June 13, 2007

Champaign, Ill. - Junior All-American Kevin Anderson and senior track & field star Yvonne Mensah have been named the 2006-07 Dike Eddleman Male and Female recipients as the University of Illinois' Athletes of the Year.

Mensah's honor is the sixth for the women's track & field program in the past seven years with soccer's Leisha Alcia (2004) the lone winner from another sport. World-class hurdler Perdita Felicien was a three-time winner from 2001-03, while Cassie Hunt won the honor each of the past two seasons. Track athletes on the women's side have also won the award 11 times since 1992. With the emergence of Illinois on the national tennis scene over the past decade, Anderson becomes the third tennis player to win the honor on the men's side, joining Oliver Freelove (1999) and Amer Delic (2003).

Anderson excelled when it counted most, leading the Illini to an NCAA runner-up finish with victories over No. 7 Mississippi, No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 Baylor at the NCAA Finals in Athens, Ga. The Big Ten Player of the Year followed that up with strong runs through the singles and doubles draw individually, reaching the semifinals in singles and teaming with Ryan Rowe to advance to the finals in doubles. The duo was attempting to become the first tandem in NCAA history to win back-to-back national titles in doubles.

The No. 1 singles player for the Illini has been ranked in the top-10 nationally the entire year, finishing the season ranked No. 4 in the final ITA Fila tennis poll. He finished the season 32-9 in singles, going 18-8 against nationally-ranked opponents, and 29-8 in doubles, playing with three different partners. Anderson and Rowe also had a 13-5 record against nationally-ranked opponents.

"This is a great honor," Anderson said. "To add my name to a list of great Illinois athletes and teams who had great careers and seasons is big. I just think this is a tribute to a great season that we had as a team this year. We had some up and down times, but we remained consistent and finished strong. I just hope that we can build on this next year. This is just really exciting."

Like Anderson, Mensah played a tremendous role in her team's success, winning four event titles and scoring 40.5 points at the Big Ten Outdoor meet in vaulting Illinois to a tie for the conference title. Mensah won gold medals in the 100 and 200 meters and the triple jump and as a member of the 4x100-meter relay team, claimed a silver in the 4x400-meter relay and a bronze in the triple jump.

Mensah also had a strong Big Ten meet indoors, scoring 38 points, winning the long and triple jumps and finishing runner-up in the 60-meter and 200-meter dashes and as a member of the 4x400-meter relay. She was named Big Ten Field Athlete of the 2007 Indoor Championships and set a school record in the long jump (20'8") at the meet. Mensah finishes her career with 15 Big Ten titles and three All-America honors after placing sixth in the long jump at the 2007 NCAA Indoor Championships.

"This is something I never expected," Mensah said. "When my coaches first told me I had won, I was speechless. As an athlete, you don't start out your season with the goal of winning individual awards; you are just out there trying to do your very best. But when you are recognized for your achievement, it causes you to step back and reflect on all the hard work and effort you've put into it every single day. It also makes you appreciate your family, friends, coaches and teammates for all the support they've given you. Having just finished my senior year, I can't think of a better way to go out than by ending my career at the University of Illinois with this prestigious award. I am excited and humbled by this honor."

The University of Illinois Athlete of the Year was first awarded in 1940. The award was given annually until it was discontinued in 1973. Since 1982, the University of Illinois has recognized a Male and Female Athlete of the Year. In 1993, the awards were renamed the Dike Eddleman Athlete of the Year awards in honor of the 11-time UI letterman and former Olympian.

Other University awards were handed out at the annual Scholar-Athlete banquet on May 1. Sophomore sprinter Lesida Masheto joined the Illini track team in January and earned the Male Newcomer Award, while cross country freshman Angela Bizzarri claimed the Women's Newcomer Award. Swimming and diving's Caroline Moore and baseball's Shawn Roof won the Female and Male Spirit Awards, respectively. Mensah and basketball's Warren Carter were honored was Big Ten Medal of Honor recipients. As has been done previously, the Eddleman Award winners were not selected until the completion of the spring sports seasons, which wrapped-up last weekend with the NCAA Track and Field Championships.

All-Time Illinois Athletes of the Year

1940	William J. Hapac, basketball & baseball
1941 	John Drish, basketball & baseball
1942	Andy Phillip, basketball & baseball
1943	Andy Phillip, basketball & baseball
1944	Buddy Young, football & track
1945	Walton "Junior" Kirk, basketball
1946	Herbert McKenley, track
1947	Alex Agase, football & wrestling
1948	Dwight "Dike" Eddleman, football, basketball & track
1949	Dwight "Dike" Eddleman, football, basketball & track
1950	Russell Steger, football & baseball
1951	Don Sunderlage, basketball
1952	Charles Boerio, football
1953	Clive Follmer, basketball & baseball
1954	J.C. Caroline, football
1955	Paul Judson, basketball
1956	Em Lindbeck, football & baseball
1957	Abe Woodson, football & track
1958	Bob Mitchell, football & track
1959	Abe Grossfeld, gymnastics
1960	Bill Burrell, football
1961	Bill Brown, football & track
1962	Doug Mills, football, basketball & baseball
1963	Harold Holmes, gymnastics
1964	Dick Butkus, football
1965	Dick Butkus, football
1966	Jim Grabowski, football
1967	Jim Dawson, basketball
1968	Dave Scholz, basketball
1969	Dave Scholz, basketball
1970	Mike Price, basketball
1971	Lee LaBadie, track/cross country
1972	Rick Gross, track/cross country
1973-81 Award not given
1982	Tony Eason, football
1983	Tony Eason, football
 	Marianne Dickerson, track/cross country
1984    Don Thorp, football
 	Karen Brems, gymnastics
1985	Charles Lake, gymnastics
	Kelly McNee, track/cross country
1986	David Williams, football
	Jonelle Polk, basketball
1987	Darrin Fletcher, baseball
	Mary Eggers, volleyball
1988	Tim Simon, track
	Mary Eggers, volleyball
1989	David Zeddies, gymnastics
	Mary Eggers, volleyball
1990	Kendall Gill, basketball
	Laura Bush, volleyball
1991	Jon Llewellyn, wrestling
	Sarah Sharp, basketball
	Renee Heiken, golf
1992	Tim Simpson, football
	Len Sitko, track/cross country
	Renee Heiken, golf
	Tonja Buford, track
1993	Marko Koers, track
	Tonja Buford, track
1994	Anthony Jones, track
	Tina Rogers, volleyball
1995	Dana Howard, football
	Steve Marianetti, wrestling
	Tonya Williams, track
1996	Kevin Hardy, football
	Tonya Williams, track
1997	Ernest Benion, wrestling
	Ashley Berggren, basketball
1998	Eric Siebert, wrestling
	Ashley Berggren, basketball
	Yvonne Harrison, track & field
1999	Oliver Freelove, tennis
	Cristy Chapman, volleyball
2000	Jason Anderson, baseball
	Jessica Aveyard, swimming
2001	Adam Tirapelle, wrestling
	Perdita Felicien, track & field
2002	Kurt Kittner, football
	Perdita Felicien, track & field
2003	Amer Delic, tennis
	Matt Lackey, wrestling
	Perdita Felicien, track & field
2004	Justin Spring, gymnastics
	Leisha Alcia, soccer
2005	Deron Williams, basketball
	Cassie Hunt, track & field/cross country
2006	Justin Spring, gymnastics
	Cassie Hunt, track & field/cross country
2007	Kevin Anderson, tennis
	Yvonne Mensah, track & field