Roxas Honored With IWLCA Community Awareness Award
NORTHBOROUGH, MASS. – The IWLCA announced Monday that Catherine Roxas is one of two collegiate lacrosse players in the country to earn an individual Community Awareness Award from the organization. The honor recognizes student-athletes who have significantly contributed to their community by giving their time and energy to support and develop athlete-community relations and have distinguished themselves from their peers.
"I feel honored to have been selected for this award but want to acknowledge each and every one of my teammates and coaches for all their dedicated work towards various community service projects this past year, including founding Bears United, One Love Foundation, HEADStrong Foundation, and all those who worked alongside me on the Go Bears Go Vote project," Roxas said. "The entire program is deserving of this award, and I will gladly share this honor with each of them."
The political science and media studies double major was previously awarded with Cal's Walter A. Haas Jr. Service Award. She was heavily involved in several racial justice activities this during the 2020-21 academic year, including a leadership role in the planning and execution of Racial Justice Unity Games for each team at Cal. She was also a member of the Student-Athlete Racial Justice Council that educated and advocated with fellow student-athletes and athletic department staff, and spoke about her experience as part of the "Leadership Showcase" organized by the Cameron Institute. In addition, Roxas spearheaded the "Go Bears Go Vote!" initiative, which promoted voter education and registration among student-athletes, and helped organize activities for several games in which the One Love and HEADStrong foundations and Cal's student-athlete gay straight alliance Bears United were recognized.
On the field, Roxas has played in 42 of 44 possible games in her career over the last three seasons since her arrival at Cal prior to her 2019 campaign including all 18 contests as a 2021 junior. The midfielder has made all 14 of her career starts over the last two campaigns with seven each season. She has registered 15 career points on 10 goals and five assists, while adding 21 ground balls, nine caused turnovers and three draw controls.
Roxas also contributed to lacrosse's 3.72 team GPA in the fall of 2020, which was the highest among all 30 of Cal's athletic teams.
"This is a tremendous honor," head coach Brooke Eubanks said. "We are so proud of Catherine and appreciate the IWLCA for recognizing her. Community awareness is a huge priority for our entire program and Catherine has been at the forefront of our efforts. She is both doing great work herself, and perhaps even more importantly, setting an example for her teammates to follow."