June 16, 2011
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern University's N Club held its annual Senior Recognition Banquet Thursday night at the Hilton Orrington Evanston, inducting the senior class into the N Club while honoring several Wildcats for outstanding seasons and careers at Northwestern.
Following is a list of the awards bestowed at the banquet:
Northwestern's Big Ten Jesse Owens Male Athlete of the Year Nominee
Brandon Precin Wrestling
The Jesse Owens and Suzy Favor awards are given annually to the outstanding male and female athletes in the Big Ten.
Precin earned the second third-place finish of his career at the 2011 NCAA Championships, becoming the fifth three-time All-American in Northwestern history. He defeated the defending NCAA Champion in December to capture his second Midlands Championship, becoming the second Wildcat ever to win multiple Midlands titles.
He concluded his career ranked third in Northwestern history in wins with an overall record of 138-31 including 34 pins. A two-time Big Ten finalist and NWCA All-Academic Team honoree, Precin spent four weeks in 2011 ranked No. 1 at 125 pounds. In both his junior and senior seasons, Precin scored more than 90 points in dual meets. He is graduating with a double major in secondary teaching and history.
Northwestern's Big Ten Suzy Favor Female Athlete of the Year Nominee
Shannon Smith Women's Lacrosse
The Jesse Owens and Suzy Favor awards are given annually to the outstanding male and female athletes in the Big Ten.
Smith led Northwestern to its sixth national championship in seven years in 2011, scoring game-winning goals in the national semifinals and final en route to NCAA Championship MVP honors. Winner of both major national player of the year awards -- the Tewaaraton Trophy and the Lacrosse Honda Sports Award, Smith led Division I with 128 points, the second-best single-season total in NU history and seventh-most all-time in Division I history.
She has an active streak of 45 straight games with at least one goal and set the Northwestern single-season record for goals with 86 this year. She enters her senior season next season ranked fifth in career assists with 80, sixth in points with 268 and seventh in goals with 188. Shannon is a two-time Academic All-Big Ten award winner as an economics major with a minor in business institutions.
Big Ten Medal of Honor Recipients
Matt Eliason men's soccer
Maria Mosolova women's tennis
The Big Ten Medal of Honor is given annually to one graduating male and female student-athlete of outstanding academic and athletic talent.
Eliason departs Northwestern as the school's all-time leader with 33 goals scored and 82 points. He earned a trio of All-Big Ten accolades during his career, including twice being named a first-team selection. A second-team All-America pick of Top Drawer Soccer following his sophomore campaign, Eliason was named to the watch list for the Hermann Trophy, college soccer's top individual honor, prior to his senior year.
He guided the Wildcats to three NCAA tournament berths with the team advancing to the quarterfinal round in 2008. A communication studies major, Eliason also shined in the classroom. He was named a second-team ESPN the Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-American and a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar in 2009 and was a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree.
Mosolova is the second four-time singles All-American in Northwestern history, advancing to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Singles Championship twice in her career. During her career, Mosolova was a four-time All-Big Ten selection, a two-time Big Ten Player of the Year, a finalist for the 2009 Honda Sports Award in women's tennis and the ITA Midwest Region Senior of the Year. She led NU to a pair of ITA National Indoor team titles and to the NCAA Round of 16 in all four of her years in Evanston.
She spent time ranked No. 1 nationally in singles as a sophomore and a junior and was the No. 1 seed for the 2009 NCAA Singles Championship. After leading Northwestern to its 13th-straight Big Ten Tournament title in 2011 as NU's No. 1 singles player, Mosolova concluded her career with an overall record of 143-35. A three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, Mosolova also was an ITA Scholar-Athlete during her career. She is graduating with a degree in economics with a minor in business institutions.
N Club Performance Awards
David Lipsky men's golf
Chris Lashmet baseball
Sabel Moffett women's volleyball
The N Club Performance 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.
Lipsky had a team-best 72.02 stroke average as a senior to earn a 72.97 career stroke average -- fourth-best in school history behind only Luke Donald, Tom Johnson and Jess Daley. Lipsky concluded his career with a pair of tournament wins including the 2010 Big Ten Championship. He was a three-time All-Big Ten and GCAA PING All-Region selection, leading Northwestern to the NCAA National Championships in both 2009 and 2011.
His third-place individual finish at the 2011 Big Ten Championships helped Northwestern charge into second place as a team in the event. In two of his final three tournaments, Lipsky made dramatic final-round charges, shooting a 5-under 67 to take third at this year's Big Ten Championships and a 4-under 68 to help NU advance out of the 2011 NCAA Colorado Regional. The political science major earned three Academic All-Big Ten honors in his career.
Lashmet, an economics major, is a two-time All-Big Ten selection, earning first-team honors as a junior and second-team as a senior. He led Northwestern with a .353 average, 16 doubles and 67 hits in 2011, concluding his career ranked second in school history with 49 doubles, fourth with 238 hits, fifth with 355 total bases and 10th with 20 home runs.
A four-year starter who started 196 games and appeared in 198 total, Lashmet was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 33rd round of the 2011 MLB Draft.
Moffett earned second-team AVCA All-America honors in 2010 as a senior after becoming the first player in program history to be a two-time AVCA All-Mideast Region selection. She is a two-time All-Big Ten choice, including earning a unanimous selection as a senior. She became the 19th member of the NU 1,000 kill club on Oct. 29, 2010, ending her career ranked 15th all-time at NU with 1,132 total kills. She also made 510 blocks to rank fourth all-time at NU.
A fifth-year senior at Northwestern, Moffett is a rare four-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree. Moffett graduated in June of 2010 with a degree in psychology and has been pursuing a master's degree in sports administration this year. She is continuing her volleyball career this summer as a professional competing in Switzerland.
N Club Achievement Award
Michael Thompson men's basketball
Amy Jaeschke women's basketball
The N Club Achievement Award is given to the student-athletes who have exhibited the qualities of good citizenship, significant academic achievement and outstanding athletic performance.
A four-year starter at point guard, Thompson led Northwestern to a school-record three-consecutive postseason appearances and back-to-back 20 win seasons as a member of the most-winning class in school history. A third-team All-Big Ten pick after his senior year, Thompson set a Big Ten Tournament record by scoring a career-high 35 points in a win over Minnesota this year and ended his career with a Northwestern-record 34-straight free throw attempts made.
Thompson, a communication studies major, ranks first in school history with 528 assists, 129 games started and played and 4,633 total minutes while ranking second with 276 three-pointers, third with 1,689 points and fifth with 159 steals.
Jaeschke was a four-time All-Big Ten selection who became Northwestern's first All-Big Ten first-team choice since 1998 when she won the award in her senior season. She also earned an All-America honorable mention nod from the Associated Press in 2011, making her NU's first All-American since 1998 and the fifth overall. Jaeschke finished her career ranked first in school history in blocks and second in scoring and rebounding.
During her stellar senior season, Jaeschke also earned Big Ten All-Defensive Team honors, tallied four 30-point games and recorded the first triple double in Northwestern history. Jaeschke led Northwestern to two-straight Women's NIT appearances, where the Wildcats won three games over the last two years. She was the first Wildcat drafted to the WNBA when the Chicago Sky chose her in this year's draft.
Billy McKinney Award
Corbin Bryant football
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." McKinney is Northwestern's all-time leading scorer, netting 1,900 points for the men's basketball team from 1973-77. He went on to play nine years in the NBA.
A team co-captain in 2010, Bryant earned honorable mention All-Big Ten honors from the conference media as a senior. In addition, he was named to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, was a finalist for the ARA Sportsmanship Award, won NU's Willie Award and was a 2010 Wuerffel Trophy candidate. A three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree and two-year member of Northwestern's 10-player Leadership Council, Bryant started 35 career games on Northwestern's defensive line.
He played in the 2011 NFL Players Association All-Star Game (Texas vs. the Nation), where he recorded a sack and two tackles. Bryant earned his degree in learning and organizational change with a business institutions minor in June of 2010.
Lisa Ishikawa Award
Nicole Tilley women's fencing
The Lisa Ishikawa award 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 on the softball diamond led her to perform above and beyond the expected. She was the NCAA's single-season strikeout record-holder for nearly a decade, leading Northwestern to four-straight Big Ten titles and three-straight Women's College World Series from 1984-87.
Tilley served as team captain and epeé squad captain for the women's fencing team, posting over 125 career victories during her career at Northwestern. A leader in competition and in the classroom, she was a two-time All-Midwest Fencing Conference honoree and a three-time Academic All-Big Ten designee.
She won the Big Ten Distinguished Scholar honor for the 2009-10 academic year as a double major in communications technology and industry, and Spanish. During her career, Northwestern earned four-straight top-10 national finishes to bring its current streak to 12.
Northwestern's Big Ten Sportsmanship Award Recipients
Matt Gailey baseball
Rebecca Lederhausen women's golf
The Big Ten Sportsmanship award is given to one male and female student-athlete who displays exemplary sportsmanship and is a key contributor in the community.
Gailey, a left-handed pitcher, won two games and ranked second among all Northwestern pitchers with 23 appearances during the 2011 campaign. For his career, Gailey threw 104.1 innings and had his best campaign in 2010 when he compiled a 1-1 record with a save and a 1.52 ERA.
Gailey, an economics major, is a three-time Academic All-Big Ten recipient. In the community, Gailey participated in baseball's annual Buddy Ball game as well as working clinics with Glenbrook Youth Baseball and with AUSL Chicago.
Lederhausen competed in 10 events for the Wildcats during her senior season, posting a season-best score of 227 at the Lady Northern Invitational to help NU to a second-place finish. In each of the last two seasons, Lederhausen helped lead Northwestern to back-to-back NCAA Regional Appearances. For her career, she played in 34 tournaments, compiling two top-10 and two more top-20 finishes.
A community service champion, Lederhausen participated in the SAAC Canned Food Drive, assisted a PE teacher in class at Orrington Elementary, played with young athletes at Special Olympics Field Day, served at the Good News Soup Kitchen and participated in the Komen Foundation Breast Cancer 5K run/walk among many other activities during her career.
Northwestern also announced its 2011 NCAA Woman of the Year candidates at the event. This award recognizes individual excellence in three areas: athletics, academics and community service. Up to two graduating seniors at each institution who participated in the 2010-11 academic year will be recognized as the "NCAA Women of the Year" and will automatically be eligible for state selection. Northwestern's first nominee is Robin Thompson of softball. Thompson closed her Northwestern career with her best season in Evanston, earning All-Big Ten second team honors this year for the second time and batting a career-best .368 with 32 runs scored and 19 steals. Evolving her role in the offense, she led the entire nation in sacrifice hits per game in 2011.
A three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree and a 2010 Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, Thompson earned a Capital One Academic All-America third-team honor in 2011. Thompson is graduating with a degree in human development and psychological services and recently signed a contract to play professionally with the Chicago Bandits of National Pro Fastpitch. In the community, Thompson was active with the Girls in the Game program along with instructing at community camps and clinics.
Northwestern's second NCAA Woman of the Year candidate is Mosolova of women's tennis, who also was NU's female recipient for the Big Ten Medal of Honor.
Kevin Watt of football and Kelsey Lindenschmidt of women's golf were honored with the Director's Award, given annually to the male and female graduating student-athlete with the highest GPA.
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