Providence College Athletics

Top Athletes Honored At All-Sports Banquet

Top Athletes Honored At All-Sports Banquet

More than 300 athletes from PC's 21 varsity sports attended the dinner.

April 30, 2001

FOR RELEASE AT 7:00 p.m. April 30, 2001 Contact: Arthur Parks (401) 865-2759

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Providence College honored its top athletes at the 40th annual Athletic Awards Banquet at the College's Peterson Recreation Center on Monday, April 30.

Cross country All-American Rachel Hixson (Sr., Media, Pa.) and four-time All-American Keith Kelly (Sr., Drogheda, Ireland) were honored as the College's Female and Male Athletes of the Year for Individual Sports. Jessica Tabb (Sr., Holland, Mass.), an All-American in women's ice hockey, was selected as the school's Female Athlete of the Year for Team Sports. John Linehan (Jr., Chester, Pa.), a Second Team All-BIG EAST honoree and the 2001 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year selection, and Devin Rask (So., Parkside, Saskatchewan), a First Team All-HOCKEY EAST selection and a Second Team All-American, were co-recipients of the Male Athlete of the Year for Team Sports.

Along with the Athlete of the Year Awards, four other major awards were presented at the banquet. Women's hockey player Holley Tyng (Sr., East Orleans, Mass.) received the Paul Connolly Award as the female athlete who has distinguished herself among her peers through sportsmanship, courage and honor. Matt Libby (Sr., Saco, Maine), a Second Team All-HOCKEY EAST honoree and New England's Most Improved Player, 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 three-time All-BIG EAST field hockey player Breanne Wojnarowicz (Sr., Holden, Mass.) and men's basketball standout Erron Maxey (Sr., Lake Elsinore, Calif.).

Hixson placed 28th at the NCAA Cross Country Championship in November and helped the team finish ninth. Also this year in cross country, she was the Friars' top finisher in all seven races she ran. At the BIG EAST Cross Country Championship, Hixson finished fourth and earned All-BIG EAST accolades.

Kelly won the 2000 NCAA Cross Country Championship in November and became the first Friar ever to win the NCAA Cross Country title. This year, he won all six of his cross country races, including the New England Championship, the BIG EAST Championship and the NCAA Northeast Regional Championship. During the indoor track season, Kelly won the BIG EAST 3,000 meter title and was named the 2001 BIG EAST Indoor Track Most Outstanding Performer. He earned his fourth All-America honor when he placed third in the 5,000 meters at the NCAA Indoor Track Championship in March.

Tabb finished first on the team in scoring for the fourth-straight year, with 19 goals, 34 assists and 53 points. She became only the second player in program history to earn All-America honors. She also was named a New England Hockey Writers All-Star for the third time in her career and earned ECAC Second-Team honors for the second time. She finished her career ranked seventh all-time at Providence with 86 career goals. She also is ranked eighth all-time in assists (84) and eighth all-time in career points (170). Tabb was voted by her teammates as the squad's Most Valuable Player.

Linehan, a two-time captain, led the BIG EAST in steals this season with 53 in 16 conference games (3.31). He also led the league in steals in overall action, averaging 3.12 thefts per game (81 steals in 26 games). He was third on the team in scoring this season, averaging 10.7 points per game. This season, he also was named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year, All-BIG EAST Second Team, College Insider.Com National Defensive Player of the Year and NABC All-District 1 Second Team. In addition, Linehan earned the team's Jimmy Walker Most Valuable Player Award and he also received the squad's Marvin Barnes Defensive Player Award.

Rask led the Friars in scoring (51 points), goals (23), power-play goals (10) and assists (28). This season, he earned Second Team All-America, First Team All-HOCKEY EAST and All-New England honors for his solid play. He led HOCKEY EAST in overall action with a 1.31 points per game average in 39 contests. He finished second in league scoring with 33 points in 23 HOCKEY EAST games. Rask also earned the Lamoriello Award, which is given to the team's Most Valuable Player.

Libby recorded a plus/minus rating of 16, while registering a career high in points (30), goals (10) and assists (20) this season. In 2000-01, Libby earned Second Team All-HOCKEY EAST honors, All-New England accolades and was named the Most Improved Player in New England. Libby also received the Team's Plus/Minus Award and the Team's Academic Award. Libby, who has 3.69 grade point average, has the team's highest GPA.

Tyng, who has competed with a vision impairment her entire career, helped anchor the Friar defense and served as assistant captain during her final season of collegiate hockey. She scored seven points on one goal and six assists, and was named to the 2001 ECAC All-Academic Team with a 3.05 grade-point average in mathematics. Tyng finished her career at Providence with six goals and 22 assists for 28 points.

Wojnarowicz finished the 2000 field hockey season with a team-leading 22 points and 10 goals, to go along with two assists and one defensive save. This season, she was named All-BIG EAST First-Team and earned BIG EAST Player of the Week honors twice (10/2/00 and 10/23/00). The two-time BIG EAST Academic All-Star, has twice been named All-BIG EAST First Team and was on the BIG EAST All-Rookie Team as a freshman. Wojnarowicz finished her career at Providence with 32 points on 14 goals and four assists.

Maxey, a two-time captain for the Friars, finished his career at Providence with 1,306 points in 120 games. He ranks 15th all-time in scoring at PC. This season, he led the team in scoring, averaging 11.4 points per game. It marked the second consecutive year that Maxey led the Friars in scoring. Earlier in the month, he received the Friar Front Court Club Fan Appreciation Award and the team's Lenny Wilkens Hustle Award. Maxey helped the men's basketball team post a 21-10 mark and an 11-5 record in BIG EAST action in 2001.

More than 300 athletes from PC's 21 varsity sports attended the dinner. Watches were presented to the graduating senior athletes.

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