Providence College Athletics

Athletic Department Honors Top Athletes At Annual Awards Banquet

Athletic Department Honors Top Athletes At Annual Awards Banquet

More than 400 athletes from PC's 21 varsity sports attended the dinner.

April 29, 2002

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Providence College honored its top athletes at the 41st annual Athletic Awards Banquet at the College's Peterson Recreation Center on Monday, April 29.

Track All-American Roisin McGettigan (Jr., Wicklow, Ireland) and two-time cross country All-American Hamish Thorpe (Sr., Auckland, New Zealand) were honored as the College's Female and Male Athletes of the Year for Individual Sports. Jenn Butsch (Jr., Berlin, Vt.), the leading scorer for the women's hockey team, was selected as the school's Female Athlete of the Year for Team Sports. John Linehan (Sr., Chester, Pa.), an Honorable Mention All-America selection in men's basketball, Second Team All-BIG EAST honoree, the 2002 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year selection, and NABC Defensive Player of the Year, was the recipient of the Male Athlete of the Year Award for Team Sports.

Along with the Athlete of the Year Awards, four other major awards were presented at the banquet. Women's basketball player Dani Trippany (Sr., Massena, N.Y.) received the Paul Connolly Award as the female athlete who has distinguished herself among her peers through sportsmanship, courage and honor. Kempes Corbally (Sr., Dublin, Ireland), a two time All-BIG EAST soccer honoree, was honored as the Mal Brown Award winner given annually to the male athlete whose career of intercollegiate competition portrayed sportsmanship, courage and honor. The Sine Quo Non Awards, given annually to the male and female athletes who have distinguished themselves among their peers without receiving proper recognition, were presented to women's tennis all-time wins leader Brooke Rubin (Sr., Cranston, R.I.) and cross country All-American Dermot Galvin (Sr., Kilrush, Ireland).

McGettigan placed fifth in the mile at the NCAA Indoor Track Championship and earned All-America accolades. She earned All-BIG EAST accolades after she won the mile at the BIG EAST Indoor Track Championship in February. In cross country action this year, she was one of the Friars' top runners. She won the New England Cross Country Championship and helped the Friars capture the team title. At the NCAA Cross Country Championships, McGettigan was PC's second finisher (53rd overall) and the squad placed 10th.

Thorpe earned his second cross country All-America accolade when he finished 24th at the 2001 NCAA Cross Country Championship in November. Thorpe was the Friars' top finisher in five of the team's seven races, including the New England Championship where he finished first and led the Friars to the team title. During the indoor track season, Thorpe won the mile at IC4A Indoor Championship. He also competed in the 3,000 meters at the NCAA Indoor Track Championships.

Butsch led the Friars in scoring with career highs of 16 goals and 15 assists for 31 points. She scored a team-best four game-winning goals and finished second with six power-play tallies. Butsch played in all 37 games as she led the Friars to the ECAC Eastern League Tournament title. She was voted by her teammates as the squad's Most Valuable Player. Butsch also was named to the ECAC Eastern League All-Academic Team.

Linehan, a three-time captain who finished second in the nation in average steals per game (4.5), made 139 steals in 31 contests this season. He set the NCAA career steals record with his 377th steal on February 26. Linehan finished his career with 385 steals. In addition to the NCAA career steals mark, Linehan also established the BIG EAST career steals record (226), the BIG EAST single-season steals record (77) and the BIG EAST single-game steals record (11). This season, he averaged 12.5 points, 4.4 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game. For his efforts, he was named NABC Defensive Player of the Year, BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year, ESPN.com Defensive Player of the Year, Basketball America Defensive Player of the Year and College Insider.com National Defensive Player of the Year. Other honors he received this season were Associated Press Honorable Mention All-America, All-BIG EAST Second Team, NABC District 1 First Team, USBWA All-District 1, the Bob Cousy Award and College Insider.com 2002 All-Defensive Team member. He also earned the team's Jimmy Walker Most Valuable Player Award and the Marvin Barnes Defensive Player Award.

Corbally led the Friars in scoring (nine points) and goals (four) this season as a defender. Corbally, who missed only one game in his four seasons at Providence, scored seven goals and added two assists in 70 career games as a defender for the Friar soccer squad. Three times in his career he earned BIG EAST accolades. As a freshman, he was named to the All-BIG EAST Rookie Team and he received Second Team All-BIG EAST honors as a sophomore (1999) and senior (2001).

Trippany, who was plagued with stress fractures and other injuries the majority of her career, defied the odds and returned to the Providence women's basketball team for a fifth year, while pursuing a masters degree in education/special ed. She registered career highs in several categories, including points (301), rebounds (173), assists (29), blocked shots (25) and steals (22) this season. Trippany finished her career at Providence with 751 points and 433 rebounds. Trippany received the Coaches' Award at the annual team banquet, recognizing her as the team's most valuable player.

Rubin finished the 2001-02 tennis season with a 23-6 overall record at No. 1 singles. The 23 wins tied a Providence College single-season victory mark, which she set during the 1999-00 season. She captured the 2001 New England Title at No. 1 singles for the second consecutive year. In the spring season, Rubin posted a 12-1 record. On March 5, 2002, Rubin set PC's career wins record as she earned her 79th career victory. She finished her career with an 86-32-1 record.

Galvin is one of the most consistent runners ever at Providence College. Last year, he earned All-America honors at the NCAA Cross Country Championship when he placed 20th and helped the squad to a third-place finish. This year, the two-time captain was the third finisher on a team that placed 10th at the NCAA Cross Country Championship. In his junior year, he won the IC4A 10,000 meter title and was runner up in the 5,000 meters at the BIG EAST Outdoor Championship.

More than 400 athletes from PC's 21 varsity sports attended the dinner. Watches were presented to the graduating senior athletes.

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