Illinois sweeps Big Ten Athlete of the Year honors
June 26, 2003 | General
June 26, 2003
Park Ridge, Ill. - In the 20 years that the Big Ten Conference has named an Athlete of the Year, the University of Illinois was the only school to never have won the award. The Illini made up for that streak in grand fashion this year by claiming by both the Jesse Owens Male and Suzy Favor Female Athletes of the Year. In fact, not only did one Illinois male athlete claim the Jesse Owens title, but two were so honored because of a tie in the voting. NCAA tennis champion Amer Delic and NCAA wrestling champion Matt Lackey shared the Owens Award while NCAA 100-meter hurdle champion Perdita Felicien was chosen as the Favor Award winner.
The Big Ten Athletes of the Year are selected by a panel of Conference media members from nominations submitted by each institution.
"This caps off a great year at the University of Illinois," said Illinois Director of Athletics Ron Guenther. "All three individuals are outstanding young people as well as terrific student-athletes. All of us are proud of their accomplishments and recognition."
The Illini's sweep of the Conference awards marks just the second time that one school has claimed honors in the same year (Michigan's Charles Woodson and softball player Sara Griffin were chosen in 1998). It is also the first time that one school has tied with winners in the same category. The last tie for a Big Ten Athlete of the Year award came in 1997 (see all-time list of winners at end of this release). This year marks the first time that a tennis player has been selected for either award and the 10th time that a track and field athlete has been chosen. Lackey is just the third wrestler to be so honored and the first since 1985.
Delic helped lead the Illini to the school's first ever NCAA men's tennis team championship, while becoming the first Illinois player to ever win the singles title. Ranked No. 2 in the nation, the Jacksonville, Florida native posted a singles record of 36-5 this season and was undefeated (7-0) in Big Ten play. He had 16 singles wins against Top 125 players this year.
As a doubles team with partner Michael Calkins, Delic was ranked No. 11 nationally, claimed a 29-9 record and advanced to the Round of 16 in this year's NCAA Doubles Tournament. They won 11 doubles contests against Top 51 opponents this year and advanced to the championship match of the ITA All-American Tournament and the quarterfinals of the USTA Challenger professional event last fall. Delic and Calkins also won the consolation doubles title at the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championship. Delic was selected as one of five men's collegiate tennis players from all levels to represent the United States and the Intercollegiate Tennis Association in Tokyo this summer.
A junior at Illinois, Delic is Leisure Studies / Sport Management major.
Lackey, a senior from Moline, Illinois, became the first Illini since 1998 to finish the season with a perfect record (38-0). He won the 2003 NCAA 165-pound title in addition to the 165-pound Big Ten title for the second straight year. He is the first wrestler under Head Coach Mark Johnson to win both NCAA and Conference titles in the same year.
A three-time All-American, Lackey defeated 16 ranked opponents en route to his 2003 NCAA crown. He finished the 2002 season as an NCAA finalist and placed third in 2001. On his career, Lackey compiled a 14-2 NCAA tournament record and was 120-14 (.896) overall, ranking fifth on Illinois' all-time wins list.
An Academic All-Big Ten selection, Lackey is a Sports Management major.
Felicien was named the 2003 United States Track & Field Coaches Association Female Track Athlete of the Year after her championship performances this season. It was the second time in her career that she won this award after being selected in 2001.
Along with winning the NCAA title in the 100-meter hurdles this spring, she set a meet record in the semifinals of that event with a time of 12.68, also tying the Big Ten record. The 2003 Big Ten 100-meter hurdle champion, she clocked the nation's then-fastest time of 12.88 seconds at the Conference championship, which ranked her as the No. 1 collegiate hurdler in the country and among the top 15 hurdlers in the world at that time. Felicien also won the Big Ten indoor title in the 60-meter hurdles and is an All-American in that event along with being named an All-American in the 4x100 outdoor relay.
Named the Most Outstanding Athlete at the Drake Relays for a third consecutive year, she was also named the Midwest Female Track and Field Athlete of the Year and is a three-time winner of the University's Dike Eddleman Award for Female Athlete of the Year (2001, 2002, 2003).
A native of Pickering, Ontario, Canada, Felicien is a First Team All-Big Ten honoree and an Academic All-Big Ten selection.
The Big Ten Conference has recognized a Jesse Owens Male Athlete of the Year since 1982 when Indiana's Jim Spivey earned the inaugural award. The following year, a women's award was created. In 1991-92 as part of the celebration of the 10th anniversary of women's athletics in the Conference, the women's award was renamed in honor of former Wisconsin track standout and three-time recipient Suzy Favor.
