2-25-91

Winter Sports Awards

It was a pretty good week for Cobber sports. The Lady Cobbers received their ninth straight NCAA tournament bid and learned they will host a first round game on Friday. And the hockey team completed the season with their 11th and 12th straight wins.

As the winter sports season plays itself out, with the sounds of bats and golf clubs starting to echo in the Cobber Fieldhouse, it seemed appropriate to honor some of the more noteworthy winter performances by Cobber athletes.

So, in keeping with this column's long tradition of biased-but-insightful observation, here are the: Unofficial, Purely Personal, Admittedly Subjective, 1990-91 Cobber Winter Sports Awards

Best Cobber Team Comeback From the Dead:
1. Cobber hockey team winning final 12 games after starting 1-7 in the MIAC.
2. Men's Basketball winning six of last eight after starting 3-9 in MIAC.

Best Cobber Trio of Seniors:
1. Hockey's Mike Hassman, John Town and Shawn McGurran. (162 points scored this year)
2. Lady Cobbers Michelle Thykeson, Kim Fierke & Rhonda Schneekloth. (96-17 career record)
3. Eric Gardner, Mike Hilley, & Tim Boudreaux. (They played well together at the end.)

Most Able to Control a Game's Outcome:
1. Eric Gardner, Men's basketball (Was an awesome force when playing well.)
2. Mike Hassman, Hockey (Was an awesome force when playing well.)
3. Michelle Thykeson, Women's basketball (Is an awesome force when playing well)

Best Shooter:
1. Lady Cobber guard Cathy Johnson (68 3-pointers in 26 games)
2. Hockey's Mike Hassman (36 goals and 33 assists)
3. Running Cobber Bryan Flam (48 3-pointers)

Smoothest Cobber Athlete
1. Guard Mike Hilley, Men's Basketball
2. Forward Mike Hassman, Hockey
3. Runner Chris Frederick, Women's Track

Smartest Cobber Player In a Game
1. John Town, Hockey
2. Mike Curfman, men's basketball guard
3. Cathy Johnson, Lady Cobber basketball

Most Tenacious Rebounder 1. Kim Fierke, Lady Cobbers, 2. Brad Keenan, men's basketball 3. Pete Myrvik, men's basketball

Best Defensive Player
1. Erica Hanson, Lady Cobber Basketball
2. Doug Prokop, Cobber Hockey Defenseman

Best Shot of the Year
1. Eric Gardner's 15-foot bank with 4 seconds left to beat St. Thomas in season finale.
2. Bryan Flam's corner shot in the last second to beat St. Olaf in men's basketball here.
3. Melissa Plante's jumper with 8 seconds left to lift the Lady Cobs over Duluth 64-63.

Best Scorer
1. Mike Hassman, hockey, 69 points in 27 games
2. Michelle Thykeson, 1648 career points so far.
3. John Town, hockey, 47 points in 27 games

Best Individual Performances
1. Jon Ault, school record 57-11.75 in the 35- pound weight throw, men's track
2. Kris Kuehl, school record 44-10.5 in the shotput, women's track
3. Mike Hassman, hockey, whenever he's hot

Most Painful Loss of the Year
1. Cobber hockey's 5-3 loss to Gustavus Dec. 8 after being up 3-1 in the third period.
2. Cobber hockey's 5-4 loss to St. Olaf Nov. 30 after being up 3-1 in the second period.
3. The Lady Cobbers' 73-68 loss in OT at St. Thomas Feb. 16 after being up 3 with the ball in the final minute of regulation.

Individual Comeback of the Year Award
1. Bryan Flam's return to men's basketball after missing a year with foot injury.
2. Lady Cobber Becky Wilson's return and contribution after knee injuries.

Saddest Injury of the Year
1. Corey Hanson, one of hockey's best defenders, injuring his knee Nov. 30th.
2. Brad Anderson's knee injury. He'd have been men's basketball defensive stopper.
3. Freshman Lady Cobber Kristi Bervig's knee injury that kept her out all year.

Most Often Injured Cobber Athlete
1. Mark Johnson, men's basketball forward, suffered, in separate collisions on the floor, injuries to his head, eye, neck, ankle, knee, head again, and wrist.
2. No one else was even close.

Most Maligned Cobber Athletes
1. Hockey goalies

Biggest Suprise of the Year
1. No Cobber wrestler making it to Nationals

Best Cobber Coaching Performance:
1. Steve Baumgartner in getting his hockey team to win 12 straight after being 1-7 in MIAC.
2. Doug Perry, track coach, for his work with the outstanding Cobbers in weight events.

These pages are maintained by Jerry Pyle pyle@cord.edu. These articles are copyrighted © and may not be published or reproduced without the express permission of Jerry Pyle.

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