ARCHAMBAULT-LEGER, BUTLER NAMED 2010 JIM URQUHART STUDENT-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR RECIPIENTS
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VERONIQUE |
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| BOBBY BUTLER |
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| WILLIE FORD |
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| ASHLEE LATHROP |
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| ALLY YOST |
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| JENNY LUOMA |
| BEN JENKINS (NOT PICTURED) |
DURHAM, N.H.
– Veronique Archambault-Leger (Verdun,
Quebec) of the women's ski team and Bobby Butler
(Marlboro, Mass.) of the men's hockey team were named the 2010
recipients of the Jim Urquhart Student-Athlete of the Year by the
University of New Hampshire athletic department at Tuesday
night’s annual Senior Banquet.
The award is named in memory of longtime UNH coach Jim Urquhart,
who coached the New Hampshire men's lacrosse team for 17 years and
the wrestling team for 11 seasons before taking the position of
Associate Athletic Director of Event Management in 1997. He passed
away after suffering a heart attack on Jan. 14, 1998.
The Jim Urquhart Student-Athlete of the Year Award began in 1999
and is bestowed annually upon UNH senior student-athletes who excel
both in athletic competition and the classroom, as well as
possessing great character, sportsmanship and a passion for
sports.
The Tina True Memorial Award, given annually since 2007 to two
Wildcat athletes for their commitment to strength and conditioning,
was presented to Willie Ford (Plymouth, N.H.) of
the men's ski team and Ashlee Lathrop (Sherburne,
N.Y.) of the women's track & field team.
The Athletic Director's Award for Academic Excellence, given for
the first time in department history, is awarded to a male and
female senior student-athlete with the highest cumulative
grade-point-average. On the men's side Ben Jenkins
(Francestown, N.H. - mechanical engineering) from the men's cross
country and track programs was the honoree, while Ally
Yost (Langhorne, Pa. - mechanical engineering) from
women's soccer and Jenny Luoma from the
women's ski team (Maple Grove, Minn.- mechanical engineering)
were were the female honorees.
True was a co-captain and coxswain of the women’s crew team
from 2000 to 2002. Her commitment to training and her passion for
her sport greatly contributed to the success of the team. In
January of her junior year, Tina’s life was tragically cut
short in a car accident.
Archambault-Leger truly epitomized the word student-athlete by
excelling both in the classroom and on the ski slopes all four
years as a UNH Wildcat. In her career, Archambault-Leger was a
five-time All-American, four-time NCAA All-Academic Ski Team
honoree and four time All-East selection who recorded 31 top-five
finishes, including nine victories, in the Eastern carnival
circuit. She served as captain in both her junior and senior
seasons. Archambault-Leger's other career accolades included 2007
EISA Rookie of the Year, EISA slalom points champion in both '07
and '08 as well as giant slalom points champion in '07.
She finished with seven top-10 finishes during the 2010 EISA
season, including first place in the slalom and third place in the
giant slalom at the Eastern championships, and was UNH's top skier
in five races. Archambault-Leger was particularly strong in the
slalom, in which she raced to third place at both the Dartmouth and
Vermont carnivals and did not finish lower than seventh at any
carnival. She then raced to eighth place in the slalom at the NCAA
championships to garner All-America accolades in her final race as
a collegian. And she accomplished all that despite incurring three
injuries during the year – a sprained thumb in the
pre-season, a dislocated shoulder in the second week of the
carnival season – she competed the following week and raced
to third place in the slalom and ninth in the giant slalom –
and a broken hand one week prior to the Eastern Championships.
Archambault-Leger will be graduating this month with a degree in
Mechanical Engineering. She has a 3.92 cumulative
grade-point-average, which is the highest in her class within her
major, and that includes three semesters with a perfect 4.0 and no
semester lower than a 3.81. Archambault-Leger was the recipient of
four academic excellence awards in chemical engineering and also
received a UNH Presidential Scholarship.
"Veronique is a truly amazing individual," UNH alpine head coach
Brian Blank said. "Since her freshman year, she has been the top
female skier for UNH, both athletically and academically. Her
teammates look up to her and I have always valued her opinion when
it comes to making tough decisions within the team.
"It is hard for me to express with words how highly I regard
Veronique," Blank added. "I am proud to have been her coach. I look
forward to watching her career beyond UNH."
Butler, UNH's first Hobey Baker "Hat Trick" finalist since Darren
Haydar in 2001, collected his fair share of hardware as he was the
2010 Hockey East Player of the Year, 2010 Walter Brown Award
winner, All-America First Team selection, Hockey East All-Star
First Team, Hockey East Scoring Champion and Hockey East Three
Stars Award winner. Butler enjoyed not only his best season as a
Wildcat, but also arguably the greatest season by any Wildcat
forward in recent history. Butler ranked first in the nation in
goals with 29 and tied for second in points with 53. He also
finished second in goals per game (0.74), fifth in points per game
(1.36 ppg), 10th in short-handed goals (2) and 19th in game winners
(4).
The co-captain, as voted by his teammates, was even better among
Hockey East’s elite, where he rank first overall in goals,
third in points, seventh in power-play goals, second in shorthanded
goals and third in game-winning tallies. In conference play, Butler
finished first in points (41) and goals (21), and sixth in assists
(20). He became the first player in Hockey East to register 20
goals and 20 assists in league play since Krog.
Butler was one of just six male position players selected to
represent the East Squad at the 2010 NCAA Frozen Four Skills
Challenge. Perhaps Butler’s most prized accolade is being
named a Hockey Humanitarian Nominee. Butler was among a group of 18
players in all of college hockey in the running for the award that
honors college hockey’s finest citizen, someone who gives
back to his or her community. Butler was nominated for his work
with a local middle school as well as several other meaningful
projects in and around the Durham community. Butler also did not
just skate by in the classroom. He will graduate later this month
with a degree in Health Management and Policy with a 3.12 grade
point average. He is a two-time Hockey East All-Academic Team
member.
Butler’s stellar season is a fitting cap to his sparkling
career. Butler became just the 67th player in program history to
register 100 career points, doing so in extremely balanced fashion
with 61 goals and 60 assists for 121 points. Butler’s 121
points is tied with Chris Winnes for 49th on the all-time scoring
list at New Hampshire. Butler recently inked a two-year free-agent
contract with the Ottawa Senators.
"Bobby is an exceptional young man who quietly led by example in
the locker room, on the ice and, most importantly, in the
community," UNH men's hockey head coach Dick Umile stated. "I
believe Bobby's impact on our program, our campus and our community
is certainly worthy of the Jim Urquhart Award."
Ford, who was named to the EISA All-Academic Intercollegiate Ski
Team for the third consecutive year in 2010, recorded nine top-20
efforts, including five top-10 finishes, on the Eastern carnival
circuit. His season highlights included fourth place in the slalom
at the UVM carnival, fifth place in the giant slalom at the
Dartmouth Carnival and three sixth-place finishes, including in the
slalom at the EISA Championships. The senior alpine skier, who
garnered All-America status in both the slalom and giant slalom as
a junior, completed his Wildcat career by competing at the NCAA
Championships for the fourth consecutive year.
Lathrop, a senior who competes in the throws events for both the
indoor and outdoor track & field teams, won her second
consecutive America East outdoor title in the hammer throw earlier
this month. That was one of five first-place finishes on the season
for Lathrop, who also took second place at the Penn Relays and
third place at the New England Championships. She was honored as
the America East Field Performer of the Week three consecutive
weeks spanning April 6-20. During that time, Lathrop won her third
consecutive title at the Larry Ellis Invitational (April 17) in
which she recorded a school record throw of 55.51 meters.
In the 2009-10 indoor season, Lathrop broke a school record and
garnered All-ECAC honors with a fifth-place finish in the weight
throw at the ECAC Championships (March 6-7) with a mark of 17.54m.
She had previously broke the school record during a third-place
effort at the New England Championships. Lathrop was named to the
America East All-Conference Team after winning a second consecutive
title in the weight throw in which she established a school
benchmark that she would surpass at the New England and ECAC
championships.
In addition to Archambault-Leger, the women nominees for the
Urquhart Award were Kirsten Bates (Calgary,
Alberta; volleyball), Helena Diodati (Scarborough,
Maine; gymnastics), Lathrop (track & field),
Kelly Paton (Woodstock, Ontario; ice hockey),
Meg Shea (Melrose, Mass.; field hockey) and
Ally Yost (Langhorne, Pa.; soccer).
In addition to Butler, the men candidates for the Urquhart Award
were Dylan McGuffin (Northfield, N.H.; skiing),
Radar Onguetou (Yaounde, Cameroon; basketball) and
Scott Sicko (Stillwater, N.Y.; football).
Jim Urquhart
Student-Athlete of the Year
1999- Jerry Azumah (football), Jason Krog (men's ice hockey),
Melanie Morin (women's cross country, track)
2000- Orsi Farkas (women's basketball), Kyle Schneck (men's cross
country, track), Mike Souza (men's hockey)
2001- Colleen Christopher (women's lacrosse), Ty Conklin (men's
hockey), Ryan DiNunzio (men's soccer), Andrea Encarnacao (women's
soccer)
2002- Amy DeCamp (women's cross country, track), Darren Haydar
(men's hockey)
2003- Greg Blaisdell (men's skiing), Marcie Boyer (field
hockey)
2004- Lesley Read (women's track/cross country), Steve Saviano
(men's hockey)
2005- Chiara Best (women's soccer), Ben Sturgill (men's
basketball)
2006- Amanda Hall (gymnastics), Derek Stank (football)
2007- David Ball (football), Danielle Clark (women’s
basketball)
2008- Cathy Parker (women’s cross country/track), Kevin
Regan (men’s ice hockey), Ricky Santos (football)
2009- Kacey Bellamy (women’s ice hockey), Sean McNamara
(men’s skiing)
2010- Veronique Archambault-Leger (women's skiing), Bobby Butler
(men's ice hockey)
Tina True
Memorial Award
2007- Aaron Brown (football), Erin Moore (women’s track
& field)
2008- Emmy Blouin (volleyball), Jeff Pammer (football)
2009- Kacey Bellamy (women’s ice hockey), Tom Bishop
(football)
2010- Willie Ford (men's skiing), Ashlee Lathrop (women's track
& field)
Athletic
Director's Award for Academic Excellence
2010- Ben Jenkins (men's cross country, track), Ally Yost (women's
soccer), Jenny Luoma (women's skiing)
