PISCATAWAY, NJ - The Rutgers University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, under the direction of Robert Mulcahy, has announced its annual student-athlete award winners for the 2001-2002 academic year. All four winners compete during the winter sports season and have earned their elite status in primarily individualized sports.

TANIS

Wrestling’s Tom Tanis (Oak Ridge, NJ) is the recipient of the Coursen Award, given annually to the department’s top male student-athlete. Tanis polished off a stellar collegiate career by earning a fourth-place finish nationally at 184 pounds and becoming RU’s first wrestling All-American since Anthony Surage in 1983. After capturing the EIWA Championship in 2001, Tanis returned to the NCAA Championships for the second-straight year in 2002 and showed his veteran status, winning six-straight matches to capture fourth place. He ended the season with a 30-8 record and finished his career with a 98-31 mark, producing a .760 winning percentage which is the best for any Rutgers wrestler with more than 75 wins. He also finished eighth on the all-time wins list in school history.

TURNER

Courtney Turner (Columbia, MD) of the women’s gymnastics program is the recipient of the Headley-Singer Award, given annually to the department’s top female student-athlete. Turner became the first-ever Scarlet Knight gymnast to advance to the NCAA Championships, placing 33rd overall in the floor exercise with a score of 9.775. On March 8, she set a new school record by becoming the first RU gymnast to earn a perfect 10.0 score on the floor, just the second perfect score in school history. She also earned all-league honors in both the vault and floor excerises.

McINTYRE

Junior Erin McIntyre (Broomfield, CO) and sophomore Sam Segond (East Stroudsburg, PA), along with Tanis, earned the Sonny Werblin Award, given to student-athletes who achieve national acclaim for their efforts. McIntyre earned All-America status for the women’s swimming and diving team in 2002, placing eighth in the 1650-yard freestyle with a time of 16:20.4, breaking a school record. McIntyre was also a member of the BIG EAST Championship 4x800-yard relay team, helping Rutgers to a program-best second-place finish. Also a standout in the classroom, McIntyre was named to the Academic All-America team by Collegiate Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA). One year earlier, McIntyre became the first-ever RU women’s swimmer to earn a spot in the NCAA Championships.

SEGOND

Segond, in his first year of collegiate track and field competition, won two BIG EAST Championships among his numerous accolades. He captured the 2002 Indoor shot put title, unseating the defending champion, and then won the BIG EAST discus title during the outdoor campaign. His throw of 57.59m at the Penn Relays in April earned him a second-place finish and, more importantly, afforded him the opportunity to compete at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, where he finished 12th overall and third among freshmen nationally. He finished off his amazing inaugural year with a third place showing in both the discus and the shot put at the 2002 U.S. Track and Field Junior National Championships, held at Stanford University in June.

The Donald L. Coursen and Evelyn L. Headley/Marijane Singer Awards are given annually to a male and female member of the graduating class who, during their careers at the University, have participated in a sport and proved themselves to be an athlete of ability, who has shown determination, courage, modesty, self-discipline and who with loyalty to the University, unselfish devotion to their teammates, respect for their opponents, have competed according to the spirit of the rules.

The David A. "Sonny" Werblin Award is given to male and/or female student-athlete who, either as an individual or member of a team, received national recognition or won a national championship. Past honorees include Alexi Lalas (men’s soccer) and Bobby Brownlie (baseball).

All four honorees will be presented their awards during halftime of the Army-Rutgers football game on Saturday, September 14.