Indiana University Athletics
Indiana Athletics Announces End of Year Awards
6/14/2007 12:00:00 AM | General
June 14, 2007
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Redshirt freshman wrestler Angel Escobedo and senior swimmer Leila Vaziri are the 2006-07 Indiana University Male and Female Athletes of the Year, the Department of Athletics announced Thursday. Furthermore, senior football safety Will Meyers and senior women's track and field sprinter Stacey Clausing received the Big Ten Medal of Honor, presented annually to a male and female senior student-athlete at each league institution who maintained an outstanding scholastic rating and who distinguished themselves in athletic endeavors.
Additionally, senior men's soccer defenseman Julian Dieterle earned the Jake Gimbel Award, while senior women's tennis standout Laura McGaffigan received the Anita Aldrich Leadership Award. The Jake Gimbel Award annually is presented to the senior male student-athlete who has distinguished himself in athletics and scholarship and who has displayed an outstanding mental attitude. The Anita Aldrich Leadership Award is named for the former chair of the IU School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation and honors the senior female student-athlete who best exemplifies Aldrich's ideals of leadership, scholastic achievement and athletic ability.
After redshirting during the 2005-06 season, Escobedo earned a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Championships in the 125-pound weight class in 2006-07. He finished the year 39-7 with 14 pins, posting a 16-2 mark in dual meets. His 39 wins tied for the seventh most in IU history, while his 14 pins were tied for sixth on the all-time list, with both going as freshman records. Escobedo carded a 6-2 record in the Big Ten, adding two technical falls and four major decisions. His seven losses were by a combined 13 points and all came at the hands of ranked opponents. The Griffith, Ind., product finished third at Big Tens and became the first Hoosier since 2004 to win the venerable Midlands Championships. In addition, Escobedo won the 60-kilogram freestyle title at the FILA Junior World Team trials to earn a spot in the World Junior Championships.
Vaziri closed out her senior campaign as the most decorated female swimmer in school history. She earned a school-record 15 All-America selections, including one of those citations after finishing third in the 100-yard backstroke at the NCAA Championships. The Coral Springs, Fla., native helped IU's 400-yard medley relay to a 13th-place finish and the 400-yard freestyle relay to a 16th-place finish, earning All-America honors in both events. Indiana finished 11th at the Championships, gaining a top-15 finish for the fourth straight year. In leading the Hoosiers to the Big Ten Championship, Vaziri won the conference title in the 100 back and the 400-medley relay.
She also set a world record and won the world championship in the 50-meter backstroke at the FINA World Championships on March 29, setting an American record in the prelim session and a world record in the semifinals and finals. Vaziri was selected to the United State National Team as a 100 back specialist.
The Big Ten Medal of Honor recipients also had outstanding seasons both in and out of the classroom. Meyers earned his second consecutive selection to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America First Team. He became just the second Hoosier in history to earn two Academic All-America selections, joining John Hammerstein (1994-95) on that elite list. Meyers became eligible for Academic All-America status by garnering his third consecutive nod as a CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District V honoree. The Chesterfield, Mo., native also was one of the top players on the field for the Hoosiers in 2006, serving as one of four team captains. He led the squad with 78 tackles, 53 solo, and five interceptions on the year. Meyers recorded four tackles for loss, forced one fumble and recovered a fumble. He wrapped up his Hoosier career with 278 tackles.
Clausing also had an excellent campaign on and off the field. The St. Mary's, Ohio, native recorded top times in the 60, 200 and 400-meter dashes during the indoor season. She clocked NCAA provisional qualifying times in both the 200-meters and the 400-meters while running IU's third-fastest time in the 200 (23.90) at the Tyson Invitational on Feb. 9. Clausing ran a leg of IU's distance medley relay team during the indoor season, which clocked the third-fastest time in school history (11:44.21), also at the Tyson Invitational.
During the outdoor season, Clausing led the Hoosiers with top times in the 100, 200 and 400-meter dashes. She was an NCAA Mideast Regional qualifier in the 200 and 400-meters, earning second team All-Big Ten honors after helping IU's 4x100-meter relay team finish second at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships with a time of 45.54. Clausing also earned Academic All-Big Ten honors and collected the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award during the indoor season.
Dieterle was an integral cog for the Hoosiers' defensive backfield on his way to being honored with the Jake Gimbel Award. A leader on one of the nation's strongest defenses, the senior helped Indiana hold its opponents to 0.77 goals per game. The Elgin, Ill., native appeared in 19 games with 13 starts as the Hoosiers finished the season with a 15-4-3 overall record, a Big Ten regular season championship and the program's 11th Big Ten Tournament title. IU advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to Santa Clara in a shootout.
Likewise to Dieterle, McGaffigan had a terrific year on and off the court this past season en route to earning the Anita Aldrich Award. McGaffigan earned All-Big Ten honors after finishing the season 24-16 in singles action and claiming 19 doubles victories with three different partners. She made her biggest mark this year at No. 1 doubles with Alba Berdala. The duo upset the 13th-ranked team of Georgia Rose and Alexis Prousis of Northwestern, as well as the 45th-ranked team of Brooke Beier and Mallory Voelker of Purdue. McGaffigan earned an 8-2 record in Big Ten singles action at No. 2 and claimed the team's only point with an upset win over No. 43 Samantha Murray of Northwestern in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. An Academic All-Big Ten selection, McGaffigan was a business marketing major.
Each sport annually recognizes a Hoosier Award winner, one who brings honor and distinction to their respective sport during the year. In addition, each female sport recognizes one individual for the Aline Robinson Mental Attitude Award, honoring athletics, leadership and mental attitude.
Female Athlete of the Year - Leila Vaziri (Coral Springs, Fla./Coral Springs), swimming
Male Athlete of the Year - Angel Escobedo (Griffith, Ind./Griffith), wrestling
Big Ten Medals of Honor - Stacey Clausing (St. Marys, Ohio/St. Marys Memorial), women's track and field; Will Meyers (Chesterfield, Mo./Parkway West), football
Jake Gimbel Award - Julian Dieterle (Elgin, Ill./Larkin), men's soccer
Anita Aldrich Leadership Award - Laura McGaffigan (Davenport, Iowa/Bettendorf), women's tennis
Hoosier Award - Women
Basketball - Whitney Thomas (Bloomington, Ind./North)
Cross Country - Lindsay Hattendorf (Chesterton, Ind./Chesterton)
Diving - Lindsay Weigle (Bloomington, Ind./South)
Field Hockey - Morgan Miller (Gap, Pa./Pequea Valley)
Golf - Elaine Harris (San Francisco, Calif./St. Ignatius)
Rowing - Madison Spruell (Mt. Carmel, Ill./Mt. Carmel)
Soccer - Shannon Vnoucek (Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove)
Softball - Tory Yamaguchi (Woodland Hills, Calif./Chaminade College Prep)
Swimming - Christie Fuchs (Leawood, Kan./Shawnee Mission-East)
Tennis - Laura McGaffigan (Davenport, Iowa/Bettendorf)
Track and Field - Vera Neuenswander (Jefferson City, Mo./Jefferson City)
Water Polo - Brooke Zimmerman (Calgary, Alberta/Riffel-Regina)
Hoosier Award - Men
Baseball - Andrew Means (Avon Lake, Ohio/Avon Lake)
Basketball - D.J. White (Tuscaloosa, Ala./Hillcrest)
Cross Country - Marcus Aguilar (Martinsville, Ind./Martinsville)
Diving - Taylor Roberts (Aurora, Colo./Smokey Hill)
Football - Troy Grosfield (Littleton, Colo./Chatfield)
Golf - Drew Allenspach (Sugar Land, Texas/Fort Bend Elkins)
Soccer - Josh Tudela (Evansville, Ind./North)
Swimming - Heath Tameris (Cincinnati, Ohio/Sycamore)
Tennis - David Bubenicek (Kromeriz, Czech Republic/Obchodni Akademie)
Track and Field - Ryan Smith (Bloomington, Ind./North)
Wrestling - Angel Escobedo (Griffith, Ind./Griffith)
Aline Robinson Award
Basketball - Kim Roberson (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral)
Cross Country - Jessica Gall (West Lafayette, Ind./West Lafayette)
Diving - Amy Korthauer (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central)
Field Hockey - Lydia Schrott (Quarryville, Pa./Lancaster Christian School)
Golf - Elaine Harris (San Francisco, Calif./St. Ignatius)
Rowing - Emily Kasavana (Williamston, Mich./Williamston)
Soccer - Carrie DeFreece (Olathe, Kan./Olathe)
Softball - Monica Wright (Morrison, Ill./Northern Iowa)
Swimming - Caitlin Heyman (Nashville, Tenn./Harpeth Hall)
Tennis - Cecile Perton (Briey, France/Louis Bertrand)
Track and Field - Courtney Freiberger (Floyd Knobs, Ind./Our Lady Providence)
Water Polo - Kristin Zernicke (Calgary, Alberta/William Aberhart)
Players Mentioned
