Tuesday, April 30, 2002
BOSTON - Six Terrier athletes, who excelled during the past year on the athletic field, in the classroom, and in leadership roles were honored tonight (April 30th) as Boston University held its annual end of the year banquet.
The honorees included three soccer players-senior Joachim Kaland (Fonnes, Norway), who received the Gordon "Mickey" Cochrane Award as the Male Athlete of the Year; Megan Cross (Pembroke), who was presented the Mildred Barnes Award as the Female Athlete of the Year; and Teresa Petruccelli (Flushing, NY), who received the John Simpson Award for senior leadership. The Simpson Award was also presented to a male athlete-senior Stijn Dhondt (Bornem, Belgium) from the men's basketball team.
The awards to the top senior student-athletes were presented. The lacrosse team's Molly Byrne (Lake Placid, NY) received the Gretchen Schuyler Award to the outstanding female student-athlete, while Jeremy Hollander (Branchburg, NJ), from the men's golf team received the E. Ray Speare Award.
Joachim Kaland, Men's Soccer, Male Athlete of the Year
A Second Team All-American and the America East Player of the Year this past season, Kaland set a school single-season record with 19 goals last fall, while his 44 points was the second highest single-season total in school history. He led America East in scoring, while he ranked in the Top-10 in the nation in goals and points a game.
In addition to being named to the All-American team and the league's Player of the Year, Kaland, who finished his career with 33 goals and 15 assists for 81 points, was also named First Team All-New England and to the America east All-Tournament team. He was also MVP of the Lehigh Nike Classic and was on the All-Tournament team at the University of Rhode Island Kappa Invitational.
The team MVP, Kaland was a catalyst behind the Terriers' 13-5-1 overall record, as it marked their best season since the 1997 team was 14-6-2. In addition, the Terriers were 9-1-1 in America East play as they won their first regular-season title since 1994.
Megan Cross, Women's Soccer, Female Athlete of the Year
Cross was the leader of the Terrier defense that allowed just 26 goals in 21 games. It was this tenacious defense that played a key role in the team winning its second straight America East regular-season and post-season titles, and their second straight trip to the NCAA Tournament. En route to a 14-6-1 record, the Terriers were 10-0-1 in conference play as they improved their two-year conference record to 19-0-1.
Then, in the post-season tournament, B.U. blanked Delaware, 1-0, in the semifinals and Hartford, 2-0, in the title game. It was because of her outstanding play that Cross was named the tournament's MVP. In all, during the season, the Terriers shut out 10 opponents, just one short of the school record, while they allowed just four goals in their 11 conference games.
Tournament MVP was one of a myriad of awards that Cross garnered this past year. She was also First Team All-Northeast Region for the second straight year. The National Soccer Coaches Association of America selects the team. She was also First Team All-New England, First Team All-Conference for the third time in her career, and the team Defensive MVP for the third straight year.
An outstanding student, as well, she was voted Second Team Verizon-CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) Academic All-American. She was also on the America East Commissioner's Honor Roll.
This marked the second straight year that a member of the women's soccer team was voted the outstanding female athlete. Last year, Deidre Enos, the Terriers' all-time leading scorer, received the Barnes Award.
Molly Byrne, Women's Lacrosse, Female Senior Student-Athlete of the Year
A three-time America East Academic honor student, Byrne will graduate in May with magna cum laude honors. Enrolled in the University's College of Arts and Sciences, she has a 3.78 average while majoring in economics.
She has played both offense and defense for the lacrosse team during her collegiate career. This past year, she started every game on defense and scored 11 goals and added three assists for the Terriers, who finished in second play in the final America East standings. They will play Albany on Thursday (May 2nd) in the first round of the post-season tournament.
Jeremy Hollander, Men's Golf, Male Senior Student-Athlete of the Year
A four-year starter for the Terriers, Hollander will graduate in May with both a bachelor's and master's degree in political science. He also had an undergraduate minor in geography. With all these academic demands, he maintained a 3.73 grade point average and will graduate magna cum laude.
On the golf course, he averaged 85 during his career. His athletic highlight came last season while playing at the Dartmouth tournament. He carded a first-day total of 72 and followed that with a 73 on the second day. His 145 total was the best two-day scoring in Terrier golf history.
Stijn Dhondt, Men's Basketball, Outstanding Senior Leadership-Male Athlete
In a season in which the Boston University men's basketball team won the America East Championship and made its sixth-ever NCAA Tournament appearance, Dhondt proved to his teammates that he could be looked upon as a person who would sacrifice for the betterment of the team.
Stijn, who was voted co-captain of the Terriers in each of his two seasons at B. U., exhibited his on-the-court leadership and never-say-die attitude in the America East Tournament, where he sank the shot - an off-balanced, buzzer-beating three-pointer - that vaulted the Terriers to the title game against Maine and then on to the NCAA tournament.
Defensively, his peers chose him as the team's best defensive player this season, an award that usually goes to the player who makes the most sacrifices and plays the hardest each season. The year before, he garnered the team's Friends of Basketball Award, which recognizes the Terrier whose accomplishments were most overlooked during the season.
If Stijn was seeking the spotlight, he surely could score more points and collect more rebounds, but there is something to be said for a player who does the little things that allow his teammates to grab the spotlight and ultimately, allow his team to reached the goals it set before the season. That is the definition of teamwork. That is the definition of leadership.
Teresa Petruccelli, Women's Soccer, Outstanding Senior Leadership-Female
A four-year starter, Petruccelli overcame major back ailments and a redshirt year, to co-captain the Terriers the past two seasons. It was not coincidental that these were also the two most successful seasons in the women's soccer history at B.U. During these two seasons, the Terriers compiled an overall record of 30-13-1 overall and 19-0-1 in America East play. The team has won back-to-back regular-season and post-season conference titles and advanced to the NCAA tournament the last two years.
Beyond her role as a captain and an offensive threat who had a career total of 10 goals and 19 assists for 39 points, Petruccelli had a passion for her sport that transcended her statistical contributions. She also had a genuine and sincere commitment to her teammates that forced her to come back from her back ailments.
She never let her off field challenges get in the way of her giving a positive outlook and energy to those around her. She adapted to the change in her role when she was injured, but she never stopped being a contributing member of the team.
Leadership is making people around you better, because they want to be better. That is the gift that Teresa brought to the Terrier women's soccer program these last five years.
