At the annual Middlebury College Athletics Award Ceremony, which took place virtually this year. Former Deerfield student-athlete Zeke Emerson ’16 was awarded the Murphy Roberts ’17 Memorial Award.
The Murphy Roberts ’17 Memorial Award is awarded, when merited, to the Middlebury varsity athlete who inspires teammates with the selflessness, enthusiasm and team spirit demonstrated by Murphy Roberts.
A four-year lacrosse player at Middlebury. Zeke had a break-out junior season, playing in all of the team’s 17 games and starting in 14. As a defender, he tallied four goals and registered two assists during the season and amassed 43 ground balls and caused 20 turnovers. Zeke captained his brief three-game senior season that was cancelled due to COVID-19.
At Deerfield, Zeke was a standout three-sport varsity student-athlete in football, hockey and lacrosse, captaining the Big Green football team during his senior year.
Furthermore, Zeke was one of fourteen senior student-athletes who were elected into Middlebury College’s chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. As stated in the Middlebury Athletics press release, the organization is the country’s oldest honor society for the liberal arts, founded in 1776, with the Middlebury chapter electing up to 10 percent of the senior class each year. One of the traditional symbols most often identified with Phi Betta Kappa is the key, which the society developed in its early days. Middlebury owns one of the oldest keys still in existence – that of the first president, Jeremiah Atwater. Zeke was also elected into Deerfield’s Phi Betta Kappa chapter during his time at Deerfield.
Congratulations, Zeke!