Bode, Felsing Honored As UWM Athletes Of The YearApril 27, 2008 MILWAUKEE - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee honored present and former student-athletes and administrators Sunday afternoon at the annual Student-Athlete Awards Reception and Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at the Intercontinental Hotel in downtown Milwaukee. The major award-winners included Steve Bode of men's soccer and Leanne Felsing of women's volleyball, who were honored as the Pepsi/UWM Athletes of the Year. Bode and Shannon Buttchen of the women's track and field team received the prestigious UWM Alumni Association Herman Kluge Awards. UWM also welcomed four new members to its Athletics Hall of Fame - Doug Beard, Cindy (Miller) Freedman, Jon Manke and Katie (Schneider) Pendowski. Bode is a three-time all-league selection who was a team captain for three years and a starter for all four of his seasons in Milwaukee. He started all 83 games he played in his career, missing just two of UWM's matches in that span due to injury. As a sophomore and a senior, he was named team most valuable player. He led the Panthers to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in each of his first two seasons on the field, winning one regular season Horizon League Championship and two Horizon League tournament titles in his career. He was also named to the league all-tournament team on two occasions and set career-highs with 11 points and five goals as a sophomore. In the classroom, Bode earned all-region scholar-athlete honors three times from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America while posting a 3.676 cumulative grade-point average. He also collected third-team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America recognition and was a three-year member of the Horizon League All-Academic Team. He also received the Horizon League Sportsmanship Award after the 2005 campaign. After wrapping up his college career, Bode has been drafted by the Chicago Fire of MLS and by the Milwaukee Wave. Felsing collected All-Midwest Region and honorable mention All-America honors from the American Volleyball Coaches' Association following each of her final two seasons with the Panthers. She was also honored as the Horizon League Player of the Year this past season after earning All-Horizon League honors as a junior. Felsing was also the League's Newcomer of the Year in 2004. During her senior season, Felsing led the nation with 18 triple-doubles, pushing her career total to a school-record 25. She earned National Player of the Week recognition from College Volleyball Update Sept. 24 and was a two-time winner of the league's offensive player of the week award this past season. Felsing's individual success led to great team success. The Panthers won 89 matches during her four seasons in Milwaukee, collecting four Horizon League regular season crowns as well as an NCAA Tournament berth in 2006. The 26 wins the Panthers tallied this past season marked a school record, while UWM dropped just five regular season league matches during Felsing's four seasons in Milwaukee. Felsing also excelled in the classroom. She earned ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District recognition following her senior season while also collecting a spot on the Horizon League's All-Academic Team. An education major, Felsing has tallied a 3.565 cumulative grade-point average. Buttchen is a two-time Horizon League champion in the indoor 4x400 relay while also earning a second-place finish in the indoor 800-meter race this season. Plus, she has posted efforts among the top-10 in school history in the outdoor 400 and 800-meter races as well as the indoor 400, 600 and 800. She was also a member of the sprint medley relay team that set a school record in 2007. Her efforts have helped the Panthers claim a pair of indoor team league titles and an outdoor league crown, as well as four second-place finishes. Buttchen, a political science major, also earned academic all-league honors this year and has a 3.952 cumulative grade-point average after earning a perfect 4.0 GPA this past fall. She is a regular on UWM's Dean's list and she is a three-time winner of the Faculty Athletic Representative's Award for having the highest GPA on the women's track team. The Pepsi/UWM Athlete of the Year award is chosen by a panel of athletic administrators. Any UWM student-athlete is eligible for the award, and the final vote on the winners is taken using a ballot with one nominee from each sport. Meanwhile, the Herman Kluge Senior Athlete Award is given annually to one male and one female student who best live up to the student-athlete mantra of academic excellence, athletic achievement and community involvement. Herman Kluge was a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1928. He was a member of the UWM staff from 1931-1974, serving as a teacher, coach and athletic director during his tenure. A large number of other awards were handed out, with teams recognized for their athletic and academic performance and all UWM Scholar-Athletes and Scholar-Athletes with distinction honored at the event. Scholar-Athletes with Distinction have earned a grade-point average between 3.5 and 4.0 during either the spring 2007 semester or the fall 2007 semester. Scholar-Athletes have earned a grade-point average between 3.20 and 3.49 during either of those same two semesters. Winners of the Faculty Athletic Representative's Award for having the highest grade-point average on their team were Andy Hetebrueg (baseball); Paige Paulsen (men's basketball); Aubri Rote (women's basketball); Nicholas Gerard-Larson (men's soccer); Jodi Klagos (women's soccer); Jeremy Waldhart (men's swimming and diving); Ashley Hall (women's swimming and diving); Kari Kastenholz (women's tennis); Nick Hawley (men's cross country); Adam Podd (men's track and field); Erin Magargee (women's cross country); Shannon Buttchen (women's track and field); and Lauren Felsing (women's volleyball). Klagos and Felsing were also recognized with the athletic director's award for having the highest cumulative grade-point average among all UWM student-athletes. Each has a perfect 4.00 GPA. Darren Cole of the men's track and field team was given the UWM Athletic Board Special Recognition Award. He has experienced plenty of success in the triple jump during his time at UWM, earning the Horizon League's indoor title three times and the outdoor crown twice. He also won the 2006 indoor league title in the high jump and earned a second-place finish in the 2006 outdoor triple jump. Cole has been a standout throughout his career, earning league newcomer of the year accolades as a freshman following both the indoor and outdoor league championships. Plus, his efforts have helped the Panthers to tremendous team success. UWM has won the league indoor team title in each of his four seasons with the Panthers, while the squad has won three-straight outdoor crowns heading into this season's league meet next month. Also honored were Emily Budde of women's track and field (UWM's representative at the NCAA National Leadership Conference) along with Paige Paulsen of men's basketball (men's strength and conditioning award) and Jamie Gabrielsen of women's volleyball (women's strength and conditioning award). The women's basketball team was recognized with the League's Community Outreach Award while the men's basketball team earned the League's Sportsmanship Award. Plus, the women's volleyball (3.449) and men's soccer (3.199) teams were recognized for having the highest cumulative GPAs in the department. |
