CHERRY HILL, N.J.--Volleyball senior Gabby Pethokoukis (Western Springs, Ill.) was presented with the most prestigious award of the night at the 112th Annual Philadelphia Sportswriters' Association Dinner on Monday evening. Pethokoukis was chosen as the 2016 winner of the Most Courageous Athlete Award, an honor which was the final presentation of the evening and which annually is the award that sets the PSWA Dinner apart from other sports awards receptions.

Earlier in the night, senior track & field star Angel Piccirillo (Homer City, Pa.) won the Frank Dolson/Penn Relays Award and senior Jackie Froccaro (Sands Point, N.Y.) from the women's lacrosse team was recognized for being the BIG EAST Attacker of the Year last season. The annual sportswriters' dinner was held at the Crowne Plaza in Cherry Hill, N.J. and recognized the best athletes, coaches, executives and other personalities in the local sports scene from the past year.

Pethokoukis was diagnosed with Burkitt's lymphoma ââ'¬" a form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and a rare but aggressive form of the disease ââ'¬" in February of 2014. She is now in complete remission and returned to the Wildcats this past season, earning second team All-BIG EAST honors and leading Villanova to one of the most successful seasons in program history.

"I was surprised and humbled when I first found out," Pethokoukis said of winning the Most Courageous Athlete Award. "I thought back and the moment that sticks out the most to me is the day that I was diagnosed. It was a feeling of disbelief and a shock to find out that I had to pack up and immediately leave my team behind."

Following her diagnosis, Pethokoukis returned home and began three cycles of intensive chemotherapy treatments. She received the equivalent of nine months of treatments in a three-month span and was pronounced cancer-free on June 23, 2014. Pethokoukis received the strongest form of chemotherapy and its effects lasted for months following the end of treatments. Those lingering effects forced her to miss the 2014 volleyball season but she returned to full practices with the team for spring workouts in 2015.

"It's something you can't fight alone," Pethokoukis said of her battle with cancer. "I had my family, my siblings, my boyfriend, my teammates and the Villanova athletic community around me. We all went through this togetherââ'¬Â¦and this award means a lot to all of us. The support I received from Coach [Josh] Steinbach, my teammates and [Associate AD] Father Rob Hagan, O.S.A. speaks volumes about Villanova's commitment to its values of community and service. My experience playing volleyball at Villanova and being a part of the athletics program here will always be a part of my life."

Pethokoukis made a triumphant return to the court during the 2015 season. She had 127 total blocks for the year, which is the sixth-highest single-season total in school history. Pethokoukis averaged 1.09 blocks per set and also led the Wildcats with a .316 attack percentage. She averaged 2.28 kills per set and totaled 265 kills for the season. Villanova won 25 matches in 2015 ââ'¬" its highest total since 1993 ââ'¬" and advanced to the final of the BIG EAST Championship along the way to reaching the NCAA Tournament for only the second time in program history.

"It was definitely tough at times," Pethokoukis said. "It was a long journey and it was really emotional. When I was in the hospitalââ'¬Â¦I remember seeing pictures of kids going through even worse medical issues. So I could have gone through a lot worse. People do. They're the people I consider courageous."

Pethokoukis joins former Wildcats track & field standout Frances Koons as recent winners of the Most Courageous Athlete Award. Koons won the award in 2010 following the conclusion of her Villanova career. A nine-time All-American and a nine-time BIG EAST Champion for the Wildcats from 2004-09, Koons was diagnosed with a form of kidney cancer in 2007 and returned to top form for Villanova after being declared cancer-free.

Monday night's banquet also marked the third straight year that a student-athlete from the Wildcats women's track & field team won the Frank Dolson/Penn Relays Award. Piccirillo helped lead Villanova to Championship of America titles in both the 4x800 meter relay and the distance medley relay last April. She anchored the 4x800 relay with a sensational split of 2:04.28 in the final leg of the race and also ran the leadoff leg of the DMR with a split of 3:23.25 over 1200 meters. Piccirillo was chosen as the Women's Athlete of the Meet for the relay events in recognition of her performance.

In her three years of competition at the Penn Relays for the Wildcats, Piccirillo has become one of just nine women in school history to win six or more Championship of America watches. She has been a part of three consecutive wins in the 4x800 meter relay (2013-15), as well as running on victorious DMR teams in 2013 and 2015 and the 4x1500 meter relay in 2014. Piccirillo is also a six-time All-American and a seven-time BIG EAST champion during her collegiate career. Former teammate Emily Lipari won the Frank Dolson/Penn Relays Award in each of the past two years.

Froccaro was one of the top all-around offensive performers in the BIG EAST during the 2015 season. She finished the year with 49 goals, eight assists and 57 points while leading Villanova to a 9-8 record and the program's first-ever appearance in the BIG EAST Championship. Froccaro's 49 goals and her 3.35 points per game each ranked second among BIG EAST players, and her number of goals also are tied for the fourth-most in a single-season in Wildcats history. She also led the BIG EAST with 4.47 draw controls per game, and her 76 total draw controls ranked 16th in the nation following the close of conference tournament play.

Entering her senior season, Froccaro is tied for eighth in school history with 99 career goals. Her other career totals include 14 assists, 113 points and 90 draw controls. Froccaro was recently named the BIG EAST Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and was a unanimous selection to the Women's Lacrosse Preseason All-BIG EAST Team.