University of Minnesota Athletics
553 Gophers Receive Scholar-Athlete Awards
2/16/2010 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
Over two-thirds of the Minnesota student-athletes, 553 Golden Gophers, were honored at the 21st Annual Scholar-Athlete Awards Ceremony at the McNamara Alumni Center on Monday evening. Headlining the evening were the presentations of the Outstanding Achievement Award and the Top-Five Scholar-Athlete Award winners.
Alicia Rue, from women’s track & field, and Dino Bilankov, of men’s tennis, were the recipients of the 2010 Outstanding Achievement Award. The award is presented to student-athletes who are accomplished in the four major areas emphasized by the NCAA Life Skills Program: Academics, Athletics, Leadership and Volunteerism.
Bilankov is on track to earn a Bachelor of Science in finance from the Carlson School of Management and a Bachelor of Arts in communication as a dual degree student. In addition to the Outstanding Achievement Award, he will also receive his second straight Top-Five Scholar Athlete Award.
On the court, the Zagreb, Croatia native, has won 22 singles matches each of the past two years. He owns a 61-32 career singles record for the Gophers and helped the team reach the NCAA tournament in 2007 and 2009, winning his individual match in the first round in each appearance. Bilankov is a two-year team captain and a two-time Intercollegiate Tennis Association Scholar Athlete. He also was an Academic All-Big Ten selection.
Rue, a senior from Plymouth, Minn., is a three-time All-American in the pole vault and the national runner-up at the 2009 NCAA Indoor Championships. The defending Big Ten Conference champion both indoor and outdoor, Rue is currently ranked second in the nation in the event. She owns both the indoor and outdoor Minnesota records.
The Top-Five Scholar-Athlete Award is bestowed to the student-athletes, five men and five women, who maintain the highest cumulative grade point averages.
Heather Dorniden (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) led the Golden Gopher women student-athletes recognized with the Top-Five Scholar-Athlete Awards. Others earning Top-Five Award were Megan Duwell, Kaylee Jamison, Kelly Wilson and Elizabeth Yetzer.
Dorniden is a three-time recipient of the honor, finishing the most decorated running career in Minnesota women’s track history as a nine-time All-American. She graduated last December with a degree in kinesiology after leading the Gopher women’s cross country team to its fifth consecutive NCAA top-12 finish. Her many accolades include Academic All-America honors, the 2009 President’s Student Leadership and Service Award, the 2009 University of Minnesota Alumni Association Student Leadership Award and an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.
Duwell (West Bend, Wis.) owns the distinction on posting the highest individual finish at an NCAA Cross Country Championships. Duwell placed seventh in the meet last fall to earn her second career All-America honor. She is also the defending Big Ten champion in the 10,000-meter run. Duwell is majoring in marketing and operations management.
Entering her third Big Ten Conference meet this weekend, Jamison (St. Charles, Ill.) will look to build on an already impressive resume. As a sophomore, Jamison earned All-America honors as a member of the 200 free and 200 medley relays. At the 2009 Big Ten Championships, Jamison contributed 47 points and was a Big Ten champion in the 200 free relay. For her performance, she was a First Team All-Big Ten honoree. Jamison, a former High School Heisman Award recipient, is majoring in biochemistry.
Kelly Wilson (Ortonville, Mich.) is a four-year member of both the Golden Gopher women’s cross country and track teams. Wilson, a cross country team captain in 2009, is majoring in nutrition.
Yetzer (Lakeville, Minn.) earned her second Top-Five Award. Yetzer is a three-time NCAA All-Midwest Region performer in cross country and an NCAA Track Championships competitor in the 1,500-meter run last spring. Yetzer is majoring in elementary education.
Joining Bilankov as men’s Top-Five Scholar-Athlete Award winners are Addison Demer, Sean Duling, Mike Shelendich and Mike Torchia.
Demer (Oakdale, Minn.) is a redshirt sophomore on the Golden Gopher men’s track & field team. He scored in the long jump helping Minnesota capture the 2009 Big Ten indoor team title. Demer is majoring in genetics and cell biology.
Duling (North Oaks, Minn.) is a redshirt sophomore hurdler on the men’s track team. He scored in events at both the indoor and outdoor Big Ten Championships helping the Gophers capture team victories on both meet. Duling is majoring in political science.
Shelendich (Shoreview, Minn.) is a redshirt sophomore on the Gopher men’s track team, specializing in the middle-distance events. He is majoring in biochemistry.
Like Bilankov, Torchia (Rochester, Minn.) is a two-time honoree of the Top-Five Award. A member of both the Gopher men’s cross country and track team, Torchia earned All-NCAA Midwest Region cross country honors in 2008. Since that season, however, Torchia’s has been hampered by various injuries. He is majoring in biochemistry.
Track/cross country standout Gabriele Anderson was honored with the Richard “Pinky” McNamara Student-Athlete Achievement Award. The award is given to a student-athlete who has inspired all by making an extraordinary effort to succeed despite difficult circumstances, persevering during a time of tremendous adversity and/or overcoming a great challenge.
After helping the Gopher cross country team to back-to-back Big Ten titles, Anderson embarked on her senior track season in 2009 with high expectations. She ran a runner-up finish in the mile helping the Gophers win another Big Ten indoor track team title. Then in April, she was diagnosed with adenoid cystic caranoma (a cancer of the neck). With an uncertain future and knowing of her battle ahead, Anderson decided to run one more race before treatment five days ahead of her. She responded by running a career-best time, the seventh-fastest time in school history, in the 1,500-meter run. Anderson underwent surgery and treatment while her team wore “Gabe” patches on their uniforms. She made a successful petition to the NCAA for a sixth season and will complete her Minnesota track career this outdoor season.
The Tom H Swain Award recognizes highly notable individuals from the campus community who have devoted enormous amounts of time toward the academic success of our student-athletes. This year’s recipients are: Lindsay Gundecha (Academic Adviser in the Carlson School of Management), Amy Hackett (Academic Adviser in the College of Education and Human Development) and Dr. Virginia Zuiker (Professor in Family Social Sciences).
In addition to the individual awards, several team academic awards were announced. The Outstanding Academic Team Awards are split between large and small teams. The small teams capturing the award were the men’s and women’s tennis teams. The large teams honored were the women’s cross country team and the baseball team.
The Gladys Brooks Award and the Norman Borlaug Award are given to the teams that demonstrate the highest level of academic improvement. The Brooks Award was earned by the volleyball team. The Borlaug was shared by the men’s track and men’s gymnastics teams.
“What a great way to spend an evening celebrating the academic successes of our student-athletes,” said Minnesota director of athletics Joel Maturi. “I am extremely proud that so many of our athletes are scholar-athletes, especially the 63 athletes who earned a perfect 4.0 grade point average. We are continuously measured on the graduation rate of our student-athlete. Tonight’s event proves we are working hard on this goal and achieving success.”
