“We are honored to have earned the CAANJ Cup and are proud of the accomplishments of our student-athletes and our Athletics Department,” said Rutgers Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Tim Pernetti. “This award represents the hard work and dedication of everyone in our department as we focus on excellence every day. Amy Zhang is deserving of Student Athlete of the Year and is a great example for our University and our student-athletes by doing whatever it takes to compete at the highest level in the classroom and on the court”

 

Rutgers has captured the CAANJ Cup four of the last five years. Highlighted by the football program’s third-straight bowl victory, and the women’s basketball and women’s soccer programs advancing to the Sweet 16 in their respective NCAA Tournaments, several Rutgers Athletics programs reached national postseason play in 2008-09.

 

The 2008 football season was a memorable one for the Scarlet Knights as they rebounded from a 1-5 start to win their final seven games, including a third straight bowl championship. Rutgers finished the season with an 8-5 record overall, including 5-2 and a second place finish in the BIG EAST Conference. Rutgers capped the dramatic turnaround in 2008 with a 29-23 victory over NC State in the PapaJohns.com Bowl. The Scarlet Knights have appeared in four consecutive bowl games since 2005, and have won three straight bowl championships.

 

Rutgers’ seven-game winning streak was tied for the fourth-longest nationally at the end of the season, and the Scarlet Knights became only the seventh team in NCAA history to start the season 1-5 and play in a bowl game. A record-setting five Scarlet Knights were selected in the 2009 NFL Draft, led by All-America wide receiver Kenny Britt, who became the first Rutgers player ever to be selected in the first round when he was chosen by the Tennessee Titans. Quarterback Mike Teel (Seattle Seahawks), cornerback Jason McCourty (Tennessee Titans), safety Courtney Greene (Seattle Seahawks) and wide receiver Tiquan Underwood (Jacksonville Jaguars) were also drafted. Several Scarlet Knights also signed free agent contracts with NFL teams.

 

The women’s soccer program continued its success with a 13-7-2 overall record in 2008, including a 7-3-1 mark in BIG EAST play. Despite starting the season with only 11 healthy players, RU reached the BIG EAST Tournament for the ninth consecutive year. After earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, RU made a run to the Sweet 16 for the second time in program history. Individually, the Scarlet Knights rewrote the single-season and career record book. Gina DeMaio tied the single-season assist record with 13. Head coach Glenn Crooks also captured his 100th victory at Rutgers during the Scarlet Knights’ NCAA Tournament run. Five Scarlet Knights earned All-BIG EAST honors, highlighted by All-American goalkeeper Erin Guthrie. 

 

The women’s basketball program, under the direction of Hall of Fame head coach C. Vivian Stringer, continued its stellar post-season play, reaching the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament in 2009. The Scarlet Knights finished 21-13 overall, and placed seventh in the BIG EAST with a 9-7 mark. Following an opening-round victory over Virginia Commonwealth in the NCAA Tournament, seventh-seeded Rutgers routed second-seeded Auburn, 80-52, in front of a raucous crowd at the Louis Brown Athletic Center in the second-round. RU’s bid for a Final Eight appearance fell just short with a 67-61 loss to Purdue at Oklahoma City. Guard Epiphanny Prince averaged 19.5 points to earn All-America and All-BIG EAST honors. Center Kia Vaughn was selected by the New York Liberty with the eighth overall pick of the WNBA Draft, while Heather Zurich and Prince each signed contracts to play professionally overseas, joining a growing list of former Scarlet Knights in professional basketball.

 

In only his second season at the helm, head coach Scott Goodale guided the wrestling program to new heights in 2008-09. Goodale guided RU to a 20-7 mark in dual action, breaking the school-record for victories in a season. Rutgers finished third in the highly-competitive Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) in dual meet action. After a strong showing at the EIWA Championship, three Scarlet Knights – Matt Pletcher, D.J. Russo and Scott Winston – reached the NCAA Championships, the most for RU since 2004.

 

The women’s tennis program ended the 2009 spring ranked 15th in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Regional rankings after a 16-5 overall record that included a stellar 8-2 mark in BIG EAST play. RU won two matches to reach the semifinals of the BIG EAST Championship. Sophomore Amy Zhang led the Scarlet Knights with 16 victories at No. 1 singles and was ranked No. 23 in the region in singles by the ITA. Head coach Ben Bucca’s staff was also recognized for the team’s accomplishments as Alexandra Arlak was selected as the East Region’s Assistant Coach of the Year by the ITA.

 

The women’s swimming team finished fourth in the BIG EAST Championship, led by Catherine Whetstone’s BIG EAST crown in the 100-meter backstroke with a time of 53.45 and second-place finish in the 200-meter backstroke with a time of 1:56.33. Whetstone also joined Kasey Kesses, Shayna Longacre and Brianne Linblad to set a school-record time in the 200 medley relay, finishing third in the BIG EAST Championship. Whetstone advanced to the NCAA Championship in the 200 backstroke and recorded a time of 1:55.92 to finish 33rd overall, 11 spots higher than her original seed in the event. She also placed 34th in the 200 backstroke with a time of 53.65.

 

Women’s crew placed fifth at the 2009 BIG EAST Rowing Championship at Cooper River Park in Pennsauken, N.J., highlighted by a fourth-place finish in the grand final of the novice eight, clocking a time of 7:18.837.

 

The men’s and women’s lacrosse teams each tied for fifth in the BIG EAST conference, while several members of the men’s and women’s track teams participated in the NCAA East Regionals in Greensboro, N.C. Several members of the women’s gymnastics program reached the USA Gymnastics Championships, highlighted by freshman Danae Johnson’s 10th place finish on the floor exercise to earn First Team All-American honors. 

 

Since arriving at Rutgers in the fall of 2007, Zhang has been a model women’s tennis scholar-athlete.  Zhang, currently in her junior year and majoring in Computer Science, boasts a 3.938 cumulative grade point average. She is the only student-athlete who is currently attending Rutgers on an athletic scholarship and the Presidential Academic Scholarship, as a result of her being in the top two percent of her incoming class. She earned Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Scholar-Athlete honors in 2008 and 2009, has been named to the Rutgers Dean’s list every semester since she entered Rutgers (four straight), was named to the BIG EAST All-Academic team for 2008 and 2009 and received the Rutgers Academic Excellence Award, which is awarded to the top 10 percent of each class and the Rutgers School of Arts and Science Excellence Scholarship.  

 

Zhang and her team have been involved in numerous community service projects, including the Challah Bread Foundation where team members deliver Challah bread to cancer patients at Robert Wood Johnson Hospital, and the Alexander Graham Bell Society for the Hearing Impaired. Zhang serves as a SAAC representative and was also selected to represent Rutgers University and attend the NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership and Development Conference in Orlando, Fla.

 

On the tennis court, Zhang finished with a 16-5 mark at No. 1 singles and a 15-5 record at No. 1 doubles. She won nine-straight conference matches and was an integral part of the team’s fourth place finish at the BIG EAST Championship. She was named to the All-BIG EAST team, and selected as this year’s team’s Most Valuable Player.  Zhang finished with an impressive overall regional ranking of 17th in the ITA East Region.

 

The CAANJ is made up of the 42 Division I, II, III, NAIA and junior college institutions in the state of New Jersey.