University of Minnesota Athletics
Wittman Named National Player of the Year
12/21/2009 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
(Information taken from Gatorade Player of the Year News Release)
The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with ESPN RISE, today announced Ashley Wittman as its 2009-10 Gatorade National Volleyball Player of the Year. Wittman is set to join the Golden Gophers during the 2010 spring semester.
Wittman joins Joe Mauer (2000-01) and Chris Walsh (1991-92) as one of three Minnesota high school athletes to be honored as a Gatorade National Player of the Year in their respective sports.
The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the court, distinguishes Wittman as the nation's best high school volleyball player. A national advisory panel comprised of sportswriters and sport-specific experts from around the country helped select Wittman from more than 404,000 high school volleyball players nationwide. Wittman is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade Female High School Athlete of the Year award, to be presented at a special afternoon ceremony prior to The ESPY Awards in July.
The 6-foot-1 senior outside hitter led Shakopee High School to a 32-0 record and their third consecutive Class 3A state championship this past season. Wittman, who is the two-time Gatorade Minnesota Volleyball Player of the Year, collected 569 kills, 294 digs, 50 blocks and 26 service aces this season while posting a kill percentage of .662. In the Class 3A State final, she had 34 kills and 19 digs in a three-set sweep over Wayzata High School. Wittman is also a two-time Minneapolis Star Tribune Player of the Year and a three-time First Team All-State selection.
Wittman, who is a two-time Amateur Athletic Union Girls' Junior National Champion, led her Northern Lights club team to the USA Volleyball Junior Olympic Championships Open Division national semifinals in three straight years, including a finals appearance in 2009.
The 2008 PrepVolleyball.com National Junior of the Year, Wittman served as captain of the gold-medal-winning 2008 U.S. Girls' Youth National Team at the NORCECA Girls' Youth Continental Championship and was a member of the USA Select Red Team that won the gold medal at the 2007 USA Volleyball High Performance Championships in the International Junior Division.
Wittman has maintained a 3.87 GPA in the classroom. An active member of her church community and a member of the National Honor Society, Wittman has served on the Shakopee High Student Council in addition to coaching, officiating and instructing as a youth volleyball camp, clinic and summer league volunteer. She has also donated her time to the America Reads literacy-outreach program, the Special Olympics, and as a fundraiser for Feed My Starving Children international humanitarian efforts.
The Gatorade® Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. The selection process is administered by ESPN RISE and the Gatorade high school sports leadership team, which work with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.
ALL-TIME GATORADE NATIONAL VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
YEAR NAME HIGH SCHOOL STATUS
2009-10 Ashley Wittman Shakopee/ High School Senior
Shakopee, Minn.
2008-09 Gina Mancuso Papillion-La Vista/ Nebraska
Papillion, NE
2007-08 Kelly Murphy Joliet Catholic/ Florida
Joliet, IL
2006-07 Alix Klineman Mira Costa/ Stanford
Manhattan Beach, CA
2005-06 Megan Hodge Riverside/ Penn State
Durham, NC
2004-05 Cynthia Barboza Wilson Classical/ U.S. National Team
Long Beach, CA
2003-04 Cynthia Barboza
2002-03 Kristin Richards Timpanogos/ U.S. National Team
Orem, UT
2001-02 Bre Ladd Canyon Del Oro/ Attended Arizona
Tucson, AZ
2000-01 Ogonna Nnamani University/Normal, IL Galatasary (Istanbul)
1999-00 April Ross Newport Harbor/ AVP Pro Beach Volleyball
Newport Beach, CA
1998-99 Logan Tom Highland/ Asystel Novara (Italy)
Salt Lake City, UT
1997-98 Sara Sandrik Pelham/Pelham, AL Stanford Graduate
1996-97 Denise Boylan Benet Academy/ Notre Dame Graduate
Lisle, IL
1995-96 Kerri Walsh Archbishop Mitty/ AVP Pro Beach Volleyball
San Jose, CA
The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with ESPN RISE, today announced Ashley Wittman as its 2009-10 Gatorade National Volleyball Player of the Year. Wittman is set to join the Golden Gophers during the 2010 spring semester.
Wittman joins Joe Mauer (2000-01) and Chris Walsh (1991-92) as one of three Minnesota high school athletes to be honored as a Gatorade National Player of the Year in their respective sports.
The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the court, distinguishes Wittman as the nation's best high school volleyball player. A national advisory panel comprised of sportswriters and sport-specific experts from around the country helped select Wittman from more than 404,000 high school volleyball players nationwide. Wittman is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade Female High School Athlete of the Year award, to be presented at a special afternoon ceremony prior to The ESPY Awards in July.
The 6-foot-1 senior outside hitter led Shakopee High School to a 32-0 record and their third consecutive Class 3A state championship this past season. Wittman, who is the two-time Gatorade Minnesota Volleyball Player of the Year, collected 569 kills, 294 digs, 50 blocks and 26 service aces this season while posting a kill percentage of .662. In the Class 3A State final, she had 34 kills and 19 digs in a three-set sweep over Wayzata High School. Wittman is also a two-time Minneapolis Star Tribune Player of the Year and a three-time First Team All-State selection.
Wittman, who is a two-time Amateur Athletic Union Girls' Junior National Champion, led her Northern Lights club team to the USA Volleyball Junior Olympic Championships Open Division national semifinals in three straight years, including a finals appearance in 2009.
The 2008 PrepVolleyball.com National Junior of the Year, Wittman served as captain of the gold-medal-winning 2008 U.S. Girls' Youth National Team at the NORCECA Girls' Youth Continental Championship and was a member of the USA Select Red Team that won the gold medal at the 2007 USA Volleyball High Performance Championships in the International Junior Division.
Wittman has maintained a 3.87 GPA in the classroom. An active member of her church community and a member of the National Honor Society, Wittman has served on the Shakopee High Student Council in addition to coaching, officiating and instructing as a youth volleyball camp, clinic and summer league volunteer. She has also donated her time to the America Reads literacy-outreach program, the Special Olympics, and as a fundraiser for Feed My Starving Children international humanitarian efforts.
The Gatorade® Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. The selection process is administered by ESPN RISE and the Gatorade high school sports leadership team, which work with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.
ALL-TIME GATORADE NATIONAL VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
YEAR NAME HIGH SCHOOL STATUS
2009-10 Ashley Wittman Shakopee/ High School Senior
Shakopee, Minn.
2008-09 Gina Mancuso Papillion-La Vista/ Nebraska
Papillion, NE
2007-08 Kelly Murphy Joliet Catholic/ Florida
Joliet, IL
2006-07 Alix Klineman Mira Costa/ Stanford
Manhattan Beach, CA
2005-06 Megan Hodge Riverside/ Penn State
Durham, NC
2004-05 Cynthia Barboza Wilson Classical/ U.S. National Team
Long Beach, CA
2003-04 Cynthia Barboza
2002-03 Kristin Richards Timpanogos/ U.S. National Team
Orem, UT
2001-02 Bre Ladd Canyon Del Oro/ Attended Arizona
Tucson, AZ
2000-01 Ogonna Nnamani University/Normal, IL Galatasary (Istanbul)
1999-00 April Ross Newport Harbor/ AVP Pro Beach Volleyball
Newport Beach, CA
1998-99 Logan Tom Highland/ Asystel Novara (Italy)
Salt Lake City, UT
1997-98 Sara Sandrik Pelham/Pelham, AL Stanford Graduate
1996-97 Denise Boylan Benet Academy/ Notre Dame Graduate
Lisle, IL
1995-96 Kerri Walsh Archbishop Mitty/ AVP Pro Beach Volleyball
San Jose, CA
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