Senior standouts Buck, Huff named UND's Athletes of the Year

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – University of North Dakota senior basketball players Madi Buck and Troy Huff garnered UND's top athletics honors tonight at the athletic department's annual spring awards program in the Memorial Union Ballroom.

Buck was named UND's Grace Rhonemus Female Athlete of the Year, while Huff earned his second consecutive Glenn "Red" Jarrett Male Athlete of the Year award. All award recipients were determined by a vote of the athletics department's head coaches and media relations staff.

Buck was named a WBCA Division I All-America honorable mention after leading UND to Big Sky Conference regular season and playoff championships, as well as the first NCAA Division I Tournament in appearance in UND basketball history. She led UND in scoring (16.0 ppg), steals (56) and 3-point field goals made (43) to earn Big Sky Player of the Year and All-Big Sky First Team honors.

Other finalists for Grace Rhonemus Female Athlete of the Year included: Ke-Ke Burks (track & field), Caralyn Chewning (softball), Michelle Karvinen (hockey), Morgan Lynch (swimming & diving) and Ronni Munkeby (volleyball).

Huff, who matched his career high by averaging 19.2 points per game and led the conference with a school-record 79 steals, was named a Lou Henson Mid-Major DI All-American for the second straight season. He was also a unanimous All-Big Sky First Team selection for the second year in a row and was named to the NABC All-District 6 First Team. Huff finished his career ranked third on UND's career scoring list with 2,005 points.

Other finalists for Glenn "Red" Jarrett Male Athlete of the Year included: Greg Hardin (football), Shawn Johnson (track & field), Dillon Simpson (hockey) and Austin Smith (swimming & diving).
UND's other 2013-14 award winners included:

Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Ronni Munkeby, Middle Hitter, Volleyball (Senior || Lisbon, N.D.)

• Second straight year she has won the award
• A kinesiology major with a 4.0 grade point average
• Academic All-American and All-Big Sky Conference First Team honoree, led team to first Big Sky title in UND Athletics history
• Finalists: Shelby Amsley-Benzie (hockey), Nicole Babrowski (softball), Jenna Gillson (track), Callie Ronkowski (tennis), Allyssa Wall (basketball)

Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Patrick Riewer, RF/P , Baseball (Senior || Wadena, Minn.)

• Chemical engineering major with a 4.0 GPA
• An Academic All-District selection in 2013-14
• Has appeared in 26 games in the outfield and ranks second on the team with a .394 on-base percentage
• Made his first collegiate start on the mound last week at North Dakota State and logged a complete-game victory
• Finalists: Ian Ballantyne (swimming & diving), Baylee Carr (football), Sean Halverson (golf), Nick Mattson (hockey), Ryan McGuigan (tennis), Nate Peterson (track & field/cross country)

Female Freshman of the Year: Anna Pioske, Outside Hitter, Volleyball (Freshman || Waconia, Minn.)

• Big Sky Conference co-Freshman of the Year, All-Big Sky Conference honorable mention
• Ranked third on the team with 331 kills and helped lead team to first Big Sky title in UND Athletics history
• Finalists: Lacey Sprinkel (tennis), Leah Szabla (basketball), Susanna Tapani (hockey), Kaylin VanDomelen (softball)

Male Freshman of the Year: Paul LaDue, Defense, Hockey (Freshman || Grand Forks, N.D.)

• All-NCHC Rookie Team, NCAA Midwest All-Tournament Team, NCHC Rookie of the Month (February)
• Led team in plus/minus (+15) and tied for fourth nationally among rookie defensemen with 21 points
• Finalists: Cam Kuksa (football), Noah Lucas (swimming & diving), Zach Muckenhirn (baseball)

Female Unsung Hero: Emily Bell, First Baseman, Softball (Sophomore || Elgin, Ill.)

• Hit .303 in 43 games, led UND with 13 bases on balls and ranked second with a .400 on-base percentage
• Made just three errors in 133 total chances defensively
• Finalists: Kayla Berg (hockey), Siri Burck (basketball), Ashley Fedie (track & field), Jessica Fontes (volleyball), Asia Laudal (soccer)

Male Unsung Hero: Connor Gaarder, Forward, Hockey (Junior || Edina, Minn.)

• NCAA Midwest Region All-Tournament Team, Academic All-NCHC
• Established career highs in games (42), points (17), goals (9), assists (8) and plus/minus (+7)
• Finalists: John LeClerc (track & field), Josh Schuler (basketball), Zack Trygstad (baseball)

Individual Female Community Service Award: Taylor Boster, Throws, Track & Field (Sophomore || Halliday, N.D.)

• Led UND's female student-athletes with more than 120 hours of community service
• Volunteered for several organizations, including the YMCA, Color Run, Wild Hog Marathon, Development Homes and more
• Finalists: Amanda Fairweather (golf), Camille Merwin (swimming & diving)

Individual Male Community Service Award: Dustin Britton, Tennis (Freshman || Plymouth, Minn.)

• Led UND's male student-athletes with nearly 80 hours of community service
• Volunteer for several organizations, including Red River Valley Community Action, Special Olympics, Red River High School ELL Program, Altru Health System and more
• Finalists: Drew Campbell (track & field/cross country), Dan Jacobson (swimming & diving)

Team Female Community Service Award: Softball (third straight year)

• Worked more than 750 community service hours, or 34 hours per student-athlete
• Volunteered time to Special Olympics, Grand Forks Public Library, Salvation Army, UND Multicultural Center and more
• Finalists: Basketball, Tennis

Team Male Community Service Award: Tennis (second straight year)

• Led UND's male teams with more than 25 hours of community service per student-athlete (200 total hours)
• Volunteered time to Red River Valley Community Action, SAAC, Special Olympics, Altru Health System and more
• Finalists: Basketball, Hockey

Notes: UND Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) officers Katie Houdek (President, Basketball), Dayo Idowu (Vice-President, Football), Nikki Husfeldt (Spring Secretary, Volleyball), Anna Jung (Fall Secretary, Soccer), Katie Klapprodt (Treasurer, Basketball), Dan Jacobson (Spring Social Media Coordinator, Swimming) and Courtney Beckwith (Fall Social Media Coordinator, Soccer) were also recognized for their service.

Additionally, the women's track & field/cross country team received UND's second annual SAAC Cup, given to the team that accumulates the most points in three areas: 1) Attendance at other teams' home events  2) Team semester grade point averages during Spring 2014 and Fall 2013 and 3) Team community service hours.