Edwards, Ritter Named Michigan's Athletes of the Year
6/13/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football, General, Softball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan Athletic Department announced Monday (June 13) senior All-America football wide receiver Braylon Edwards (Detroit, Mich./Bishop Gallagher HS) and junior All-America softball pitcher Jennie Ritter (Dexter, Mich./Dexter HS) as its 2005 Male and Female Athletes of the Year. It is the first such annual award for both student-athletes, who will now be among the 22 nominees for the Big Ten Conference Jesse Owens Male Athlete of the Year and Suzy Favor Female Athlete of the Year awards; one male and one female are nominated from each conference member institution.
Edwards
Ritter
The 2004 Biletnikoff Award recipient as the nation's outstanding wide receiver, Edwards was the third overall selection in the 2005 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns. An NCAA consensus All-American, he earned All-America recognition from the Walter Camp Football Foundation, American Football Coaches Association, the Football Writers Association of America, the Associated Press, The Sporting News, ESPN.com, SI.com, Collegefootballnews.com and Rivals.com. He finished 10th in the Heisman Trophy balloting and earned the Big Ten Silver Football Award as the conference's MVP, Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year (coaches and media) and All-Big Ten first team (coaches and media) honors.
Edwards became the first receiver in school and Big Ten history -- and just the ninth in NCAA history -- to record three successive 1,000-yard receiving seasons. He finished his Wolverine career as the Big Ten leader in career receiving touchdowns (39) and lists third in receiving yards (3,541) and fourth in receptions (252). In 2004, Edwards ranked second nationally in receptions (97) and fourth in total receiving yards (1,330), setting school records in those two categories, in addition to his seven 100-yard receiving games. The two-time All-Big Ten first team receiver holds Michigan career records for pass receptions (242), receiving yards (3,542), receiving TDs (39) and 100-yard receiving games (16).
A Louisville Slugger/NFCA All-America first team pitcher and one of three finalists for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, Ritter led Michigan to its first Women's College World Series title in 2005. Ritter posted a 38-4 record with a 0.92 earned run average in 288.2 innings pitched, allowing 137 hits, 50 runs and 43 walks while striking out a Michigan season-record 417. She threw 34 complete games and tied another U-M season record with three no-hitters. At the WCWS, Ritter pitched all but two of the team's 55 innings, posting a 5-2 record with 60 strikeouts. She threw six complete games, including a one-hitter with 12 strikeouts against seventh-ranked Texas (June 3) and the final two wins against UCLA in the title-clinching series (June 7-8).
The Big Ten Pitcher of the Year, Ritter earned WCWS all-tournament honors and was named to the All-Big Ten first team and All-Big Ten Tournament team. She is tied for the all-time record at Michigan with four no-hitters and ranks second all-time with 754 career strikeouts. Her .827 (67-14) career winning percentage ranks second all-time, while her 67 wins list fifth.
Since the awards' inception in 1982, Edwards is the 10th football player to earn Michigan's Male Athlete of the Year, while Ritter is one of four softball individuals who have accounted for five Female Athlete of the Year awards, and the first since two-time winner Sara Griffin also claimed the Big Ten Suzy Favor Female Athlete of the Year award in 1998.
