LAIR5/9/2016 9:14 PM | By: Cal Athletics
Talent on Display At Sixth Annual Oskis
BERKELEY ? From Bieber, to Kanye, to Rihanna and even Sir Paul McCartney, Haas Pavilion has seen it all.
Well, maybe not quite in the way you're thinking ? but the 850 student-athletes who packed the arena last Wednesday night for the annual Oskis Awards have more than enough talent to rival some of Hollywood's biggest stars.
The sixth annual Oskis ? a part Oscars, part ESPYs awards ceremony ? celebrates the athletic accomplishments and community involvement of student-athletes from among all 30 of Cal's Intercollegiate Athletics varsity sports. The show, which is organized by the Golden Bear Advisory Committee (GBAC), includes talent displays, comedy and a live voting process for the awards.
“We get to see other athletes perform in ways that they don't usually perform every day,” said women's gymnastics junior Charlie Owens.
Singing was the medium of choice for all five talent acts, including a mashup from men's gymnastics' Kyle Zemeir, Kevin Ko and Michael Rauchwerger, which included a Justin Bieber song, and a cover of the Rihanna-Kanye West-McCartney trio's “FourFiveSeconds” by track and field's Destiny Parker, Scott Chiesa and Noel Frazier, and women's water polo's Kat Menz. Football's Semisi Uluave, from Honolulu, Hawaii, brought some island flavor to Haas with a ukulele rendition of Passion's “Lemonade,” and women's crew's Lisa Perrine even performed an original song she wrote. Women's soccer's Isabel Damiani and rugby's Agustin Centurion took home the “Best Talent” crown for a soulful rendition of Gnarls Barkley's “Crazy.”
“Best Talent” was just one of 17 different awards presented by student-athletes from among the 30 varsity sports. Most winners were decided by a text-to-vote format, with women's crew nabbing at least a share of three awards ? Women's Team of the Year, Golden Couple (Katie Kelly) and Coach of the Year (Al Acosta). Student-athletes celebrated men's basketball's standout season with both the “Men's Team of the Year” honor and Jaylen Brown's “Male Newcomer of the Year” honor. Among the other major awards, football's Jared Goff won “Male Athlete of the Year” and women's gymnastics' Toni-Ann Williams won an award for the second consecutive year with her “Female Athlete of the Year” laurel.
Student-athletes also had an opportunity to hear from volleyball's Savannah Rennie, who was named the “Jill Costello Most Inspirational Student-Athlete.” Rennie, who is in Indiana awaiting a liver transplant after being diagnosed with Congenital Hepatic Fibrosis with Portal Hypertension, spoke to her peers via a pre-recorded video.
“I want to thank GBAC for honoring me with this award, and I want to thank my teammates and coaches for sticking by me in this situation...I cannot wait to be back on campus wearing that Blue and Gold,” she said.
View all the 2016 Oskis winners below:
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2016 Oskis Award Winners
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Men's Team of the Year
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Basketball
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Women's Team of the Year
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Crew
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Male Athlete of the Year
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Jared Goff (Football)
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Female Athlete of the Year
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Toni-Ann Williams (Women's Gymnastics)
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Male Newcomer of the Year
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Jaylen Brown (Men's Basketball)
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Female Newcomer of the Year
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Amy Bilquist (Women's Swimming)
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Golden Couple
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Christopher Duval (Men's Crew) & Katie Kelly (Women's Crew)
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Coach of the Year
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Al Acosta (Women's Crew)
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Athletic Trainer of the Year
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Josh Carey
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Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year
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Abe Munayer
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Best Talent
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Isabel Damiani (Women's Soccer) & Agustin Centurion (Rugby)
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Best Action Shot
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Rugby
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Team Video of the Year
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Men's Water Polo
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Jill Costello Award
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Savannah Rennie (Volleyball)
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Highest Team GPA
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Beach Volleyball
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Community Outreach Award
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Men's & Women's Tennis
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Cal Cup
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Men's Tennis
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