Student Athlete Advisory Council
DSAAC Honors Six Seniors with Athletic Achievement Awards
Date: April 27, 2006
Location: Denison University
Granville, OH--On April 17, Denison held its annual athletic achievement awards reception in Slayter Hall auditorium. This event was sponsored by the Denison Student Athlete Advisory Committee. Throughout the reception various student athletes, coaches, and Denison faculty were honored for their work on and off the field during the 2005-06 academic year. Each year DSAAC chooses one male and female senior worthy of the SAAC standout award. This year's winners were senior baseball player, A.J. Jezierski (El Cajon, Calif./Valhalla) and senior tennis player, Erin Coughlin (Battle Creek, Mich./Lakeview). Both A.J. and Erin were outstanding in the classroom and displayed exemplary leadership, sportsmanship, and community service. Coughlin is a three time all NCAC honoree and helped her team to the NCAA Elite 8 in 2005, finishing 8th in the nation. She was also an ITA scholar athlete in the spring of 2005. Jezierski is a .364 career batting average and a .983 career fielding percentage. He has also been a three-time all-NCAC honoree. In honor of Dale S. Googins who was head athletic trainer at Denison for 36 years, two senior student athletes were chosen who exerted strength, courage, devotion and endurance through their sport. This year's Dale S. Googins award winners were senior women's soccer player, Colleen Wirtz (Westerville, Ohio/ St. Francis De Sales) and senior football player, Joey Thees (Holland, Ohio Springfield). Thees played in 35 games during his four year at Denison rushing 626 yards and scoring 10 touchdowns, the most by any graduating senior. DSAAC also awarded two seniors North Coast Athletic Conference Scholar Athlete awards to senior women's track member Kim Murley (Dalton, Pa./Tunkhannock) and men's lacrosse player Lou Sorgi (Norwell, Mass./ Thayer Academy) for their academic achievement and athletic accomplishments. Sorgi, the DSAAC President in 2005, received a leadership citation for his service to the committee. Sorgi is a four-year member of the lacrosse team, has played in 50 games as a defender and is co-captain for the 2006 season. At the reception, two senior women were honored for National Fellowship Awards. Murley received a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and will attend the University of Maryland for graduate school. Murley was a 2005 national qualifier in the 800 meters and has been all-conference nine times during her four years at Denison. Colleen Wirtz received the National Collegiate Athletic Association Postgraduate Scholarship. Wirtz led the Big Red women's soccer team to the Elite 8 this past fall and has been an all-conference selection four times, is a three time NSCAA All-American and a first-team Adidas Scholar All-American. Finally, the awards reception ended with the presentation of the Heart of the Team award where each team voted on one teammate who showed exemplary dedication, enthusiasm, support and respect to teammates. By Ali Teopas Sports Information Student Assistant