Fresno State Athletics
Witt, Abas Named Fresno State Athletes of the Year
 |  Stephen Abas, the national champion in the 125-pound weight class this year, was voted Fresno State's male Athlete of the Year in a vote of local media. |
- Past Athletes of the Year
June 14, 2001
FRESNO, Calif. - Junior wrestler Stephen Abas and senior softball player Becky Witt have been named the 2000-01 Fresno State Athletes of the Year by a vote of local media members.
Abas won the national championship in the 125-pound weight division this year, defeating Iowa's Jody Strittmatter by a 13-10 decision in the finals. The three-time All-American finished the season with a sparkling 34-0 record, with 10 wins coming by pin, 10 by technical fall and seven by major decision. The perfect season made him the first Fresno State wrestler ever to go undefeated through an entire year. Abas also holds the best career winning percentage in program history with a 109-4 mark (.964) in his three seasons. This year, he helped lead the Bulldogs to a 14th place finish in the NCAA championships, the team's fifth highest mark in history.
The national title was the second of Abas' career, the first coming in 1999. He could become Fresno State's first three-time national champion and second four-time All-American next year.
As the fourth wrestler ever to garner male Athlete of the Year at Fresno State, Abas is receiving the award for the second time in his career, having also won in 1999. He is the fourth male athlete in school history to win the award more than once, joining Dale Messer (football - 1961, '65), Mike Gallego (wrestling - 1967, '68) and Doug Fraley (track - 1985, '86, '87).
Witt helped guide the Bulldogs to a 39-19 record, a fourth consecutive WAC title and the 24th postseason bid in the 24 years of the program. She led the team in multiple offensive categories this year, including batting average (.396), runs (50), total bases (80), at bats (192), hits (76), stolen bases (18) and multiple-hit games (26). Witt posted 14 multiple-run games and had a season-high nine-game hit streak at one point during the season. She also batted .400 with 10 runs and 24 total bases against Top 25 teams. The two-time All-American finished her career as a Bulldog ranked eighth in NCAA history in runs scored (224), ninth in hits (331) and 10th in at bats (866).
In addition to Witt's exploits as a softball player, she also achieved academically. She was named to the Verizon Academic All-America's first team and is a member of the Phi Kappa Phi honor society, which recognizes students with a cumulative 3.5 or above grade point average.
Witt is the 16th softball player in history and second in a row to earn female Athlete of the Year honors. She is also the 11th member of the Fresno State softball team in the past 12 years to receive the accolade.