Senior Trio Captures Big Ten Player of the Year Awards
11/6/2003 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Three seniors on the University of Michigan field hockey team -- April Fronzoni (Larksville, Pa./Wyoming Valley West HS), Kristi Gannon (Escondido, Calif./San Pasqual HS) and Stephanie Johnson (Houston, Texas/The Kinkaid School) -- were honored with Big Ten Conference's Player of the Year awards on Thursday night (Nov. 6) during the league's annual field hockey awards banquet. Gannon was tabbed as the Big Ten's Athlete of the Year, while Fronzoni and Johnson were named Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year, respectively, for the second consecutive year.
A candidate for the Honda Award as the nation's top field hockey player, Fronzoni is the third player in Big Ten history to receive Offensive Player of the Year honors in back-to-back seasons and the first since Iowa's Kristy Gleason won the award in 1992 and 1993. Fronzoni, U-M's career leader in goals and points, has netted a career-high 18 goals this season and tallied a career-best 42 points. She was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 8, tying a school record with her fifth weekly honor from the conference.
Gannon, who was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2002, completed the cycle as Athlete of the Year, marking the second straight season a U-M sticker has won the award. Gannon ranks third on the team with eight goals and four assists for 20 points and has helped quarterback the U-M defense, which has limited opponents to 1.35 goals and 8.3 shots per game.
Johnson is the third player in Big Ten history to win Defensive Player of the Year twice, but only the second to receive the honor in back-to-back seasons. Northwestern's Lorette Vortsman is the only other player in league history to accomplish that feat, winning top defensive honors in 1987 and 1988. Johnson tallied six goals and one assist for 13 points as part of Michigan's penalty corner unit and helped the Wolverines register a league-high nine shutouts during the 2003 campaign, including four in Big Ten play.
The three seniors were also three of the eight unanimous selections to the 13-member All-Big Ten first team, marking the second straight season all three have appeared on the squad. Gannon received the honor for the fourth straight year, becoming the third player in Big Ten history to be named to the All-Big Ten first team in four straight seasons, joining Iowa's Liz Tchou (1984-87) and Northwestern's Amy Kekeisen (1982-85). Johnson was named to the first team for the third straight year, while Fronzoni earned first-team honors for the second straight season and third time in her career.
Juniors Jessica Blake (Perth, Western Australia/St. Mary's Anglican School) and Adrienne Hortillosa (Chula Vista, Calif./Bonita Vista HS) were also honored by the conference as part of the 13-member All-Big Ten second team. The award marks Blake's first career league honor, while Hortillosa received second-team accolades for the second time in her career, following up on her 2001 selection.
No. 5 Michigan (15-4, 5-1 Big Ten), the 2003 Big Ten regular-season co-champion, will open the postseason portion of its schedule at the 2003 Big Ten Tournament, hosted by Penn State at Bigler Field in State College, Pa. The top-seeded Wolverines receive a bye into the semifinal round where they will face No. 7 Penn State or No. 13 Iowa at 11 a.m. on Saturday (Nov. 8). The winners of the Michigan State-Indiana and Ohio State-Northwestern games will meet in the other semifinal at 2 p.m. Saturday, with the championship game slated for 1 p.m. on Sunday (Nov. 9).
2003 All-Big Ten Field Hockey Honors
FIRST TEAM
Kayla Bashore, Jr., M, Indiana
*Pattie Gillern, Sr., F, Iowa
Barb Weinberg, Jr., G, Iowa
*April Fronzoni, Sr., F, U-M
*Kristi Gannon, Sr., D, U-M
*Stephanie Johnson, Sr., D, U-M
*Alexandra Kyser, Sr., D, MSU
Sophie Rosmalen, Sr., M, MSU
Lucy Clayton, Jr., M, Ohio State
*Vanessa Immordino, Sr., F, Ohio State
*Heather Conroy, Sr., D, Penn State
*Timarie Legel, Sr., F, Penn State
Neilye Stoner, Sr., M, Penn State
* unanimous selection
SECOND TEAM
Morgan Albini, So., D, Indiana
Sarah Dawson, Jr., M, Iowa
Lindsay Miller, Sr., M, Iowa
Lauren Stiver, Jr., D, Iowa
Jessica Blake, Jr., F, U-M
Adrienne Hortillosa, Jr., M, U-M
Annebet Beerman, Jr., M, MSU
Christina Kirkaldy, So., G, MSU
Jessica Miller, So., M, MSU
Candice Cooper, Jr., F, Northwestern
Diane Provencher, Sr., D, Northwestern
Leiticia Fragapane, So., D, Ohio State
Amanda Eckert, Jr., F, Penn State
Athlete of the Year: Kristi Gannon, Michigan
Offensive Player of the Year: April Fronzoni, Michigan
Defensive Player of the Year: Stephanie Johnson, Michigan
Freshman of the Year: Curlyne Winn, Ohio State
Coach of the Year: Amy Robertson, Indiana
Contact: Paul Thomas (734) 763-4423
