STATE COLLEGE, Pa., June 25, 2002 - Penn State women's soccer player Christie Welsh (Massapequa Park, N.Y./Massapequa) was chosen as the 2002 Suzy Favor Female Athlete of the Year, the Conference announced today. She is the second Penn State female athlete in three years to earn the award and third overall. Minnesota's senior ice hockey defenseman received Jesse Owens Male Athlete of the Year honors.
A junior forward, Welsh is the first soccer player, male or female, to be named Big Ten Athlete of the Year. This year, she also became the first Big Ten and Nittany Lion women's soccer player to win the prestigious Hermann Trophy, presented to the nation's top collegiate women's soccer player. Also selected the National Soccer Coaches Association of America/M.A.C. Player of the Year, she is a three-time All-American. Welsh was voted Big Ten Player of the Year for the third-consecutive year, becoming the first women's soccer player in Conference history to earn the honor three times. In just three years, she broke the Big Ten career records for goals (69), game-winning goals (22), assists (39) and points (177). Penn State's Athlete of the Year the last two years, she was the only player in the nation to finish the season ranked in the top 10 in points per game (third, 2.62), goals per game (fourth, 0.96) and assists per game (eighth, 0.69). A member of the U.S. National Team that played Finland in April in San Diego, Calif., Welsh is one assist from joining the NCAA's 28-member 40-goal, 40-assist club. A Top Five finalist of the Honda Sports Award, she led the Conference in every offensive category while helping Penn State to its fourth-straight Big Ten regular season title and third Conference tournament crown in four years. The Nittany Lions also made their seventh-straight NCAA Tournament appearance, advancing to the fourth round for the fourth-straight year. Fencer Olga Kalinovskaya was the first Penn State female athlete to win the Suzy Favor award in 1996 and volleyball's Lauren Cacciamani was selected in 2000. The Big Ten Conference has recognized a Jesse Owens Male Athlete of the Year since 1982 when Indiana's Jim Spivey earned the inaugural award. The following year, a women's award was created and, in 1991-92 as part of the celebration of the 10th anniversary of women's athletics in the Conference, the women's award was renamed in honor of former Wisconsin track standout and three-time recipient Suzy Favor.
|
|