PORTLAND, Ore. --- Senior men's tennis player Michail Pervolarakis and junior women's cross country and track runner Taryn Rawlings are the University of Portland's 2017-18 Fr. Chester Prusynski Student-Athletes of the Year. Both Pervolarakis and Rawlings had historic years, as both made an impact on the national stage.
 
The award annually recognizes the top University of Portland student-athletes based on athletic and academic credentials.
 
Pervolarakis nabs his second straight Father Pru Award, while Rawlings makes it four straight years that a women's distance runner has earned the award.
 
Pervolarakis, who originally hails from Limassol, Cyprus, concluded his career as the most decorated men's tennis player in modern program history. He became the second Portland player to earn a spot in the NCAA Singles Championships, where he lost a three-setter to the eventual NCAA champion.
 
He was ranked as high as No. 18 nationally in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) singles rankings and collected back-to-back West Coast Conference Player of the Year honors. Pervolarakis is the first Pilot to win a WCC Player of the Year award and only non-Pepperdine competitor in the league's history to win the honor twice. He also was named All-WCC First Team three times, also a first in Pilot history.
 
Pervolarakis won the ITA Northwest Regional in the fall and was the recipient of the WCC Sportsmanship Award, which crosses over all WCC sponsored sports. He finished his senior year with a 25-7 overall singles record and was 81-29 during his four-year career on The Bluff.
 
Rawlings had an exceptional cross country and track season on the Bluff, earning All-Region honors in the fall before nabbing All-American accolades in the spring. Last November, the native of Wilsonville, Ore., finished 14th at the 2017 West Regional Championships, punching her ticket to nationals. Rawlings, who also earned West Coast Conference All-Academic honors, would go on to place 51st at the 2017 NCAA Championships in Louisville, Ky.
 
During the 2018 track season in the spring, the Pilot continued to make headlines. She broke the UP program record in the outdoor 1500m three times, and she made her second trip to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene. While in Eugene, Rawlings earned a spot in the finals of the 1500, and with a sixth-place finish she capped her remarkable season with her first career All-American honor.
 
The Fr. Chester Prusynski Student-Athlete of the Year award is the most prestigious University honor for student-athletes and is presented annually to one female and one male who have excelled both in athletics and in the classroom. Winners are selected by a vote of athletic administrators. The name of the award was changed in the summer of 2010 in honor of Rev. Chester Prusynski, C.S.C., who served the University community and was a fixture at Pilot athletic events for nearly 50 years.