So this is the final word. Stick a fork in me. Game over. Turn out the lights. It’s all over. We’ve come to the end of the road.

OK, enough of that.

On a more serious note, it’s amazing that another year is almost in the books. However, it’s still tough to recap BU’s year in sports at this time. With the now 14-time defending America East women’s tennis team entering NCAA tournament action this Saturday, as well as the Boston Bombers (aka the Terrier softball team) still facing a bright spot in its season, a lot could still be accomplished.

All in all, it was a solid, but not spectacular, year from Terrier athletics. No national champions (yet), but the wild ride that was this year will continue past this paper’s finish. Although there are still some games to play, it seems only fitting to finish the season with awards for the year. Here, I present you the Lyons Plaques. Yes, we’re going classy. Plaques, not trophies.

Player of the Year: John Curry. With all due respect to Tahari James, who had a phenomenal year in track and field, Curry runs laps around the field in this category. It would be easy enough to give him the award here solely on the fact that he was a star the two years prior to his final act this winter. He could have had a decent year and probably still taken down plenty of individual honors. Per usual, he outdid himself from the previous year and turned in one of the finest performances at any position in school history.

Best Moment: The women’s tennis team capturing 14th consecutive America East title.

How can this not be the winner? I mean, this is a mind-boggling accomplishment. Lance Armstrong blew me away when he won seven straight Tour De France titles. This team has doubled what he did. That type of longevity just doesn’t happen. Sure, you might say, it’s hard to give out a best moment award for something I didn’t witness. But 14 in a row? Please. No contest. I don’t even have that many fingers.

Best Rookie: He may have been a redshirt freshman, but Tyler Morris is the leader of what appears to be a bright future for Terrier men’s basketball. Along with the rest of the well-hyped freshmen class from this past season, Morris will be a key cog in pushing this team forward in the next three years. Corey Lowe showed flashes of brilliance, but it was Morris’s consistent play that was most impressive. If they all stay together and put one big man in the mix, this team could wreak havoc for a team or two in the NCAA tournament in the future.

Best Team: Softball. This is more based on potential than anything. If the squad falls short in the America East Tournament, give the award to women’s tennis, men’s hockey or women’s soccer. But this team is just downright scary. Coming their pitching staff alongside their potent lineup, and this is one of those teams that no one wants to play. If and when it makes the NCAA tournament, this team looks as though it can play with anyone. If they get hot, look out.

Best Game: Beanpot championship. It had all the elements. BC-BU. Great goaltending. The Terriers looking as though they were on their way down and out for a heartbreaking loss. BC dominated the final period and the start of overtime. Who can forget the puck that almost snuck underneath Curry with nine seconds left in regulation? Then, with the snap of the wrist from next year’s captain Brian McGuirk, bedlam broke out among Terrier fans at the Garden. Say what you want about it being an ugly game or not mattering that much, anytime you win the Beanpot in OT, it’s the game of the year in my book.

So there you have it. Winners can pick up their plaque tonight at the GSU. OK, maybe congratulations are the only thing you get, but a plaque with a lion on it would be pretty cool if you ask me.

As I say goodbye for the semester, I want to thank those of you who have turned to the back page every Thursday and read this column. I hope you enjoyed the ride to our mini-golf courses and back. I’ll see you on the first tee.

Chris Lyons, a junior in the College of Communication, has been a weekly columnist for The Daily Free Press. He can be reached at [email protected].