“I feel like it’s the award for me because I spent the whole year poured into IMs, above everything else,” Gilligan said. “It’s also nice to get recognition for people that aren’t varsity athletes, but are serious athletes.”
In addition to recognizing Gilligan, Spies also praised Dunster House Assistant to the Senior Tutor and IM Co-Secretary Carlos R. Diaz for motivating Dunster to a third-place finish.
“Dunster House finished 11th last year and was only 20 points behind Cabot for second place this year,” Spies said. “That is solely due to Carlos.”
Robbins said his House similarly ascended from an 11th-place finish two years ago to a third-place showing last year.
“We want to tip our hats to Dunster House,” Robbins said. “They essentially did what we did last year—bringing our House up from nothing.”
In addition to winning the Straus Cup and the Intramural Athlete of the Year Award, Eliot won the men’s crew award, while Adams House took home the women’s crew trophy for the second time in three years.
About 30 students and administrators attended the luncheon, which was held in the Murr Center for the first time. In years past, the Straus Cup was presented on the steps of the MAC to a representative of the winning House.
Spies said the newly formatted luncheon—modeled after those held for varsity athletes at season’s end—was symbolic of the athletic department’s goal of reaching out to non-varsity athletes.
The otherwise-festive mood of the luncheon was dampened when Spies revealed that he will step down at the end of the year to attend the Boston College School of Business in the fall. Spies’ announcement prompted a standing ovation.
BreeAnna D. Gibson ’04, one of two referees, said this was the best of her four years in the intramural program because of Spies’ involvement.
“This year has been far and away my best year here and it’s all because of Geoff,” Gibson said. “He’s really listened to people in the program, and it’s made a huge difference.”
—Staff writer Alan J. Tabak can be reached at tabak@fas.harvard.edu.