INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.- Senior men's golfer
Justin Hueber (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Leo), senior women's golfer
Kristi Piepenbrink (Greenwood, Ind./Greenwood) and junior softball player
Megan Russell (Indianapolis, Ind./Franklin Central) were named the University of Indianapolis Male and co-Female Athletes of the Year, respectively, for the 2008-09 season. Hueber was a First Team All-American, helping the Hounds to a tie for sixth place at the NCAA National Championships. Piepenbrink was tied for fifth individually at nationals as the team advanced past the regionals for the first-time ever en route to a tie for third nationally. Russell demolished the school's homerun record and helped pitch UIndy to its first DII World Series berth.
Each varsity sport's head coach selects a Most Valuable Player for their respective sport. Those winners are then eligible for selection as the the UIndy Male and Female Athletes of the Year, chosen by athletic department personnel. The complete list of MVP honorees for the 2008-09 season are below.
Hueber,a two-time GLVC Men’s Golfer of the Year, broke his own school record with a 71.1 scoring average this season on the way to six tournament wins, including the 2009 GLVC Championship. He also notched a runner-up showing at the 108-player NCAA D-II Midwest/South Central Super Regional a month later, a performance that included a course-record 65 in the second round. All told, Hueber finished in the top five in 11 of 14 events this year and is currently ranked first in Division II in the latest Golfstat Cup rankings.
After recently helping the Greyhounds to a share of sixth place at the NCAA D-II Championships, the Fort Wayne, Ind. native completed his tenure at UIndy with a scoring average of 72.6, good for the lowest career average in school history, while racking up 28 top-five finishes and 11 individual titles.
Piepenbrink was a Second Team All-America honoree by the National Golf Coaches Association after another outstanding season. The Greenwood, Ind. native finished the most-successful career by a Greyhound women's golfer by leading the conference in scoring average this season, winning medalist honors at the 2009 Great Lakes Valley Conference Championship, and helping the Greyhounds to the league's team title as well. She averaged 76.5 strokes per round this season, finishing in the top five seven times, including the winning +7 to win the conference individual title. She also set the course and school record at the Meadows Golf Course in Allendale, Mich. in the second round of Laker Invitational, firing a 67 (-5) on Sep. 1.
Russell was the GLVC Player of the Year, but it was her pitching prowess that helped lead the UIndy Greyhounds to the DII Softball Championships in Salem, Va. Russell hammered 17 homers during the regular season, easily the most in the conference, as the Greyhounds went 17-7 in league play this season. She led the conference in homers, RBI, slugging percentage and total bases.
In the circle, however, she fired two shutouts in the NCAA Regionals as UIndy advanced to the Super Regionals. There, Russell won both ends of a double-header at Saginaw Valley State to propel her team to the NCAA DII World Series. She finished the season with nine shutouts, 20 wins and 187 strikeouts.
Russell remains the only UIndy softball player to earn All-America honors, following-up her Third Team Daktronics award as a freshman with a pair of All-America Second Team accolades this season (NFCA, Daktronics).
UINDY ANNUAL AWARD WINNERS
Dr. Robert M. Brooker Most Valuable Male Athlete Award: Justin Hueber (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Leo) (men's golf)
Dr. Robert M. Brooker Most Valuable Female Athlete Award: Kristi Piepenbrink (Greenwood, Ind./Greenwood) (women's golf) &
Megan Russell (Indianapolis, Ind./Franklin Central) (softball)
Kelso Reid Mental Attitude Award: Kyle Pearson (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Blackhawk Christian) (men's golf)
Walter Brenneman Memorial Sportsmanship Award: Lynn Panko (Avon, Ind./Avon) (football/wrestling)
Parker P. Jordan Male Scholar-Athlete Award: JD Greenlee (Dunkirk, Ind./Delta) (tennis)
Chuck Mallender Female Scholar-Athlete Award: Lyndsay McBride (Bristol, Ind./Northridge) (women's golf)
2008-09 UIndy Most Valuable Players (as selected by each sport's head coach)
Football-
Craig Jenkins (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) (offense),
Craig Ray (Plainfield, Ind./Plainfield) (defense)
Volleyball-
Beth Robbins (Cincinnati, Ohio/Seton)
Men's Cross Country-
Adam Settle (Indianapolis, Ind./Franklin Central)
Women's Cross Country-
Amy Hamilton (Terre Haute, Ind./Terre Haute North)
Men's Soccer-
Cory Barber (New Palestine, Ind./Butler University (Dynamo-Katner))
Women's Soccer-
Abby Tracy (St. Louis, Mo./Rosati-Kain)
Men's Basketball-
Keith Radcliff (Indianapolis, Ind./Cardinal Ritter/Lake Land)
Women's Basketball-
Samantha Meissel (Terre Haute, Ind./Terre Haute North)
Men's Swimming-
Manuel Stiem (Erfurt, Germany/Pierre-de-Coubertin/Univ. of Frankfurt)
Women's Swimming-
Erica Smith (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Snider/Duquesne)
Wrestling-
Matt Irwin (Decatur, Ind./Bellmont)
Baseball-
Chase Kittinger (Carmi, Ill./Carmi White County)
Softball-
Megan Russell (Indianapolis, Ind./Franklin Central)
Men's Track-
Willie Little (Chicago, Ill./Lincoln Park)
Women's Track-
Andrea Horban (Elkhart, Ind./Mishawaka)
Men's Golf-
Justin Hueber (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Leo)
Women's Golf-
Kristi Piepenbrink (Greenwood, Ind./Greenwood)
Men's Tennis-
JD Greenlee (Dunkirk, Ind./Delta)
Women's Tennis-
Meghan Teunis (Linden, Mich./Powers Catholic)