Awards: UMaine honors its own

The University of Maine Department of Athletics held its annual Awards Night on Monday, April 18, 2011. Several individuals and teams were honored during the evening’s festivities.

Cassandra Mendonca (Thornhill, Ontario) and Jeremy Bender (St. Paul, Minn.) served as the Masters of Ceremonies. The evening opened with a welcome from Eileen Flaherty, Associate Athletic Director/Senior Woman Administrator. Guy Whitten, University of Maine M Club President then spoke. Brian Landry (Yorktown, Va.) and Brynne Davis, SAAC Co-Presidents, presented the Graduation Stoles to the seniors. That was followed by Letter Winner Recognition. Awards were then presented to various teams and individuals.

The Black Bear Citizen Award went to women’s basketball. The award highlights a team that has been exemplary in its community service activities.

The Male Iron Bear Award, honoring someone who has made great strides in the weight room, went to men’s basketball senior Troy Barnies (Auburn, Maine.) Barnies’ strides in the weight room contributed to his huge senior season. He earned a spot on the America East First Team and the NABC All-District I Second Team. He led the Black Bears in scoring with 14.3 points per game and 7.7 rebounds a contest.

The Female Iron Bear Award went to Mallory Anderson (Hampton Falls, N.H.) of the field hockey team. Anderson also made great strides in the weight room during her career as a Black Bears. Anderson, who started just two games as a junior, started all 19 her senior season. She had four assists on the season.

The Male Athlete of the Year went to men’s ice hockey junior Gustav Nyquist (Malmo, Sweden). Nyquist led the team in scoring for the third season in a row. He had 18 goals and 33 assists for 51 points. He was named to the Hockey East First Team, the All-New England First Team and named a Second Team All-American. For the second year in a row, Nyquist was one of 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Award, given to the top player in college hockey. Following the season, he signed a professional contract with the Detroit Red WIngs.

The Female Athlete of the Year went to field hockey’s Kelly Newton (Vancouver, British Columbia). Newton earned a spot on the America East First Team for the third year in a row. She was named the America East Offensive Player of the Year. She was named to the All-Northeast Region First Team, the Longstretch/NFHCA All-America Third Team and the WomensFieldHockey.com All-America Third Team. In 2010, she tied the school record for points in a season with 19 goals and seven assists for 45 points. As a junior, she has already set the school record for career points, as she currently has 112.

The men’s basketball team was named Male Team of the Year. The team finished 15-15 overall and 9-7 in America East play. The Black Bears were atop the conference standings for part of the season and finished in a tie for third place.

The women’s soccer team was named Female Team of the Year. After finishing sixth in the 2010 regular season standings, the team won quarterfinal and semifinal road games to earn a spot in the 2010 America East Championship game at Boston University.

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