University of Minnesota Athletics
BB: Minnesota Announces Team Awards
5/31/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
This year the Dugout Club Player of the Year Award was changed to the Dianne Olson- Ficenko Award. Minnesota also added a new award in the Teammate of the Year honor.
Jake Elder (Delta, British Columbia) was named the Siebert Memorial MVP for 2005. Elder finished the season with a .328 batting average, five home runs, 43 RBI, 13 doubles and a team-leading .417 on-base percentage. He tied a Big Ten record for the most hits in a Big Ten Tournament with 13, and was named to the 2005 All-Big Ten Tournament team. He finished his career with a .318 batting average 94 runs, 16 home runs, 104 RBI and 30 doubles.
David Hrncirik (Madison, Wis.) received the Dianne Olson-Ficenko Player of the Year Award. Hrncirik finished the season with a .332 batting average, 38 runs, 29 RBI and 29 stolen bases. The 29 stolen bases were the fourth-most by a Golden Gopher player in a single-season. Hrncirik was also the only Golden Gopher to be named First-Team All-Big Ten this season. He was the first First-Team All-Big Ten third baseman for Minnesota since Jack Hannahan received the honors in 2001.
Matt Fornasiere (Maple Grove, Minn.) received the Paul Molitor Batting Champion Award for having the highest batting average on the season. Fornasiere batted .335, with a team- leading 47 runs, four home runs, 40 RBI, 18 doubles and 10 stolen bases. He was named to an All-Big Ten for a second straight season, as he garnered Second-Team All-Big Ten shortstop honors this year. Fornasiere batted .463 with two homers and five runs in the Big Ten Tournament.
Matt Loberg (Anoka, Minn.) was named the Dave Winfield Pitcher of the Year. Loberg finished up the season with an 8-5 record, a 4.07 ERA in 15 starts, three complete games and 54 strikeouts in 95.0 innings of work. He was named Second-Team All-Big Ten this season. It marked the second time he was named All-Big Ten in his career. Loberg saved his best for last with a complete game victory over Ohio State on May 28 to help force a final elimination game against Ohio State on May 29.
Andy Hunter (West St. Paul, Minn.) became the second player in to win the Paul Fortin Scholarship/Athlete Award. Hunter batted .324, tied for a team-high eight home runs, led the team with 47 RBI, had 17 doubles, 37 runs and .407 on-base percentage. Hunter was also named Third-Team All-Big Ten at first base, giving him all-conference honors in his first three years with the program. Hunter was also recently named Academic All-District for a second season in a row.
Andy Peters received the George Thomas Most Improved Player. Peters was 5-1 with a 3.47 ERA and 35 strikeouts in 36.1 innings this year. The five wins was tied for second on the team. He pitched in four games in the Big Ten Tournament and tied a record with two wins in the Big Ten Tournament. Peters rebounded from a year in which he was 0-3 with a 6.52 ERA in 2004.
One of the most prestigious honors in the program, the David Chelesnik Scholarship Award, was shared by Luke Beresford (Duluth, Minn.) and Josh Krogman (St. Cloud, Minn.)) The award is presented to an athlete (s) who best demonstrates the special qualities of courage, determination and perseverance that were exhibited by David Chelesnik. The special scholarship is given in memory of an outstanding student-athlete who died of bone cancer on Labor Day, 1984, after completing one year of a lifelong dream - to play for the Golden Gophers. Dick and Sanders receiving the award, marked the second time two players have been honored for the award in the same year.
Minnesota also added the Teammate of the Year Award, given to the player whose attitude and actions most represent that team philosophy of the Golden Gophers program. Seniors Dan Thompson (Sun Prairie, Wis.) and Tim Theis (Shakopee, Minn.) shared the first ever Teammate of the Year Award.
