The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
UConn’s Thomas, Fairfield’s Kramer, honored with Courage Award
Sam Kramer, a senior on the Fairfield women’s basketball team, was selected as a recipient of the Hartford HealthCare Connecticut Courage Award.
Also selected was Eli Thomas, a senior football player at UConn. Both will be honored Wednesday at a pair of ceremonies. Rebecca Lobo, ambassador of the program, will present each of the honorees with a plaque. Each school will also receive a $1,250 donation to the general scholarship funds in their names.
The awards, presented monthly in conjunction with the College Sports Information Directors of America, honor two inspiring student-athletes that have demonstrated courage in the face of adversity. A panel of writers, editors, CoSIDA members and Lobo select the honorees.
Kramer, a point guard for the Stags, lost her father in December after his very sudden battle with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), an rare illness rare in which the body produces too many activated immune cells, leading to non-Hodgkin’s T-cell lymphoma.
She missed two games but returned to the starting line-up, where she led the MAAC in 3-point field goal percentage. She also led the conference with an average of 36.6 minutes played while posting 7.3 points, 3.6 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game.
In March, on the eve of the MAAC tournament, she shared the experience of coping with her father’s death in a touching ESPNW essay.
She is a two-time MAAC All-Academic pick, a marketing major with a minor in management, and is averaging a career-high 9.9 points, 3.6 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game. She currently stands ninth all-time for the Stags with 136 career 3-pointers in 110 career games.
Thomas underwent multiple knee surgeries over the past three years and in October 2018 suffered a stroke. He spent 10 days in the hospital and another week in a rehab facility to regain his physical strength and mobility. He moved into his brother’s house for a few months to work every day with his sister-in-law, a speech therapist.
By the start of the current school year he was back on campus. Despite a remarkable recovery, his playing career was over. Regardless, he was selected as a team captain, working out and traveling with the team. He earned the Alumni Award, presented to a senior deemed the ultimate team player. He is currently on track to earn his degree in applied resource economics.