June 3, 2004
EVANSTON, Ill. -- The N Club held its annual Senior Recognition Banquet Thursday at the Norris Center on Northwestern's campus. The banquet recognized some of Northwestern's finest athletic efforts from the past season while inducting the senior class into the N Club.
Two athletes were nominated for the prestigious Big Ten Medal of Honor, Jessica Rush (Dallas, Texas/The Hockaday School) of the women's tennis team and Tony Swanson (Coon Rapids, Minn./Coon Rapids) from men's swimming. This award is given annually to one graduating male and female student-athlete of outstanding academic and athletic talent.
Rush had an outstanding season, owning a 34-10 record as NU's No. 2 player, including 22-6 in dual matches and 11-2 in the Big Ten. The senior won all three singles matches at the Big Ten Championship and teamed with Cristelle Grier to win all doubles matches as well. The duo defeated 10-ranked opponents during the season on their way to a 41-6 overall record. Rush also was undefeated at the NCAA Regional Championship, going 3-0 with one singles win and two doubles points. The Texas native has won over 100 singles matches in her career and was a unaminous All-Big Ten honoree.
Swanson, meanwhile, was an individual Big Ten Champion in the 100-meter butterfly and also was a member of the 200- and 400-meter freestyle and 200- and 400-meter medley relay squads, all of which earned All-America honors. Swanson also received honorable mention All-America kudos for his efforts in the 100-meter butterfly and the 200-meter individual medley at this year's NCAA Championships. On his way to becoming a first-team All-Big Ten honoree, he shattered the Big Ten Championship and school record in the 100 fly, breaking his own record set during the preliminaries. A academic All-Big Ten recipient, Swanson helped his team break 13-of-19 school swimming records.
Northwestern also announced its nominations for the Big Ten Suzy Favor and Jesse Owens Awards. The two awards are given annually to the outstanding female and male athletes in the Big Ten. This year's nominees from Northwestern are Cristelle Grier (Surrey, England/Putney) from women's tennis and Jason Wright (Diamond Bar, Calif./Diamond Bar) from football.
Following a Big Ten Freshman-of-the-Year campaign, Grier was a unanimous selection as Big Ten Player of the Year, ending her sophomore year with a perfect 13-0 Big Ten record and a 37-4 overall. As she compiled a 28-match win streak during her second season, the England native was named Academic All-Big Ten. She is a two-time ITA Midwest Champion and teamed up with Rush to win the ITA Midwest and National Indoor Doubles Championship. The two-time All-Big Ten honoree advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2004 NCAA Singles and Doubles (with Rush) competition.
Wright is a two-time first-team CoSIDA Academic All-American and is the first recipient of the FCA Bobby Bowden Athlete of the Year honor. Just the third running back in Northwestern history to record back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, Wright earned second-team All-Big Ten honors, ending 2004 with NU's fourth-best single season rushing mark of 1,388 yards. Wright scored 20 rushing touchdowns and capped his senior season as co-MVP of the 2003 Motor City Bowl. He totaled a school-record 336 all-purpose yards in the game. In his final two games as a Wildcat, Wright rushed for 488 yards and five touchdowns and closed his career as NU's fourth all-time leading rusher (2,625 yards) and fourth all-time leading scorer (210 points).
The N Club Performance Award winners were Erika Lange (Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg) of women's volleyball and Jitim Young (Chicago, Ill./Gordon Tech) of men's basketball. This award is presented to one male and one female student-athlete in recognition of "spectacular and outstanding" athletic performance by a graduating senior and letter award winner.
Lange became one of only five players in Big Ten history to collect over 1,500 kills and 500 blocks in a career, leading the Big Ten in blocks for the third consecutive season. A 2003 first-team All-Big Ten honoree-her third such laurel-Lange led the NU volleyball team to their best record in 15 years, advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season. She also holds Wildcat career records for kills per game, hitting percentage, blocks and block assists.
Young started every game of his career, setting the NU career record for games played and started. A consensus first-team All-Big Ten selection, Young set the school record for minutes played in a season, leading the team in nearly every category including scoring (17.9 ppg), rebounding (6.0 rpg) and steals (66). His 66 steals is fourth on NU's single-season list, while his 519 points is sixth. Along with being named to the Big Ten Tournament's All-Tournament Team, he received NABC second-team All-District 11 honors. Young ended his Wildcat career sixth on the all-time scoring list with 1,521 points.
Molly Greene (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) from women's soccer and Mark Hamming (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) from men's swimming were the recipients of the N Club Achievement Award, which is given to the student-athletes (one male and one female) who have exhibited the qualities of good citizenship, significant academic achievement and outstanding athletic performance. Greene, who started every game of her college career (71), was a three-time team captain. A two-time first-team and second-team All-Big Ten honoree, Greene's lone goal of the season propelled NU to a win over Michigan, its first over the Wolverines since 1999.
Hamming is a three-time All-American in the 400-meter medley relay, 800-meter freestyle relay and the 200 butterfly. Earning first-team All-Big Ten recognition this season, Hamming won Big Ten titles this year in the 400 medley and 800 free relays. He is a three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection.
The Billy McKinney Award is presented to the male student-athlete who has exhibited exemplary leadership qualities, constant (110 percent) effort, and a positive attitude that, in his coach's estimation, makes him a "coach's dream." The award was presented to Jeremy Cook (Hudson, Wis./Hudson). Cook was named to the Big Ten Men's Soccer All-Tournament team where NU defeated Michigan for the first time in school history. Cook ended his Wildcat career with 57 consecutive starts after beginning his collegiate career with the club soccer program.
Suzi Sutton (York, Pa./Dallastown) from field hockey was bestowed the Lisa Ishikawa Award, which is presented to a female student-athlete who has exhibited outstanding leadership ability and selfless dedication to team goals; Ishikawa's determination and positive attitude led her to perform above and beyond the expected. Chosen as a 2004 Coca-Cola Community All-American, Sutton is heavily involved in numerous community service projects, including chairing the Relay for Life event which took place recently. A four-year starter for the field hockey team, Sutton was a second-team All-Big Ten honoree in 2001, leading the team in scoring as a sophomore. A women's basketball team manager for two seasons, Sutton suited up her senior year, seeing game action in six contests. She was also the softball team manager in 2004.
Ruth Barnes (Cambridge, England/Hills Road Sixth From College) from women's tennis and Jeremy Cook (Hudson, Wis./Hudson) from men's soccer were given The Director's Award, which is presented to the senior male and female student-athletes who will graduate with the highest cumulative grade point average of all graduating student-athletes. Barnes is three-time Academic All-Big Ten recipient, compiling 75 career singles victories, including 18 this year. She helped the women's tennis team advance to the Round of 16, winning both doubles matches at the NCAA Regional.
As the Wildcats' captain this season, Cook is an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship winner, and will be attending the University of Minnesota Medical School in the fall.
Northwestern also announced its 2004 NCAA Woman of the Year candidate at the event. This award recognizes individual excellence in three areas: athletics, academics and community service. One graduating senior at each NCAA institution who participates in the 1999-2000 academic year will be recognized as the "NCAA Woman of the Year" and will automatically be eligible for state selection. Northwestern's nominee for this year is Carri Leto (El Cajon, Calif./Valhalla) from softball.
Leto finished the season with a .305 batting average, was second on the team with 28 runs scored and 57 hits. She knocked in 18 runs batting in either the first or second spot in the lineup, and stole a team-high 11 bases. Starting all 54 games at second base, she had seven doubles and two triples, hitting safely in 28 of NU's final 30 games. She had 14 multi-hit games, ending her collegiate career with a 19-game hitting streak. The California native led the team to a 34-20 record and a fourth-place finish in the Big Ten Conference and in the NCAA Arizona Regional. She is a two-time (2001, 2004) National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Midwest Region honoree and three-time second-team All-Big Ten Conference selection (2002, 2003 and 2004).
After being selected as part of the 2004 Big Ten Softball All-Tournament Team, Leto ranks in the top 10 all-time in 10 different offensive categories. She holds the Northwestern single-season record for doubles with 13 (2002) and was one of just 50 players nationally selected to try out for 2003 U.S. National Team. Leto made Northwestern history when she was the first softball player to be drafted by a professional franchise when the New York/New Jersey Juggernaut of the National Professional Fastpitch League picked her second overall in the league's supplementary draft on March 30. She started at second base for the NY/NJ Juggernaut on opening night of the 2004 season and was 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored.