Dustin Mitchell (Lac Du Flambeau/Lakeland) is the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Male Student Athlete of the Year and Ingrid Stensvaag (Palatine, IL/Palatine) is the Female Student Athlete of the Year for the 2009-2010 school year. Men's soccer and women's tennis earned the highest grade point averages among UW-W's 20 intercollegiate sports. The honors were announced at a campus-wide awards ceremony May 2. All four awards, which will be awarded annually, are new this year.
"UW-Whitewater athletics has surged to the front of Division III competition. With that, it seemed fitting that we established two awards per gender that depict who we are and what we stand for," UW-W director of athletics Dr. Paul Plinske said. "Ingrid and Dustin are nationally known student athletes who epitomize what UW-W athletics is all about. They are excellent students, outstanding citizens, and remarkable athletes. UW-Whitewater is a better place because of these fine student athletes."
The criteria for choosing the individual awards stipulated that recipients must be: in their senior year of eligibility, a UW-W student at least three years, minimum of a 3.0 (4.0 scale) cumulative grade point average, senior status in their academic major, and have earned 90 credits, and nominated by their head coach.
Mitchell, a 6'9” center from Lakeland High School, led the Warhawk basketball team to the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship and the second round of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III tournament. He averaged 18.0 points and 8.7 rebounds while shooting 63% from the field. He totaled 539 rebounds and 1,036 points, making him just the third player in school history to reach those marks in both categories. He is among the top ten in career blocks, games played and field goal percentage in the UW-W record book. Mitchell was a First Team All-WIAC pick, the WIAC Most Valuable Player, the MVP of Division III All-West Region Team named by the National Association of Basketball Coaches, and a NABC First Team All-American. He was also chosen to play in the National Division III All-Star game in March, where he scored 16 points and pulled down 13 rebounds.
"Dustin is a very deserving recipient," UW-W head coach Pat Miller said. "He is what we want a player, and a person, to be. He's been an outstanding student, taking part in a wide range of community service opportunities. He has been a tremendous asset to our program as a basketball player."
Mitchell has served as a UW-W basketball camp counselor, volunteered for Special Olympics, and participating in a benefit for a local family. He is a physical education major with a K-12 emphasis, and a minor in coaching. He has a 3.10 cumulative grade point average.
Stensvaag, a graduate of Palatine High School, has been a key member of the UW-Whitewater tennis team, keying three straight WIAC championships and three NCAA Division III championship tournaments. Even with just three years of competition at UW-W, she is among the top 10 in career wins at number one singles, career singles wins (all flights), and career combined wins. She was the WIAC flight two singles champion in 2008 and 2009, and teamed up to win number two doubles at the 2008 conference meet. She has been on the WIAC Scholastic Honor Roll three times, and was the 2009 WIAC Judy Kruckman Scholar Athlete for Tennis. Stensvaag has received the UW-W Academic Achievement Award three years, UW-W dean's list, and was a College Sports Information Directors of America/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American for the 2008-2009 school year. She is this year's team captain, with the team compiling a 22-5 record and number six ranking in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Division III Central Region poll.
"Ms. Stensvaag has been a true class act on and off the court since transferring to UW-W after her freshman year," UW-W tennis coordinator Frank Barnes said. "Becoming the first CoSIDA/ESPN Academic All-American in program history is just one example of the way she has led our team to new heights since her arrival."
"She is a big reason for our success over the past three years," Barnes continued. "She has been playing consistently at the top of our lineup, but it's also been her attitude that has trickled down throughout the team and the season. She attends nearly every volunteer community opportunity we find, and that service participation for our team has reached new heights, in part because of Ingrid's leadership as captain. She is a joy to be around, and it's an honor to coach someone like her."
Stensvaag, a health and human performance major with a minor in health promotion, has a 3.987 grade point average. She has participated in Reading with the Warhawks, Kids Day Out, Women in Sport Day, the UW-W Student Optimist Club, UW-W Buddhist Club, and the student professional organization for physical educators. She earned membership in the Golden Key Honor Society and Sigma Alpha Lambda, and has been intern at the Fort Atkinson hospital.
The women's tennis team compiled a 3.613 grade point average for the 2009 fall semester, and a 3.43 mark for the 2009-2009 school year. The GPA for men's soccer was 3.225 for their fall 2009 semester and 3.26 for the entire 2008-2009 school year.
"The team grade point averages of women's tennis and men's soccer speak for themselves," Plinske noted. "These student athletes have not only competed at a high level in their sport, but they have been leaders in the classroom."
For additional information: Paul Plinske, Frank Barnes, Pat Miller
