships and two gold medals at the 2019 Pan American Games in men's individual poomsae and team freestyle. In 2018, he won three gold medals at the National Collegiate Taekwondo Championships, which contributed significantly to the club winning the Collegiate National Championships that year. He recently won gold and silver medals at the 2023 National Collegiate Taekwondo Championships team trials, where he was also selected to represent Team USA at the 2023 Summer World University Games Taekwondo in mixed pairs poomsae.
The Farm Award
Natalie Hilderbrand
Club Water Polo
Comments from their team:Â Natalie's commitment to the team and the sport goes beyond just being a captain. She has taken on a leadership role in organizing games, tournaments, and scrimmages while also helping to recruit new members and ensure the team's growth. Her dedication to the team's success has been evident in the strong team culture she has helped create. Furthermore, Natalie's efforts to spearhead the creation of Stanford's first-ever women's water polo club team demonstrate her leadership, vision, and dedication to the sport. Without her efforts, the team may not have been able to exist, let alone thrive as it has under her leadership. Overall, Natalie's impact on the team and the program at large has been significant. Her commitment, dedication, and leadership have helped create a strong and supportive team culture while also expanding the reach of water polo at Stanford. Her efforts have undoubtedly contributed to the success of Club Water Polo as an organization and make her an excellent candidate for the Farm Award.
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Brian Kuglen
Club Tennis
Comments from their team:Â I've had the great honor of working closely with Brian to run Club Tennis as presidents this past year. He is absolutely perfect for this position and someone everyone in the club trusts as a leader. His organization skills, ability to get things done, and communication ability makes him an effective leader and great partner and teammate. I've worked with Brian for the last three years in multiple different club tennis roles from practice coordinator to VP to President. Every year I felt our relationship grew stronger, we learned how to communicate with each other better to execute on key deliverables, and expanded the club tennis community as such. Brian constantly thinks with the club first. He prioritizes new members, making sure they're getting playtime in tournaments, get invites to socials, and are being welcomed to practice. He goes out of his to way to ensure that club tennis can be a home for everyone, be it you're a green freshman just setting foot on this campus or a former D1 player PhD. On top of this, he balances being a member of Club Sports Exec, serving as VP for all club sports. Brian and I both received a lot from club tennis. Our friendship initiated through this organization and without tennis uniting us I may have never met such a close friend on campus. As such, we both felt an obligation to give back to this community and that was the reason we both ran for President. We wanted to make this org just as welcoming and nourishing for new members as it was for us so the next Stanford class can find lifelong friends. We both did that. But Brian took it one step further by signing onto Club Sports Exec. He was able to expand his impact beyond just our community to every club sports community. From what I hear from his work, he really enjoys his role and the impact he's had on all club sports and I'm sure he's been delivering the same quality for everyone that he does for us. Don't believe anyone would further exemplify this honor than Brian.
Leadership Award
Allyson Bunch
Club Women's Soccer
Comments from their team:Â
Allyson Bunch, one of the captains on club soccer, has shown me what it means to be a leader. Our club soccer practices always feel different when Ally isn't there. She's mastered the art of leading by example and also leading through community. On the field, she's one of the hardest workers I've ever seen. There have been many times during the later parts of games where I'm sucking in air, unsure if I have it in me to sprint for the next tackle or through ball. But then I see Ally, still sprinting, still shouting encouragement, even though she's as exhausted as I am. She does this because she's selfless; she does this for her team. There is no truer sign of good leadership than having a willingness to sacrifice your comfort for those you lead. That's Ally. I know I speak for the majority of the team when I say that her unceasing work ethic constantly inspires me to work harder in times when it seems so easy to give up. If she's still giving it her all, then the rest of us can too. Outside of competition, Ally demonstrates day in and day out what leadership looks like. Ally is like a magnet; when she's around, everyone gravitates towards her. This speaks to her consistently positive outlook on life and warm, inclusive energy that makes you feel immediately welcomed. After a tough loss or difficult fitness session during practice, Ally is the first to focus on the positives and remind us why we're all here: because we love each other and we love the game we play. Before every competition, Ally is the one to give us a pregame pep talk. She repeats one phrase at the end on every single occasion; I think this perfectly sums up the community Ally creates and the way her leadership inspires us all. "Play with heart, play with courage, play for each other. Stanford on three."
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Natalie Schieuer
Triathlon
Comments from their team:Â Natalie was the co-director of the 17th Annual Treeathlon this year. Treeathlon is the Club teams biggest fundraiser and interaction with the bay area triathlon community. Every year, the team hosts it to pay for team race costs, host other collegiate athletes, and give our members a deeper understanding of the world of triathlon. This year Natalie spearheaded an effort to expand registration, bringing in 600 triathletes from around the state (with some competitors outside of California!) and managing a team of 15 coordinators and over 50 volunteers. Starting from June of the previous academic year, the 8-month process involves countless meetings, emails, insurance claims, and late hours of sacrifice for the team. In conjunction with all this, the race was featured in the Stanford Daily, had Redwood City Mayor Jeff Gee in attendance, and nearly doubled its profits from the previous year (allowing the team to send anyone with interest to the collegiate nationals race in Atlanta!). It speaks to Natalie's relentless work ethic when she immediately began the process for a transition document once the race was over. This transition document serves as an extremely comprehensive summary of the directing process (with over 70 pages, outlining each precise role down to the month). Natalie is a Knight-Hennessy Scholar, a passionate member of the triathlon team, a wonderful director with innate leadership skills, and has the selflessness to serve her country as a member of the Navy after graduating from Stanford. In my years at Stanford, I couldn't think of anyone more qualified for a leadership award.
Dylan Pichay
Club Men's Volleyball
Carter Sun
Club Men's Volleyball
