Cain, Harris and Vetere Named U-M Athletes of the Year
6/15/2000 12:00:00 AM | General, Men's Golf, Men's Gymnastics, Women's Gymnastics
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- A trio of student-athletes who excelled in their respective sports as well as in the classroom have been selected as the 1999-2000 University of Michigan Athletes of the Year.
Gymnast Sarah Cain (Grand Island, Neb./Grand Island HS) is the Wolverines' Female Athlete of the Year, while golfer Michael Harris (Troy, Mich./Troy HS) and gymnast Scott Vetere (Pennsburg, Pa./Quakertown HS) are co-recipients of the Michigan Male Athlete of the Year award. The Michigan Athlete of the Year announcement was made Thursday (June 15) by Interim Athletic Director Bill Martin.
The NCAA Region 5 Gymnast of the Year, Cain became the first U-M female gymnast to win four All-America First-Team citations in the same season when she took honors in the vault, uneven bars, floor exercise and all-around at the NCAA National Championship. Harris capped his final record-setting Wolverine golf season by leading the squad to the NCAA Regional Championship and taking medalist honors at four season tournaments. Vetere snagged Big Ten Conference Men's Gymnast of the Year honors after capturing the all-around title with a record-setting 58.770 score at the conference championship, then earned All-America honors while helping Michigan to a second-place finish at the NCAA National Championship.
The three Michigan Athletes of the Year are nominees for the Big Ten Conference Jesse Owens (male) and Suzy Favor (female) Athlete of the Year awards.
Sarah Cain (Women's Gymnastics)
Sarah Cain enjoyed one of the finest seasons in the history of the Wolverine women's gymnastics program as a senior in 1999-2000. A tri-captain, Cain helped the Wolverines win their eighth Big Ten Conference title in nine years, snag a second straight NCAA Regional championship and advance to the NCAA Super Six Team Finals for the sixth time in the last seven seasons. Michigan also spent the final five weeks of the regular season as the nation's No. 1-ranked squad.
Cain played a huge role in Michigan's qualification for the NCAA Super Six Team Finals with a phenomenal performance in the preliminary rounds. Cain became the first Wolverine women's gymnast to earn four All-America First-Team citations in the same season, winning the honors on vault, uneven bars, floor exercise and the all-around during the preliminary NCAA Championship round. Cain was close to becoming Michigan's first NCAA all-around champion, finishing runnerup by just .025 points. Cain's four All-America citations in 2000 boosted her career total to 12, putting her at No. 2 on Michigan's career All-America list behind Beth Wymer, who collected 13 (1992-95).
In addition to All-America honors, Cain was one of four finalists for the gymnastics Honda Award and one of the eight finalists for the AAI Senior Award presented to the nation's top senior athletic and academic women's gymnast. Cain earned Academic All-Big Ten and Michigan Athletic Academic Achievement honors in 2000.
Michigan's regional championship, the third in Cain's four-year career, was buoyed by her regional individual event titles on vault (9.900), uneven bars (9.950) and floor exercise (9.900). For her efforts, Cain was named the NCAA Region 5 Gymnast of the Year. Prior to dominating the regional competition, Cain paced Michigan to its second consecutive Big Ten championship by winning individual titles on vault (9.925), floor exercise (9.975) and in the all-around (39.750). Cain's mark of 39.750 in the all-around set the Big Ten Championships meet record.
Cain prepped for the postseason by scoring a pair of 10.0 vault scores in back-to-back meets at Arizona (March 3) and in the Bruin Classic at UCLA (March 5). Throughout the regular season, Cain was a model of consistency, winning seven all-around titles en route to becoming the nation's No. 1-ranked gymnast in the all-around and vault by the end of the regular season.
Michael Harris (Men's Golf)
Michigan senior Michael Harris concluded his Wolverine career as arguably one of the University's all-time elite golfers. But the difference that separates Harris from other athletes is his dedication to academics as well as athletics. A two-time National Golf Coaches Association Academic All-American Scholar, Harris earned four Academic All-Big Ten and U-M Academic Achievement citations. He was named to the GTE Academic All-District IV Spring At-Large First-Team, and graduated from the Michigan Business School. He twice served as the Wolverines' team captain.
In addition to his classroom work, Harris put together an exceptional career on the links. In his four years of collegiate competition, he did not miss a single tournament, playing in a school-record 50 straight events. In those 50 tournaments Harris finished as the top U-M finisher in 31. He helped lead Michigan to NCAA Regional Championship in 1997 -- the first U-M postseason trip in 30 years -- and again in 2000.
During the 2000 season Harris set the Michigan record for season stroke average (72.23), bettering his own mark set as a sophomore (72.35). Harris set the Falcon-Cross Creek Invitational record with a three-round 207 total, winning that tournament title and three others in the 1999-2000 season. Harris' solid play his last season helped him set the Michigan record for career stroke average (72.90), and extended his string of posting the team's best season stroke average for a third consecutive year.
Over his career, he amassed 33 top-20 finishes, 16 top-10 finishes and 15 top-five finishes. As a collegian, Harris posted 20 rounds below 70, with a career-best round of 64, and had 58 rounds below par 72. Harris never shot above 80 in his entire career, hitting 80 twice while at U-M.
A two-time All-Big Ten First-Team award winner, Harris has eight individual tournament titles to his credit, doubling his total during his senior season by winning four of the 13 events he competed in. Harris has twice been named to the All-Big Ten Tournament team, finishing as co-medalist at the 1999 Big Ten Conference Tournament. Harris has embarked on a professional golf career, qualifying for the 2000 U.S. Open.
Scott Vetere (Men's Gymnastics)
As a sophomore with the Michigan men's gymnastics team, Scott Vetere turned in a season to remember. In addition to NCAA All-America honors, Vetere capped the Big Ten Conference season by earning Big Ten Gymnast of the Year honors.
At the NCAA National Men's Gymnastics Championships, Vetere earned All-America honors in both the still rings and all-around. Vetere captured runnerup honors on the still rings, posting a 9.90 score. He finished third in the all-around with a score of 58.025, while the Wolverine team captured second place at the NCAA National Championship. During the team finals and individual all-around competition, Vetere won the vault (9.875) and shared the parallel bars title (9.900), and he finished second on the still rings (9.875).
Vetere became the first Wolverine since 1975 to win the all-around title at the Big Ten Championships, as Michigan captured its 14th conference team title. Vetere posted a record score of 58.770 to take the all-around title. He also won three individual titles at the conference meet, finishing first on pommel horse, still rings and vault. He placed second on the parallel bars and fourth on the floor exercise. For his efforts, Vetere was named Big Ten Conference Gymnast of the Year, the first time a Michigan competitor had earned that distinction.
Vetere holds six of seven Michigan gymnastics records, including the floor exercise, pommel horse, still rings, vault, parallel bars and the all-around. He competed in every meet in the 2000 season, accumulating 30 first-place event finishes. Vetere was selected as Michigan's Most Valuable Gymnast and earned the team's Outstanding Accomplishment Award.
A three-time U.S. National Team member, Vetere, who was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 1999, is training for the 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials, which will be held Aug. 15-20 in Boston.
