University of Minnesota Athletics
Photo by: Kelly Hagenson
2022 Golden Goldys Handed Out at Northrop
4/18/2022 8:43:00 PM | Athletics, Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving, Student-Athlete Development
Men's hockey, wrestling's Gable Steveson and gymnastics highlighted tonight's award winners at the 16th annual Golden Goldys, held in-person at Northrop Auditorium. It was the first in-person Golden Goldys ceremony since 2019 as the previous two years were held virtually.
Each year, Gopher Athletics recognizes student-athletes and their athletic and academic accomplishments throughout the season. Athletic awards handed out include the athletes of the year, rookies of the year, breakthrough performers, teams of the year and coach of the year. The voting includes spring sports of 2021 (baseball, men's and women's golf, rowing, softball, men's and women's outdoor track & field and tennis) and the fall and winter sports of the 2021-22 athletic year.
Men's hockey took home the team and coach of the year honors, while goaltender Justen Close was awarded male breakthrough athlete of the year and Matthew Knies was named male rookie of the year. Big Ten Coach of the Year Bob Motzko led the Golden Gophers to a Big Ten regular season title and its first trip to the NCAA Frozen Four since 2014. The Golden Gophers closed out the season with a 26-13-0 overall record and an 18-6-0 mark in Big Ten play. Motzko, also a finalist for national coach of the year, led the Gophers to the most Gopher wins in a season since 2013-14. Close took over starting goalie duties in January and went 14-5-0 between the pipes. The goaltender ranked ninth nationally in goals against average (1.95, first in the Big Ten) and fourth in school history in save percentage (.925). Close also garnered Honorable Mention All-Big Ten and NCAA All-Regional. As a freshman, Knies was a Second Team All-Big Ten, a unanimous selection to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team and a finalist for Big Ten Freshman of the Year, all while missing time to compete with USA Hockey at the 2022 Winter Olympics and the 2022 World Junior Championship. He ranked second on the team with 15 goals and tied for second with 33 points this season.
Wrestling's Gable Steveson was named the Male Athlete of the Year after a dominating collegiate season. Steveson won his second-straight Dan Hodge Trophy, given each year to the sport's top wrestler. The senior heavyweight is coming off the heels of his third-straight undefeated season as he capped it off with a second NCAA title. Steveson wrapped his 2021-22 campaign with a 18-0 record, with 15 of those victories coming by way of bonus points. He recorded seven major decisions, six technical falls, and one pin. He also closes out his career on a 52-match win streak, which is the fourth longest streak in program history.
Steveson and cross country/track's Bethany Hasz were also awarded Minnesota's Big Ten Medal of Honor. See full release HERE.
The gymnastics team recently completed its best season in program history. The Gophers advanced to their second-straight NCAA Championship and finished sixth overall, which was their best finish in school history. Minnesota's four highest team scores in program history all came this year and the Gophers joined the exclusive 198 club earlier this season when it totaled a school-record 198.025 at home against Iowa. The Gophers had four NCAA Championships All-Americans this year, and one of those was Mya Hooten, who was named Female Breakthrough Athlete earlier tonight. Hooten had three perfect 10s on the floor this year as Minnesota registered its six highest floor scores in school history. Hooten, who just completed her sophomore season, also set career highs this year on uneven bars and vault.
Diver Sarah Bacon took home the Female Athlete of the Year award. Bacon will go down as one of Minnesota's best divers in program history. She was the national champion on the 3-meter and NCAA Runner-Up on the 1-meter this year. Bacon broke the Big Ten Championship record and the Minnesota school record on both the 1-meter and 3-meter to capture her second career titles on each board. For her efforts, she was named a two-time First-Team All-American this year, First-Team All-Big Ten and Big Ten Diver of the Championships.
Women's hockey's Peyton Hemp was named the Female Rookie of the Year recipient. Hemp was named the National Rookie of the Year as well as the WCHA Rookie of the Year and landed a spot on the WCHA All-Rookie Team. She led WCHA freshmen in points (32) and goals (12) and was a three-time rookie of the month selection.
The Richard "Pinky" McNamara Student-Athlete Achievement Award is given each year to an individual who has inspired all by making an extraordinary effort to succeed despite difficult circumstances, persevering during a time of tremendous adversity and/or overcoming a great challenge. This year's award winner is men's basketball's Eric Curry. As a member of the men's basketball program since the 2016-17 season, Curry has endured three major surgeries, including two torn ACLs. After battling back through injuries, Curry Using his COVID-19 season to come back to play one last time for a coach that recruited him (Ben Johnson), Curry will leave the University of Minnesota with a undergraduate and master's degree from Minnesota next month. Watch his story HERE.
The Lindahl Outstanding Student-Athlete Achievement Award is presented to male and female student-athletes in honor of their success in both the classroom and athletics. This year's recipients are Megan Hasz (track and field and cross country), Ona Loper (gymnastics) and Blaise Andries (football). Loper is one of the best to ever wear the Maroon and Gold. The aspiring epidemiologist is a multiple-time All-American and was a finalist this year for the AAI Award, which is presented annually to the top senior gymnast in the sport. She earned more than 2,000 career points for Minnesota, won more than 50 event titles and ended her career with five perfect 10s – all on vault. Loper has also been named Academic All-Big Ten, a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, CoSIDA Academic All-District, CoSIDA Academic All-America and a WCGA Scholastic All-American. Hasz is graduating this semester with her masters in sports and exercise science having already completed her bachelors of science in kinesiology. Along with her high achievement in the classroom, Hasz also serves as the cross country team's co-captain, earning All-American, USTFCCCA All-Region, First Team All-Big Ten, Big Ten champion and Academic All-Big Ten honors in cross country this year. In 2021 after winning the individual title at the Big Ten Championships she recorded the second fastest 6K time in program history at the NCAA Championships.
Andries is currently graduated with a bachelor's degree in Mathematics - Actuarial Science before working on graduate work for his Masters of Applied Business Analytics. He was a four time Academic All-Big Ten selection, three time CoSIDA Academic All-American and a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar. Along with a successful career in the classroom, Blaise has had a successful career on the football field including being named an All-Big Ten Offensive Lineman three times including first team his senior year while starting 46 games at four different positions helping the team to a 30-16 record in his career.
Emily Brown (women's hockey) and Cameron Kelley (men's swimming and diving) were awarded the Land O' Lakes Outstanding Achievement Award in Leadership and Service. This award recognizes one men's and one women's team student-athlete who are accomplished in the areas of leadership and volunteerism. During her time at Minnesota, Brown was the president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, an active leadership council member and three-time recipient of the Leadership U Certificate of Excellence, and has volunteered numerous hours of community service work. Kelley is also an active leadership council member, a Leadership U Certificate of Excellence recipient, and has dedicated several hours to community service work.
Several student-athletes received their Leadership U Certificate of Excellence. To receive a certificate, individuals must accomplish the following items: attend and engage in Leadership U programming with fellow student-athletes, complete and debrief behavioral and emotional intelligence assessments, reflect on Speaker Series professional guests' insights and actively engage with the Leadership U staff and fellow student-athletes. This year's recipients are: Rachel Hanford (tennis), Natalie DenHartog (softball), Mallory Leneave (gymnastics), Taylor Kreitinger (cross country/track & field), Cameron Kelley (swimming), Taylor Krone (cross country/track & field), Natalie Windels (track & field), Meg Messer (rowing) and Emily Brown (women's hockey).
The Gladys Brooks and Norman Borlaug Commitment to Academic Excellence Awards are given annually to recognize a women's and men's athletic team that have demonstrated the highest level of commitment to academic excellence. Gymnastics was awarded the Gladys Brooks Commitment to Academic Excellence Award, while Football was awarded the Norman Borlaug Commitment to Academic Excellence Award. Cross Country/Track & Field athletes Alec Basten and Abby Kohut-Jackson have been honored as 2022 Big Ten Postgraduate Scholarship recipients.
The Tom H. Swain Campus Recognition Award is presented each year to an office or member of the University community who has had a positive impact on our student-athletes and who has supported the mission of the Lindahl Academic Center to help students in their academic pursuits. The Office of the Registrar: Transfer Evaluation System team is being awarded this year's Tom H. Swain Campus Recognition Award. The TES team streamlines the evaluation process of courses from other institutions for their transferability and equivalency toward requirements at the University of Minnesota. The TES team works in partnership with the Lindahl Academic Center in evaluations for prospective and incoming transfer student-athletes. TES has played an integral role in providing academic opportunities for transfer student-athletes at the University of Minnesota.
This year's Teammate of the Year Award goes to Gopher Travel Specialist Brenda Fisher. Over the past six years, Fisher has assisted in all travel plans for teams, recruiting visits for Gopher athletics. Fisher handles thousands of trips per year. Her low ego, high output mentality has helped Gopher Athletics throughout the years, especially during unforeseen challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Each year, Gopher Athletics recognizes student-athletes and their athletic and academic accomplishments throughout the season. Athletic awards handed out include the athletes of the year, rookies of the year, breakthrough performers, teams of the year and coach of the year. The voting includes spring sports of 2021 (baseball, men's and women's golf, rowing, softball, men's and women's outdoor track & field and tennis) and the fall and winter sports of the 2021-22 athletic year.
Men's hockey took home the team and coach of the year honors, while goaltender Justen Close was awarded male breakthrough athlete of the year and Matthew Knies was named male rookie of the year. Big Ten Coach of the Year Bob Motzko led the Golden Gophers to a Big Ten regular season title and its first trip to the NCAA Frozen Four since 2014. The Golden Gophers closed out the season with a 26-13-0 overall record and an 18-6-0 mark in Big Ten play. Motzko, also a finalist for national coach of the year, led the Gophers to the most Gopher wins in a season since 2013-14. Close took over starting goalie duties in January and went 14-5-0 between the pipes. The goaltender ranked ninth nationally in goals against average (1.95, first in the Big Ten) and fourth in school history in save percentage (.925). Close also garnered Honorable Mention All-Big Ten and NCAA All-Regional. As a freshman, Knies was a Second Team All-Big Ten, a unanimous selection to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team and a finalist for Big Ten Freshman of the Year, all while missing time to compete with USA Hockey at the 2022 Winter Olympics and the 2022 World Junior Championship. He ranked second on the team with 15 goals and tied for second with 33 points this season.
Wrestling's Gable Steveson was named the Male Athlete of the Year after a dominating collegiate season. Steveson won his second-straight Dan Hodge Trophy, given each year to the sport's top wrestler. The senior heavyweight is coming off the heels of his third-straight undefeated season as he capped it off with a second NCAA title. Steveson wrapped his 2021-22 campaign with a 18-0 record, with 15 of those victories coming by way of bonus points. He recorded seven major decisions, six technical falls, and one pin. He also closes out his career on a 52-match win streak, which is the fourth longest streak in program history.
Steveson and cross country/track's Bethany Hasz were also awarded Minnesota's Big Ten Medal of Honor. See full release HERE.
The gymnastics team recently completed its best season in program history. The Gophers advanced to their second-straight NCAA Championship and finished sixth overall, which was their best finish in school history. Minnesota's four highest team scores in program history all came this year and the Gophers joined the exclusive 198 club earlier this season when it totaled a school-record 198.025 at home against Iowa. The Gophers had four NCAA Championships All-Americans this year, and one of those was Mya Hooten, who was named Female Breakthrough Athlete earlier tonight. Hooten had three perfect 10s on the floor this year as Minnesota registered its six highest floor scores in school history. Hooten, who just completed her sophomore season, also set career highs this year on uneven bars and vault.
Diver Sarah Bacon took home the Female Athlete of the Year award. Bacon will go down as one of Minnesota's best divers in program history. She was the national champion on the 3-meter and NCAA Runner-Up on the 1-meter this year. Bacon broke the Big Ten Championship record and the Minnesota school record on both the 1-meter and 3-meter to capture her second career titles on each board. For her efforts, she was named a two-time First-Team All-American this year, First-Team All-Big Ten and Big Ten Diver of the Championships.
Women's hockey's Peyton Hemp was named the Female Rookie of the Year recipient. Hemp was named the National Rookie of the Year as well as the WCHA Rookie of the Year and landed a spot on the WCHA All-Rookie Team. She led WCHA freshmen in points (32) and goals (12) and was a three-time rookie of the month selection.
The Richard "Pinky" McNamara Student-Athlete Achievement Award is given each year to an individual who has inspired all by making an extraordinary effort to succeed despite difficult circumstances, persevering during a time of tremendous adversity and/or overcoming a great challenge. This year's award winner is men's basketball's Eric Curry. As a member of the men's basketball program since the 2016-17 season, Curry has endured three major surgeries, including two torn ACLs. After battling back through injuries, Curry Using his COVID-19 season to come back to play one last time for a coach that recruited him (Ben Johnson), Curry will leave the University of Minnesota with a undergraduate and master's degree from Minnesota next month. Watch his story HERE.
The Lindahl Outstanding Student-At
Andries is currently graduated with a bachelor's degree in Mathematics - Actuarial Science before working on graduate work for his Masters of Applied Business Analytics. He was a four time Academic All-Big Ten selection, three time CoSIDA Academic All-American and a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar. Along with a successful career in the classroom, Blaise has had a successful career on the football field including being named an All-Big Ten Offensive Lineman three times including first team his senior year while starting 46 games at four different positions helping the team to a 30-16 record in his career.
Emily Brown (women's hockey) and Cameron Kelley (men's swimming and diving) were awarded the Land O' Lakes Outstanding Achievement Award in Leadership and Service. This award recognizes one men's and one women's team student-athlete who are accomplished in the areas of leadership and volunteerism. During her time at Minnesota, Brown was the president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, an active leadership council member and three-time recipient of the Leadership U Certificate of Excellence, and has volunteered numerous hours of community service work. Kelley is also an active leadership council member, a Leadership U Certificate of Excellence recipient, and has dedicated several hours to community service work.
Several student-athletes received their Leadership U Certificate of Excellence. To receive a certificate, individuals must accomplish the following items: attend and engage in Leadership U programming with fellow student-athletes, complete and debrief behavioral and emotional intelligence assessments, reflect on Speaker Series professional guests' insights and actively engage with the Leadership U staff and fellow student-athletes. This year's recipients are: Rachel Hanford (tennis), Natalie DenHartog (softball), Mallory Leneave (gymnastics), Taylor Kreitinger (cross country/track & field), Cameron Kelley (swimming), Taylor Krone (cross country/track & field), Natalie Windels (track & field), Meg Messer (rowing) and Emily Brown (women's hockey).
The Gladys Brooks and Norman Borlaug Commitment to Academic Excellence Awards are given annually to recognize a women's and men's athletic team that have demonstrated the highest level of commitment to academic excellence. Gymnastics was awarded the Gladys Brooks Commitment to Academic Excellence Award, while Football was awarded the Norman Borlaug Commitment to Academic Excellence Award. Cross Country/Track & Field athletes Alec Basten and Abby Kohut-Jackson have been honored as 2022 Big Ten Postgraduate Scholarship recipients.
The Tom H. Swain Campus Recognition Award is presented each year to an office or member of the University community who has had a positive impact on our student-athletes and who has supported the mission of the Lindahl Academic Center to help students in their academic pursuits. The Office of the Registrar: Transfer Evaluation System team is being awarded this year's Tom H. Swain Campus Recognition Award. The TES team streamlines the evaluation process of courses from other institutions for their transferability and equivalency toward requirements at the University of Minnesota. The TES team works in partnership with the Lindahl Academic Center in evaluations for prospective and incoming transfer student-athletes. TES has played an integral role in providing academic opportunities for transfer student-athletes at the University of Minnesota.
This year's Teammate of the Year Award goes to Gopher Travel Specialist Brenda Fisher. Over the past six years, Fisher has assisted in all travel plans for teams, recruiting visits for Gopher athletics. Fisher handles thousands of trips per year. Her low ego, high output mentality has helped Gopher Athletics throughout the years, especially during unforeseen challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic.