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We are at the end of the year where members of the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association (ACSMA) vote on the top male and female athletes of the year who show exemplary talent throughout the year (yours truly has a vote this year). Specifically, the ACSMA votes on the 2014-2015 Anthony J. McKevlin and Mary Garber Awards, which go to the most outstanding ACC male and female athletes, respectively. As always, there are some excellent candidates for each of the awards.
My vote for the Anthony J. McKevlin award goes to Jerian Grant, a Senior men’s basketball player for the University of Notre Dame. I believe Grant just edged Vic Beasley, R-Senior, Clemson football for the award. Take a look at Grant’s bio:
MVP of Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Basketball Championship after leading Notre Dame to first-ever tournament title … Named to the John R. Wooden All-America Team … Wooden Award Finalist … Associated Press All-America First Team … USBWA All-America First Team … NABC All-America First Team … Sporting News Second Team All-America … ACC All-Tournament First Team … Unanimous First Team All-ACC … ACC All-Defensive Team (coaches) … Notre Dame Monogram Club MVP … Led Notre Dame to first Elite Eight appearance since 1979 … Averaged 16.5 points and 6.7 assists … Two-time ACC Player of the Week … Hall of Fame Tipoff All-Tournament Team … Finished as the 11th all-time leading scorer at Notre Dame (1.739 points), third in assists (690) and fifth in steals (175) … Only player in Notre Dame history to score more than 1,700 points, dish off 600 assists, make 150 steals and block 30 shots (37 career blocked shots) … Played in 119 career games and started 117 (fifth all-time) … One of two players nationally to score more than 600 points (628), dish off 200 assists (253) and make 50 steals (63) during the season and seventh player in ACC history to accomplish that fete … Registered double-figure scoring in 34 contests, scored 209-plus points on 11 occasions, dished off 10-plus assists six times and registered five double-doubles … graduated from Notre Dame in May with a degree in sociology from the College of Arts and Letters.
The other nominees for the McKevlin award are: 1.) Olivier Hanlan, Junior, Men’s Basketball (Boston College, 2.) Laken Tomlinson, Senior, Football (Duke), Jalen Ramsey, Sophomore, Football/Track and Field (Florida State), 3.) Andrew Cosie, Senior, Swimming and Diving (Georgia Tech), 4.) Sebastian Stiefelmeier, Senior, Tennis (Louisville), 5.) David Thompson, Junior, Baseball (Miami), 6.) Andy Craven, Senior, Soccer (North Carolina), 7.) Nick Gwiazdowski, R-Junior, Wrestling (North Carolina State), 8.) James Conner, Sophomore, Football (Pittsburgh), 9.) Kevin Rice, Senior, Lacrosse (Syracuse), 10.) Malcolm Brogdon, R-Junior, Men’s Basketball (Virginia), 11.) Devin Carter, Senior, Wrestling (Virginia Tech), and 12.) Will Craig, Sophomore, Baseball (Wake Forest).
My vote for the Mary Garber Award award goes to Elizabeth Williams, a Senior Women’s Basketball player for Duke. Check out her bio below:
National Defensive Player of the Year selection by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association … WBCA All-America … Associated Press All-America … USBWA All-America … one of 12 finalists for the State Farm Wade Trophy … ACC Defensive Player of the Year to become the league’s first four-time recipient of the top defensive honor … first team All-ACC selection to become just the second player in ACC history to be named first team all-league in four consecutive years … All-ACC Defensive Team choice to become just the second player in conference history to earn the citation in four consecutive seasons … All-ACC Tournament First Team … listed on the John R. Wooden Award final ballot for National Player of the Year … awarded the Kay Yow Award as the ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year … third team Capital One Academic All-America pick … All-ACC Academic Team … became first ACC player and eighth NCAA player to earn Associated Press All-America honors each of her four years … first ACC player in history to register over 1,900 points, 1,000 rebounds and 400 blocks … one of the top 30 candidates for the Naismith Award … a Senior CLASS Award finalist … CoSIDA Academic All-District III selection … espnW National Player of the Week and ACC Player of the Week Dec. 22 … WBCA All Good Works Team nominee … averaged 14.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals … led all centers nationally with a 2.5 assists per game average … led the ACC with 3.0 blocks per game to finish with 426 career blocks to rank second (only eight blocks behind Alison Bales of Duke) in ACC history … became the third Blue Devil to join the 20/20 club with 26 points and a career-high 20 rebounds against Oklahoma … the 20 rebounds was a Cameron Indoor Stadium record … collected a career-best 10 double-doubles on the year … collected a Duke NCAA Tournament record nine blocked shots against Albany, while ranking tied fourth-most in NCAA history during the first and second rounds.
The other nominees for the Garber award are: 1.) Alex Carpenter, Junior, Ice Hockey (Boston College), 2.) Natoya Goule, R-Senior, Track and Field (Clemson), 3.) Dagny Brynjarsdottir, Senior, Soccer (Florida State), 4.) Kelsi Worrell, Junior, Swimming (Louisville), 5.) Savannah Leaf, Senior, Volleyball (Miami), 6.) Jamie Loeb, Sophomore, Tennis (North Carolina), 7.) Emily Weiman, Senior, Softball (North Carolina State, 8.) Lee Kiefer, Junior, Fencing (Notre Dame), 9.) Brianna Kiesel, Senior, Basketball (Pittsburgh), 10.) Kayla Treanor, Junior, Lacrosse (Syracuse), 11.) Morgan Brian, Senior, Women’s Soccer (Virginia), 12.) Irene Sediva, Sophomore, Track and Field (Virginia Tech), and 13.) Dearica Hamby, Senior, Basketball (Wake Forest).
Congratulations and good luck to all the McKevlin and Garber Award Nominees!!
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