Northwestern University Athletics
NU Names 2003-04 Big Ten Sportsmanship Award Winners
6/25/2004 12:00:00 AM | General
June 25, 2004
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern University has announced its winners of the 2003-04 Big Ten Sportsmanship Award. This is the second year the conference has presented the honor, which recognizes one member of each varsity team at every Big Ten school (the athletes are selected by their coaches). From that group, each school nominates one male and one female to represent the school in a conference-wide vote for the top Sportsman and Sportswoman in the Big Ten.
The nominees were chosen based on their sportsmanship, as specified by the Big Ten: "one who observes the rules and intent of his/her sports rules at all times. He/she must be fair and respectful to his/her opponent. In addition, he/she is enthusiastic about the game, enjoys playing it, and -- win or lose -- does his/her absolute best at all times." The nominee should also be active in the community.
Northwestern's male nominee for the conference award is Jason Wright (Diamond Bar, Calif./Diamond Bar) from football. One of the all-time great running backs on the field, Wright strikes a presence off the field as well. A two-time Academic All-America, he is with the San Francisco 49ers in preseason camp but eventually plans to attend medical school.
"I have said it often, but Jason Wright is a better person than he is a football player -- and he is a pretty darn good football player," said head football coach Randy Walker. "I can't say enough good things about his quality as an individual. It would be hard to beat out Jason Wright for any award based on academics, sportsmanship or community service."
The Wildcats' female nominee is Suzi Sutton (York, Pa./Dallastown). A four-year starter in field hockey, she was also President of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee this year and chaired NU's Relay For Life efforts this spring. In addition to her field hockey exploits, Sutton walked on to the basketball team this winter and then served as team manager for the softball team in the spring.
"Suzi brings new meaning to the Northwestern student-athlete," said NU field hockey coach Kelly McCollum. "She has given so much of herself during her career here and has truly made an impact on our athletic department. Through her unselfish contributions to the field hockey, women's basketball and softball teams as well as to SAAC she has proven to be a quality person everyone wants on their team."
Northwestern's honorees at the institutional level are listed below.
Baseball -- Dan Konecny (Ripon, Wis./Ripon)
Men's Basketball -- Jitim Young (Chicago, Ill./Gordon Tech)
Women's Basketball -- Suzi Sutton (York, Pa./Dallastown)
Cross Country -- Nora Colligan (Rockford, Mich./Rockford)
Women's Fencing -- Christina Wang (Milpitas, Calif./Castilleja)
Field Hockey -- Katie Walshauser (Wildwood, Mo./St. Joseph's Academy)
Football -- Jason Wright (Diamond Bar, Calif./Diamond Bar)
Men's Golf -- T.C. Ford (Covington, La./Mandeville)
Women's Golf -- Lauren Grzebien (Saunderstown, R.I./Narragansett)
Lacrosse -- Courtney Koester (Richmond, Ind./Richmond)
Men's Soccer -- Jeremy Cook (Hudson, Wis./Hudson)
Women's Soccer -- Kristen Pearce (Morrison, Colo./Bear Creek)
Softball -- Erin Mobley (Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill)
Men's Swimming -- Tony Swanson (Coon Rapids, Minn./Coon Rapids)
Women's Swimming -- Erica Rose (Cleveland, Ohio/Hawken School)
Men's Tennis -- Willy Lock (Lima, Peru/Markham College)
Women's Tennis -- Cristelle Grier (Surrey, England/Putney)
Volleyball -- Erica Knavel (Elm Grove, Wis./Brookfield East)
Wrestling -- John Velez (Kings Mills, Ohio/Kings)
