TicketsJune 7, 2010
CINCINNATI - The University of Cincinnati Department of Athletics named its Athletes of the Year, Scholar-Athletes of the Year, top senior student-athletes, Coach of the Year, and Team of the Year at its annual All-Sports Banquet, held in Fifth Third Arena on Saturday, June 5.
The most prestigious awards given to a senior student-athlete are the Jimmy Nippert (men) and Helen Norman Smith (women) Awards. They are presented annually to the senior student-athletes who demonstrate excellence in three important areas: 1.) Academics; 2.) Athletics; and 3.) Community service.
Following are the 2009-10 award winners:
Jimmy Nippert Award Winner and Male Athlete of the Year
Josh Schneider, Men's Swimming & Diving
Josh Schneider won the 2010 NCAA Championship in the 50-meter freestyle becoming Cincinnati's first national champion in swimming since 1946. He closed out his career at UC as a five-time all-America selection, seven-time BIG EAST Conference champion, two-time BIG EAST Swimmer of the Year, and the holder of five school records (50 free, 100 free, 200 free, 50 fly, and 100 fly). In his time as a Bearcat, Schneider set 22 school-record times and was undefeated in the 50 freestyle during the 2009-10 season. He has begun training for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London and recently won the 50-meter freestyle at the Charlotte Ultraswim, clocking the second-fastest time in the United States this year and 17th-fastest in the world.
Those same characteristics have also shown through in the classroom as Schneider has posted a 3.315 GPA in marketing. Twice during his UC career he made the Dean's list and was honored as the CAS Athlete of the Quarter. This past fall, he was inducted into the University's honorary society Sigma Sigma, which recognizes students who have made significant contributions to the University. Its members are invited into the organization based on their service to UC and student leadership.
Helen Norman Smith Award Winner and Female TOPCAT Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Tamara Masters, Cross Country/Track & Field
Masters was a top performer during both the cross country and track seasons as well as in the classroom. During the most recent cross country campaign, she placed in the Top 50 at the All-Ohio Championships, the BIG EAST Championships, and the Great Lakes Regional meet. In just a two weeks time from the BIG EAST Championships to the Great Lakes Regional, she improved her 5,000 meter time by a staggering 39 seconds. In the recently completed 2010 BIG EAST Outdoor Track & Field Championships, she finished in the Top 20 in the 5,000 meters. A biomedical engineering major, Masters has an overall GPA of 3.97.
In the community, Masters has been just as active taking part in "Operation School Bell", spending time as a tutor in the Cincinnati Public Schools and organizing a Veteran's Day event at the VA Hospital in Cincinnati. She also assisted with "Girls on the Run," an organization that encourages young girls in Cincinnati to participate in running activities during the year.
Female Athlete of the Year
Stephanie Niemer, Volleyball
In just three seasons with the volleyball program, Stephanie Niemer has cemented her name among the best in program history. For the first time in her career, Niemer was selected as an AVCA honorable-mention all-American, while being selected as a first-team all-BIG EAST performer and an AVCA first-team all-Northeast Region performer. The first-team all-league honor is her second in as many seasons. Niemer was also a BIG EAST All-Tournament team selection after helping the volleyball team reach the tournament championship match for the first time since joining the league. On the season, Niemer ranked third in the BIG EAST in kills per set, aces per set, and in points per set. Her 541 kills during the season moved her into sixth place on UC's single-season kills chart and she also moved into second on UC's single-game kills chart after putting 34 kills to the floor at Utah on August 29. Niemer is the 15th player in program history to eclipse 1,000 career kills and she already ranks among the program's Top 10 career leaders in kills and aces.
Male TOPCAT Scholar-Athlete of the year
Richard King, Track & Field
Richard King ran in several events for the track team this season but no performance was more gratifying than his final race at home in the BIG EAST Conference Championships. In front of the home crowd for the final time, King ran a PR time of 9:03.45 in the 3,000 meter steeplechase to finish in the Top 10, breaking his previous best mark by nine seconds. His time also was good enough to rank in the Top 48 times in the East Region in that event, advancing him to the NCAA East Regional. A TOPCAT scholar in every quarter of his UC career as a biomedical engineering major, King has posted a 3.983 grade point average.
UC Coach of the Year
Monty Hopkins, Swimming & Diving
Monty Hopkins guided the Bearcats men's swimming & diving team to a sixth-place finish in the BIG EAST Conference, while the women's squad took seventh place. He also coached a trio of all-BIG EAST honorees in Jeremy Peter, Nathan Williams, and Josh Schneider, the 2010 NCAA Champion in the 50 Freestyle. His teams also earned honors in the classroom with both squads being named to the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Scholar-Athlete All-America list. UC's women's squad ranked No. 17 In the country with its 3.41 GPA, leading all BIG EAST schools. The men's team was No. 25 with its mark of 3.10, ranking fourth among BIG EAST rivals. Hopkins, in his 22nd year at Cincinnati, is a former Bearcats letterwinner and winner of the Jimmy Nippert Award.
UC Team of the Year
Football
The football team won its second consecutive BIG EAST Conference Championship and played in a Bowl Championship Series (BCS) game for the second straight season. Unranked in preseason polls, Cincinnati's undefeated regular season catapulted the Bearcats to No. 3 in the BCS standings and earned them an invitation to the 2010 Allstate Sugar Bowl. Eleven Cincinnati student-athletes were honored as all-BIG EAST selections, including four out of five starting offensive linemen. UC ranked atop the final BCS Top 10 in academic rankings, with a 75 percent NCAA graduation rate and a 71 percent Federal Government rate, the only team in the BCS Top 10 to surpass the 70-percent plateau on both lists.