Hernandez, Smith Named 2021 Ernest T. Sigler Award Winners
9/27/2021 7:00:00 PM | General, Men's Basketball, Women's Soccer
CHICAGO, Ill. -- University of Michigan senior women's soccer player Nicki Hernandez (Naperville, Ill.) and former men's basketball player Mike Smith (Burr Ridge, Ill.) were honored as winners of the 2021 Ernest T. Sigler Award by the University of Michigan Club of Greater Chicago on Monday (Sept. 27) during a combined in-person and virtual event.
The award is presented annually to Michigan's best male and female student-athletes from the Chicago area and has been given since 1977.
Led by Hernandez, the No. 18-ranked women's soccer program is off to one of its best starts in program history. The fifth-year senior leads the Wolverines in her final season with five goals scored and ranks second in the Big Ten Conference in shots (4.30/match) and shots on goal (1.80/match). Hernandez has appeared in 68 career matches with 66 starts, is a two-time All-Big Ten honoree, and is a two-time United Soccer Coaches All-Region second team honoree. She will graduate with a degree in psychology after finishing up her collegiate playing career in the 2021 season.
In the 2020-21 spring season, Hernandez led U-M with a team-best six goals while tacking on two assists. The Naperville, Illinois, native had 24 shots on goal and netted two game-winners for the Maize and Blue. She was also instrumental in the Wolverines' 2019 run to the third round of the NCAA Tournament. Hernandez is the second women's soccer player to earn the award and the first since Therese Heaton in 2004.
After graduating from Columbia, Smith joined the Wolverines as a graduate transfer for the 2020-21 season. One of two Wolverines to start all 28 games, Smith averaged 9.0 points and 2.8 rebounds and led Michigan and the Big Ten with 5.4 assists per game. During the COVID-19 shortened season, Smith was instrumental in leading the men's basketball program to its 15th Big Ten regular-season title as well as No. 1 seeds for the Big Ten Tournament and the NCAA Tournament. After a heartbreaking one-point semifinal loss to Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament, the Wolverines went on to reach the NCAA Sweet 16 for the fourth straight year before advancing to the Elite Eight.
For his collegiate career, Smith played in 120 career games, starting 119 overall including his last 75. He scored 1,906 points with 43 20+ point games and seven 30+ point efforts, and handed out 542 career assists. With an option to return to U-M with a COVID exemption, Smith opted to begin his professional career and recently finished playing with the NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks in Summer League play.
The award is named after Ernest T. Sigler, who served as the executive director of the U-M Club of Greater Chicago for 35 years.
Ernest T. Sigler Award Winners
1977: Dominic Tedesco, Football1978: Robert J. Creek, Gymnastics
1979: Matt Horwich, Tennis
1980: George Lilja, Football
1981: Kurt Becker, Football
1982: Robert Thompson, Football
1983: Art Balourdos, Football; Dan Pelekoudas, Basketball
1984: Mike Mallory, Football
1985: Doug Mallory, Football
1986: Andre McIntyre, Football
1987: Mike Husar, Football
1988: Derick Walker, Football
1989: Chris Calloway, Football
1990: Erick Anderson, Football
1991: Dave Ritter, Football
1992: Corwin Brown, Football
1993: Robert Pelinka, Basketball
1994: Trezelle Jenkins, Football
1995: Thomas Guynes, Football
1996: Blake Sloan, Ice Hockey
1997: Tai Streets, Football
1998: Bubba Berenzweig, Ice Hockey; Aaron Shea, Football
1999: Tim Dehr, Gymnastics; Elizabeth Kampfe, Track and Field/Cross Country
2000: Robert Fraumann, Football; Jeanne Shin, Field Hockey
2001: Kurt Anderson, Football; Shannon Melka, Volleyball
2002: Dan Rumishek, Football; Molly Powers, Field Hockey
2003: Tony Pape, Football; Chantel Reedus, Volleyball
2004: Jason Avant, Football; Al Montoya, Ice Hockey; Therese Heaton, Soccer
2005: Jason Avant, Football; Samantha Findlay, Softball
2006: Eric Tannenbaum, Wrestling; Katie Lieberman, Gymnastics
2007/2008: Tim Jamison, Football; Katie Bruzdzinski, Volleyball
2009: Adam Harris, Track and Field; Casey Taylor, Track and Field
2010: David Moosman, Football; Angela Findlay, Softball
2011: Thomas Kelley, Gymnastics; Lexi Zimmerman, Volleyball
2012: David Molk, Football; Caitlin Dauw, Swimming
2013: Evan King, Tennis; Katie Zurales, Gymnastics
2014: JT Compher, Ice Hockey; Lyndsay Doyle, Softball
2015: Eric Jacobson, Baseball; Kristen Dodge, Tennis
2016: Graham Glasgow, Football; Kelly Christner, Softball
2017: Ty Isaac, Football; Brienne Minor, Tennis
2018: Micah Beller, Track and Field/Cross Country; Olivia Karas, Gymnastics
2019: Charles Matthews, Basketball; Emily Krebs, Rowing
2020: Jordan Glasgow, Football; Lexi Funk, Gymnastics
2021: Mike Smith, Basketball; Nicki Hernandez, Soccer
