Nine Washington University student-athletes were named top performers for the 1999-2000 school year at the athletic department's annual banquet May 1.
The W Club Distinguished Senior Athlete of the Year award, established in 1989-90 by the school's athletic support group, is bestowed annually upon a male and female athlete for their contributions to the athletic program. Cross country and track and field star Tim Julien and football standout Tim Runnalls both received honors on the men's side, and three-time national basketball player of the year Alia Fischer was the women's winner.
Julien, one of the top distance runners in the University's history, has earned five All-America citations as a member of the cross country and track and field teams. Runnalls led the football team to one of its finest seasons ever in 1999 and won a pair of first-team All-America awards and the 1999 University Athletic Association (UAA) Defensive Player of the Year. Fischer, the only three-time winner of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Division III National Player of the Year award and the only three-time UAA Player of the Year, graduates as the school's all-time leader in points (1,974), rebounds (937) and blocks (219) and third all-time in steals (187) as the Bears became the first team in NCAA Division III to win three straight national championships.
New this year, the Art and Marge McWilliams and the Stanley and Ann Rosen awards were presented to the top junior female and male student-athletes, respectively.
Basketball player Tasha Rodgers won the McWilliams award. A first-team All-American and a two-time first-team all-UAA selection, Rodgers has helped the Bears to an 88-2 record and a trio of NCAA Division III national championships in her three years with the team.
The men's winner, also from the basketball program, was Chris Alexander. A two-time first-team all-UAA forward and a 1999 All-America honoree, Alexander ranks third all-time at the University with 109 career blocks and needs just 16 points to become the 10th player in the 95-year history of the men's basketball team to score 1,100 career points.
Also new this year, the Carl and Alice Briggson awards were presented to the top sophomore male and female athletes for their achievements through the first half of their collegiate careers. Volleyballer Julie Suellentrop and tennis player Mike Feldman received the inaugural awards.
The only athlete to play in all 81 matches over the past two seasons, Suellentrop became just the fifth player in the University's volleyball history to collect more than 375 kills and more than 420 digs in one season. Feldman, a second-team all-UAA performer at No. 4 singles as a freshman, tops the men's tennis squad with a 28-13 overall record.
The Lopata Rookie of the Year awards were inaugurated in 1997 and are presented annually to one male and one female freshman athlete. Taking honors on the men's side was basketball player Dustin Tylka, and softball standout Kate Gase garnered accolades on the women's side.
A starter for all 20 games of his rookie campaign, Tylka finished second on the club in scoring, averaging 11.1 points per contest. Gase, the starting centerfielder in every game this season for the softball team, helped lead the Bears to the UAA title in the program's first year as a varsity sport, leading the team in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, at-bats, hits, runs scored, runs batted in, triples, walks and stolen bases.
