Fresno State Athletics
Gloria and Young Named `Bulldogs of the Year'
4/29/2009 12:00:00 AM | General
April 29, 2009
PHOTO GALLERY: 2nd Annual Night of Champions
FRESNO, Calif. - Seniors Melanie Gloria and Evan Young each earned "Bulldog of the Year" honors during Fresno State Athletics' second "Night of Champions" Gala Wednesday night at the Satellite Student Union on campus. The evening recognized all student-athletes for their academic achievements, athletic accomplishments and community service involvement during the 2008-09 academic year.
The first award of the evening, the Athletic Director's Community Service Award, went to the inaugural Bulldog lacrosse team to headline the work of all 17 sports teams who collectively donated more than 2000 hours of service to the community. During their first season as a Division I program, the members of the lacrosse roster participated in countless activities demonstrating their commitment to giving back to a region for supporting the mission of academic and athletic excellence throughout the season.
The next award went to two graduating seniors, recent NFL Draft pick Tom Brandstater and soccer's Selena Gill, who were honored as the recipients of the George Ilg Memorial Award for their academic and athletic achievement and service to the community.
A pair of standout tennis stars earned the Harold H. Haak Scholarship as Anastasia Petukhova and Mirko Zapletal received recognition to remember the late former University President. The scholarship is presented yearly to two juniors, a male and a female, who have been on the Dean's list (3.5 grade point average or better) for two consecutive semesters, have lettered, and are eligible to compete in 2009-10.
In the first large group recognition, there were 98 Fresno State student-athletes who earned Academic All-WAC distinctions in 2008. Student-athletes have to been enrolled at school for one year, competed in 50 percent of their team's events and maintained a 3.0 GPA for the prestigious honor.
Nicole Gutierrez, a senior from Sacramento, spoke to her peers about her experiences taking the Bulldog soccer team to two WAC tournament titles and a pair of NCAA tournament appearances.
Senior Sarah Ibanez received the Thaxter Award for outstanding work as a student athletic trainer and sophomore athletic trainer Miguel Piedra earned the second Bill Kennedy Scholarship.
In an annual award for overcoming injury, the athletic training staff presented sophomore defensive back Lorne Bell with the 2009 Paul Schechter Courage Award. Bell tore his ACL, LCL, a tendon and a nerve on a punt coverage play in 2007. Through Lorne's eight months of knee and ankle rehabilitation, Lorne lacked the ability to flex his foot upward or outward, but refused to give up and played significantly with specialized braces during the 2008 season.
During the second big set of award, 219 student-athletes were honored for a having a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher with 153 of Fresno State student's on the 2008 Dean's List
The next honors went to the 2008 National Champion Baseball team and the WAC Team Champions (Women's Tennis, Soccer and Basketball, as well as Baseball). Four track student-athletes were then recognized as Individual Fresno State WAC Champions: Sharon Ayala, Tiera Hilliard, Frank Sanders and Roxanne Sellick.
Senior track standout decathlete Evan Young then took the microphone for a stirring and inspirational speech.
Brian Sunker of men's golf and Brittny Jones of women's basketball took home this year's Bulldog Spirit Award, presented by the Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) and voted on by the student-athletes.
The ceremony then showcased the finalists for 2008-09 Athlete of the Year. The award is presented in the summer after all competition is completed. The nominees are:
Female:
Sharon Ayala, Women's Track & Field
Melanie Gloria, Tennis
Louisa Lies, Women's Golf
Morgan Melloh, Softball
Katie Nenneker, Equestrian
Jaleesa Ross, Women's Basketball
Male:
Tom Brandstater, Football
Erick Garcia, Cross Country
Tom Mendonca, Baseball
Sylvester Seay, Men's Basketball
Rudolf Siwy, Men's Tennis
Keynote speaker Scott A. Graham, a former Bulldog men's basketball student-athlete, dynamically spoke of the ability each one of them holds to change their communities. Graham founded Extreme Personal Assistant Concierge Services, known by the acronym XPACS. His company provides 350 concierges in 85 cities around the world. The concept for the company began during his senior year as a Bulldog.
After Graham's speech, soccer's Megan Ashjian and football's Vince Pascoe received the highest distinction for academic excellence by sporting perfect 4.0 cumulative GPAs with 32 student-athletes recording a 4.0 GPA for the past year.
Fresno State continued a tradition started last year to honor its seniors. Each senior completing their eligibility receive a specially made high quality Fresno State license plate frame with the words "Champion for Life" and each senior that graduates will be sent a special commemorative Fresno State watch upon the conferment of their degrees.
The uniquely special "Bulldog of the Year," the final award of the evening, went to Gloria (four-time WAC Women's Tennis Player of the Year) and Young. The award honors those truly special championship individuals whose commitment to Fresno State in all areas and set the standard for the true Bulldog experience. These individuals were selected because their athletic accomplishments, academic triumphs and community service work stood above all others.
Gloria is the most decorated and successful tennis player in Bulldog history. She's likely going to be a four-time All-American when the tennis team embarks on the NCAA tournament. She's the all-time leader in career wins in Bulldog history and guided her team to four consecutive WAC championships. As a student, she carries a 3.8-plus GPA in international business.
Young competes in the most grueling of intercollegiate events - the decathlon. As a leader among his team, he's also become a leader on campus and within the community with his various endeavors. Evan's an excellent student and will graduate with a GPA of better than 3.75 in criminology and hopes to one day be working for ATF. He will take his athletic skills to the upcoming WAC meet in Logan, Utah.
The festivities ended as the 450 student-athletes attended a private reception at Dog House Grill.
The event was hosted by KMJ Radio's Paul Loeffler and ESPN Radio's Guy Haberman and served as the largest awards ceremony to honor the collective achievements by Fresno State student-athletes.
"Join the State - Fresno State" --- The Fresno State softball team hosts the 2009 WAC Tournament at Bulldog Diamond from May 6-9. Tickets can be purchased by visiting the Bulldog Ticket Office, calling 278-DOGS or online at gobulldogs.com.
Players Mentioned
