GEORGETOWN, Texas – At the annual Southwestern Student Leadership Banquet, student-athletes Sarah Ayers and Mike Cantu were the deserving recipients of the 2012 Pirate Anchor Award.

Every Pirate team nominates a candidate that has acted as their "anchor" in times of both strength and struggle. This individual possesses the qualities of sportsmanship, selflessness, and positivity both in and out of competition. From the original 18 nominations, the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee then selects three men and three women to be sent to the final voting by the Southwestern campus community. The deserving candidates this year include: Sarah Ayers (swimming), Lyndsey Resnik (soccer), Rachel Thibodeau (volleyball), Zach Anglin (track), Mike Cantu (basketball), and Alex Reinsch (tennis).

Sarah Ayers (pictured right), a senior from Houston, Texas, has had a fantastic athletic career as a Pirate. She was Southwestern's first All-American for swimming and earned a 7^th place finish in the 100 backstroke at the NCAA Championships in 2011. She won this same event at the SCAC Championships and was selected to the All-SCAC Team that year. Ayers also placed second in the 100 butterfly at those SCAC Championships.

Mike Cantu (pictured left), a sophomore guard from Corpus Christi, Texas, had a great year for the Pirates.  He averaged 24 minutes a game and 9.4 points per game. Cantu shot 47.9 percent from the field, 32.1 percent from 3-point range, and an impressive 74 percent from the line. He also averaged 3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.

The Southwestern Athletic Department would like to congratulate Sarah and Mike, as well as the other nominees, for this prestigious honor.