HULLABALOO SPORTS AWARDS

Male Athlete of the Year: Jeremy Williams

PHOTO | PARKER WATERS | PHOTOGRAPHY

Wide receiver Jeremy Williams capped off his collegiate career with a stellar senior campaign in which he hauled in 84 catches for 1,113 yards and seven touchdowns. Williams also ranked fourth in Conference USA and 12th in the nation with 92.8 receiving yards per game. He was Tulane’s top offensive option game in and game out, yet opponents were never quite able to keep him in check. His most impressive performance came in the Wave’s 45-38 overtime victory against the University of Texas El-Paso, when he recorded 324 all-purpose yards for third all-time in Tulane single game history and third in the nation in 2009. Williams also recorded a career-high 222 receiving yards against McNeese State, which ranks third all-time in Tulane single game history. In fact, Williams’ name is all over the Tulane record books — he ranks fourth all time in receptions (197) and receiving yards (2,708), as well as seventh all-time in touchdown catches (19).

Williams’ outstanding play this season earned him an honorable mention All-Conference USA selection, as well as an opportunity to play in the 2010 Under Armour Senior Bowl. Matching up against some of the top players in the country, Williams made a name for himself on the national stage with a 109 all-purpose yards performance in the Senior Bowl. He was named the South Team MVP, becoming only the third player in Tulane history (along with Patrick Ramsey and Matt Forte) to receive Senior Bowl MVP honors.

Williams’ next challenge will be proving himself in the NFL, and his success in head coach Bob Toledo’s pro-style offense suggests that Williams has the potential to be an elite player on the next level. He is a perfect fit for the West Coast Offense because of his large frame and reliable hands, and is expected to be one of the first 100 names called in the 2010 NFL Draft.

Female Athlete of the Year: Visjna Djurdjevic

PHOTO | PARKER WATERS | PHOTOGRAPHY

In a sport as team-oriented as volleyball, it is to her greater credit that sophomore Visjna Djurdjevic is female athlete of the year. Tulane volleyball finished with an 18-10 record and 12-4 conference mark under first-year head coach Sinisa Momic and made its second straight NCAA tournament appearance in 2009, and Djurdjevic’s resume is piled high with individual accolades from her second season with the Green Wave.

Djurdjevic picked up right where she left off after being named the American Volleyball Coaches Association Midwest Freshman of the Year in 2008, finishing her sophomore season already ranked 16th in kills and 23rd in digs all-time for Tulane. During the week of Sept. 28, she was named the College Volleyball Update Player of the Week, the first time a Green Wave player had been so honored since 2007. Djurdjevic led Conference USA in points per set service (4.91) aces (.43 per set) and was second in kills per set (4.33) on her way to being named Co-Conference USA player of the year and grabbing a spot on the All-C-USA first-team squad.

After the Wave’s NCAA Tournament run ended in the second round against LSU, Djurdjevic was named an AVCA Honorable Mention All-American along with teammate Rachel Lindelow. Though Lindelow graduates this year, Djurdjevic will have two more years to build on an already impressive list of accomplishments. Recruited by Momic when he was Tulane’s assistant coach, she will join one of the most impressive freshman classes in Wave volleyball history in her bid to reach the Tournament for the third straight season.

Coach of the Year: Lisa Stockton

PHOTO | PARKER WATERS | PHOTOGRAPHY

Women’s basketball coach Lisa Stockton has already won Conference USA Coach of the Year and Louisiana Coach of the Year. Heaping more recognition onto her already decorated season seems almost redundant, but it is nevertheless necessary, given all she has done to rebuild the program post-Katrina and deliver Tulane its first NCAA tournament berth since 2003.

These were by no means distinctions given for cumulative effort, however. Despite building immediate momentum, some wondered whether the team could duplicate its early-season success after the loss of redshirt junior forward Brittany Lindsay for the season to shoulder surgery and sophomore center Brett Benzio for much of the year due to a foot injury. Stockton’s five-guard lineup — caused as much by necessity as strategy — ran teams ragged, ranking ninth in the nation and first in C-USA in steals (11.7 per game) and 16th in turnover margin (5.36 per game).

The Green Wave capped off the regular season with a C-USA title, but found itself still needing a C-USA Tournament championship to earn an NCAA Tournament berth. Under Stockton’s watch, the No. 1-seeded Wave did not falter under pressure, becoming the fourth team to win both the C-USA regular season and tournament title in the conference’s history. Though the Green Wave bowed out of the NCAA tournament in the first round against Georgia, Stockton had taken the final step in rebuilding Tulane women’s basketball, provided lifelong memories to the players who had never before played in the tournament and set the foundation for many more successful years to come.

Team of the Year: women’s basketball team

PHOTO | PARKER WATERS | PHOTOGRAPHY

In a year during which several men’s teams failed to impress, women’s athletics stepped up and performed. This group includes a golf team that won the 2010 Conference USA tournament, setting a course record in the process, and a volleyball team that reached the NCAA tournament. The most impressive example, however, was the Tulane women’s basketball team, which maintained a 26-7 record and became the first Tulane basketball team, male or female, to reach the NCAA Tournament since its last appearance in 2003. Overcoming numerous injuries to the starting lineup, the team over-performed in nearly every statistical category to become the surprise regular season winners of C-USA.

The team’s most impressive victory of the year came in the second round of the C-USA tournament against eighth-seeded University of Central Florida. Trailing by three with under a minute to play, senior guard Chassity Brown sunk a two-pointer to cut the lead to one with 37 seconds left. On the ensuing possession, UCF bricked a three-pointer, giving the Wave the chance to win. A quick layup by Brown with less than seven seconds to play gave Tulane the lead and the win.

The Wave used that momentum to defeat East Carolina and Alabama-Birmingham, win the C-USA tournament and earn a 13th seed in the NCAA tournament. There, they lost by only five points in a close first round match against fourth-seeded Georgia, and with only two seniors graduating from this year’s squad, they look to make another appearance next season.

Game of the Year: Tulane vs. UTEP 45-38 (OT)

PHOTO | LEE SAXON | PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

Tulane football’s Senior Day upset of Texas-El Paso was potentially the most cathartic victory in recent Green Wave history. After a star-crossed beginning of the season marked by untimely injuries and turnovers, the Wave’s talented senior class, led by NFL prospects Jeremy Williams, Andre Anderson and Ross Thevenot, finally made the crucial plays at the end of the game, and in doing so kept their slim Bowl hopes alive. The game may have meant the most to Anderson, who had struggled to live up to expectations all season behind a porous offensively line and little help from Joe Kemp’s passing attack. Anderson scored both the tying and game-winning touchdowns in his final game in front of a small but loyal Superdome crowd. Redshirt freshman Ryan Griffin was also a major storyline, cementing his claim as the Tulane quarterback after coolly leading two comeback drives with his precision passing and poise in the pocket. After safety Alex Wacha brought down UTEP quarterback Trevor Vittatoe to end the game, the emotional release on the field and in the stands was palpable. For a senior class that endured one of the toughest four-year stretches in college sports history — marred by the aftermath of Hurricane Katina, poor attendance and constant rumors of a move to I-AA (now known as the FCS) — the victory proved that they were unwilling to quit on Coach Bob Toledo and, in doing so, provided all those in attendance with a sense of validation for their loyalty.