SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — In an effort to “Recognize Excellence in Sports and Academic Performance” during the 2005-06 school year at Wittenberg University, the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) put together the first annual Tiger Awards banquet. More than 200 student-athletes, representing each of the university’s 23 varsity athletic teams, attended the event on Friday, April 21, in the Health, Physical Education and Recreation (HPER) Center.

Among the individual award-winners who were able to attend the first annual Tiger Awards banquet on April 21 were, from left, Jamie McIntyre, Dan Russ, Pat Denbow, Justin Jenkins, Emily Hiscar and Matt Reiss.

Nine different team and individual awards were handed out during the event, encompassing a wide range of athletic, academic and extracurricular achievements during the 2005-06 school year. The goal was to highlight not just the NCAA Division III Final Four runs of the volleyball and men’s basketball teams, but to showcase accomplishments across the department of athletics. More than 200 student-athletes were in attendance, representing all 23 varsity athletic teams.

“It’s a positive thing when student-athletes take the time to recognize the hard work and accomplishments of their peers,” said Tooti Snider, assistant to the director of athletics and SAAC adviser. “SAAC leaders did a great job putting this event together. It is something we are going to continue to do in the future.”

The first award of the evening recognized team academic excellence. The Top Men’s Team GPA award went to the cross country team, and the Top Women’s Team GPA award was handed out to the volleyball squad.

Male Newcomer of the Year went to freshman Justin Jenkins (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman), a defensive back on the soccer team. Jenkins, who started 18 of the Tigers’ 19 games in 2005, was named NCAC Newcomer of the Year to go along with first-team All-NCAC and first-team All-Great Lakes Region honors. Jenkins spearheaded a defensive unit that recorded four shutouts on the season as the Tigers posted their first winning record since 2001 and made the NCAC Tournament for the first time in the six-year history of the event.

Freshmen Chris Banas (Huntington Woods, Mich./Detroit Catholic Central) of the swimming and diving team and Erik Larkin (Cincinnati, Ohio/Country Day) of the track and field team were the other two finalists for the award.

Female Newcomer of the Year went to freshman Laura Fender (Toledo, Ohio/St. Ursula), a libero on the volleyball team. Fender saw action in all 39 matches and led the team with 727 digs on the season, good for a 5.51 per game average. Fender was a key player for the Tigers as they compiled a 34-5 overall record, won a ninth consecutive NCAC Tournament championship and established a new standard for all Wittenberg women’s athletic programs with the university’s first NCAA Division III Final Four team appearance.

Freshmen Rachel Dixon (West Liberty, Ohio/Salem) of the basketball team and Suzanne Medwid (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) of the soccer team were the other two finalists for the award.

Extracurricular Male Athlete of the Year went to junior Pat Denbow (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier) of the basektball team and Extracurricular Female Athlete of the Year was awarded to senior Emily Hiscar (Pataskala, Ohio/Watkins Memorial), a standout on both the women’s soccer and women’s lacrosse teams. The Male Tiger Spirit Award went to junior Matt Reiss (Beavercreek, Ohio/Dayton Carroll) of the swimming and diving team, and the Female Tiger Spirit Award was presented to junior Tosha Johnson (Cincinnati, Ohio/North College Hill) of the basketball team.

Coach of the Year award-winners (from left) Paco Labrador and Bill Brown

Men’s Coach of the Year went to Bill Brown (Wittenberg 1973), who led the basketball team to a 30-4 overall record in 2005-06 and a trip to the national championship game. The Tigers finished the regular season with a second-place finish in the NCAC regular season standings before claiming a second consecutive NCAC Tournament title. Brown earned Great Lakes District Coach of the Year honors from the National Association of Basketball Coaches and ended the season tied for most coaching wins in Tiger men’s basketball history with 305.

Other finalists for the award were George Harris (Ithaca 1989) of the lacrosse team, which tripled its win total of a year ago, and Jay Lewis (Wittenberg 1994) of the baseball team. Lewis broke the school record for career baseball coaching wins earlier this season.

Women’s Coach of the Year went to Paco Labrador (Hiram 1995), who led the volleyball team to a 34-5 overall record and the program’s first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division III tournament semifinals, a first for any Wittenberg women’s athletic team. Champions of the NCAC Tournament for the ninth straight year and Great Lakes Regional Champions for the third time in the last four years, Labrador guided the Tigers to its second straight No. 3 national ranking in 2005.

Other finalists for the award were Pam Smith (Wittenberg 1982) of the basketball team and Norm Riker (Springfield 1992) of the women’s soccer team. Smith led her team to an 11th NCAC regular season title in the last 17 years, and Riker’s squad improved its win total for a fourth consecutive year, finishing 14-5 and just missing out on an at-large berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament.

Most Improved Men’s Team of the Year was given to the lacrosse team, which finished 6-7 overall, a four-game improvement in the win column. Most Improved Women’s Team of the Year went to the swimming and diving squad, which earned its best NCAC finish ever in 2006. The Tigers placed third in the NCAC behind only Kenyon and Denison, two of the top five programs in the country in the final NCAA Division III standings.

Outstanding Men’s Team of the Year was given to the basketball squad, which came two seconds short of capturing the third national title in the program’s history. The Tigers lost to Virginia Wesleyan in the NCAA Division III title game on a last-second three-pointer, ending their season with a school record-tying 30 wins.

Outstanding Women’s Team of the Year went to the volleyball squad, which came one point away from reaching the NCAA Division III title game for the first time in school history. The Tigers lost to defending national champion Juniata in the NCAA Division III Tournament semifinals by the slimmest of margins, 3-2. Wittenberg was one win short of the school record at 34-5 overall.

Male Athlete of the Year honors went to senior basketball standout Daniel Russ (Louisville, Ky./Trinity), who was also recognized after the season with first-team All-Great Lakes District honors from the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), second-team All-Great Lakes Region honors from d3hoops.com and second-team All-America honors from d3hoops.com in 2006. Russ led the Tigers in scoring with 15.3 points per game and blocked shots with 59 on the season.

Other finalists for the award were senior Tristan Murray (New Carlisle, Ohio/Tecumseh) of the football team, junior Brandon Schwind (Columbus, Ohio/ Upper Arlington) of the lacrosse team and senior Dane Borchers (Russia, Ohio/Russia) of the basketball team.

Female Athlete of the Year honors went to junior Jamie McIntyre (Columbus, Ohio/Grandview) of the soccer team. In 2005, McIntyre won her second straight NCAC Defensive Player of the Year award, in addition to first-team All-NCAC and first-team All-Great Lakes Region honors. McIntyre was a leader of a record-breaking defensive unit, which allowed just 10 goals in a 19-game season and posted a school-record 13 shutouts. The Tigers finished 14-5 overall, the second-highest win total in school history, and entered the national top-25 for the first time in a decade midway through the season.

Other finalists for the award were sophomore Emily Bell (Fort Wayne, Ind./Concordia Lutheran) of the volleyball team and junior Kathy Hittle (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) of the basketball team.

A pair of career achievement awards were also distributed. Daniel Russ was the choice for Male Collegiate Achievement Award. He ranks ninth in school history with 1,472 points in his career, and in 2005 he became just the 16th player in school history to reach the 500-point plateau in a season. Russ was a two-time All-American, two-time all-region honoree and three-time All-NCAC selection. He was the 2005 NCAC Player of the Year and Tournament MVP, and in 2006 he became the first Wittenberg player in more than a decade to make the NCAA Division III All-Tournament team (senior Dane Borchers joined him in earning that distinction in 2006).

The Female Collegiate Achievement Award honor went to senior Becca Searcy (Shelbyville, Ky./Shelby County), who is one of the most decorated swimmers in Wittenberg history. In 2006, she became just the third female Wittenberg swimmer to make four consecutive trips to the NCAA Division III Championship meet. Searcy finished her career with six honorable mention All-America awards before earning her first All-America honor with an eighth-place finish in the 1,650-yard freestyle at the 2006 national championship meet. Searcy, who earned at least one All-NCAC honor each as a sophomore, junior and senior, holds three school records.

On the men’s side, the other candidates for the Male Collegiate Achievement Award were senior Gregg Carter (Wellsville, Ohio/Wellsville) of the track and field team, senior Jacob Thomas (New Albany, Ohio/New Albany) of the football team and senior Cory Windle (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne) of the lacrosse team. Candidates for the Female Collegiate Achievement Award were seniors Emily Dixon (Granville, Ohio/Granville) of the volleyball team and Julia Wickham (Columbus, Ohio/Grandview) of the field hockey team.

Rounding things out, students with the top 11 grade point averages among both upperclass male and female student-athletes were recognized.

Among the men, junior John Shields (New Kensington, Pa./Valley) of the tennis team has the top GPA of 3.908. The other 10 men, all of whom have GPAs between 3.506 and 3.866, recognized at the event were senior Chris Petrik (Highland Heights, Ohio/Mayfield) of the cross country team, Pat Denbow, senior George Andress (Mansfield, Ohio/Senior) of the football team, junior Eduardo Missura (Quito, Ecuador/American School) of the soccer team, junior Sebastian Missura (Quito, Ecuador/American School) of the soccer team, senior Matt Stechschulte (Columbus Grove, Ohio/Columbus Grove) of the football team, Tristan Murray, Nate Cherry (Toledo, Ohio/St. John’s Jesuit) of the football team, senior Nathan Sears (Berea, Ohio/Berea) and senior Brady Hively (Baltimore, Ohio/St. Charles) of the soccer team.

Among the women, senior Linda Young (Minster, Ohio/Minster) of the volleyball team has the top GPA of 3.825. The other 10 women, all with GPAs between 3.537 and 3.801, recognized at the event were Kathy Hittle, junior Sarah Yehle (West Lafayette, Ind./West Lafayette) of the cross country team, junior Gina Carney (Lexington, Ky./Catholic) of the basketball team, junior Christine Maddox (Miamisburg, Ohio/Miamisburg) of the cross country team, senior Ann Delaney (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Buffalo Grove) of the golf team, Julia Wickham, senior Anna Finkelstein (Whitehall, Mich./Reeths-Puffer) of the cross country and track and field teams, senior Ann Lutz (Marysville, Ohio/Marysville) of the lacrosse team, senior Betany Yeakley (Wilmington, Ohio/Wilmington) of the swimming and diving squad, and junior Holly McHugh (Randolph, N.J./Randolph).

019-06

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