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Northwestern's
Shannon Smith Tabbed Suzy Favor Big Ten Female Athlete of the Year
CHICAGO -- Already the national player of the year
in NCAA women's lacrosse, Northwestern junior Shannon Smith (West
Babylon, N.Y./West Babylon) on Monday was recognized as the year's most
outstanding performer in all of Big Ten women's athletics, winning the
2011 Suzy Favor Big Ten Female Athlete of the Year award. 
Smith is the fourth Northwestern student-athlete to receive the
prestigious distinction, following the likes of her former teammate on
the lacrosse team Hannah Nielsen in 2008 as well as two-sport athlete
Jennifer Averill in 1987 and softball's Lisa Ishikawa in 1984. Smith
joins Nielsen as the only two recipients in the 31-year history of the
award to play a sport not sponsored by the Big Ten Conference.
After a vote was conducted by a panel of conference media members, the
Big Ten Network announced Smith as this year's recipient during its
year-end awards show Monday evening. David Boudia of Purdue men's
diving was tabbed the Jesse Owens Male Athlete of the Year in the
conference.
"Shannon has an incredible will to win, to improve every day and to
make her teammates better," said head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller. "She
proved this year game-in and game-out that no matter what people throw
at her, she can break through. Her abilities as a player and as a
leader make her very deserving of winning this award."
After leading Division I women's lacrosse in points from wire to wire
in the regular season, Smith raised her game to another level in the
postseason as she willed Northwestern to a seventh-straight ALC
championship and eventually its sixth NCAA championship in seven years.
She scored at least four goals in all six postseason games for NU --
including five in each of the first four -- and came up with the
game-winning goals in an 11-10 semifinal win over North Carolina as
well as in a thrilling 8-7 victory over No. 1 Maryland for the national
title.
Her 18 goals during the NCAA tournament -- second-most all-time for one
player in the national tournament -- netted her NCAA Championship MVP
honors and allowed her to break the Northwestern single-season goals
record with 86. Her 128 points on the year rank as the second-best
total ever by a Wildcat and seventh-best in Division I women's lacrosse
history.
Winner of the Tewaaraton Award and Lacrosse Honda Sports Award, Smith's
season included the sixth 10-point game (5g, 5a) in Northwestern
history (March 5 vs.Georgetown) as well as a seven-goal effort in a
12-11 victory against seventh-ranked Stanford. The first-team IWLCA
All-American, who scored at least three goals in 17 of NU's 22 games,
also set career highs with 39 draw controls and 25 ground balls.
Smith will begin her senior year in 2012 tied for fifth in career
assists at NU(80), sixth in points (268) and seventh in goals (188).
The Big Ten has recognized a Jesse Owens Male Athlete of the Year since
1982 when Indiana's Jim Spivey earned the inaugural award. The
following year, a women's award was created. In 1991-92, as part of the
celebration of the 10th anniversary of women's athletics in the
conference, the women's award was renamed in honor of former Wisconsin
track standout and three-time recipient Suzy Favor.
Suzy Favor Big Ten Female Athlete of the Year Recipients
1983 - Judi Brown, Michigan State, track and field
1984 - Lisa Ishikawa, Northwestern, softball
1985 - Cathy Branta, Wisconsin, cross country/track and field
1986 - Stephanie Herbst, Wisconsin, cross country/track and field
1987 - Jennifer Averill, Northwestern, field hockey/lacrosse
1988 - Suzy Favor, Wisconsin, track and field/cross country
1989 - Suzy Favor, Wisconsin, track and field/cross country
1990 - Suzy Favor, Wisconsin, track and field/cross country
1991 - Julie Farrell-Ovenhouse, Michigan State, diving (co)
1991 - Joy Holmes, Purdue, basketball (co)
1992 - MaChelle Joseph, Purdue, basketball
1993 - Lara Hooiveld, Michigan, swimming
1994 - Kristy Gleason, Iowa, field hockey
1995 - Laura Davis, Ohio State, volleyball
1996 - Olga Kalinovskaya, Penn State, fencing
1997 - Kathy Butler, Wisconsin, track and field (co)
1997 - Gretchen Hegener, Minnesota, swimming (co)
1998 - Sara Griffin, Michigan, softball
1999 - Stephanie White-McCarty, Purdue, basketball
2000 - Lauren Cacciamani, Penn State, volleyball
2001 - Katie Douglas, Purdue, basketball
2002 - Christie Welsh, Penn State, soccer
2003 - Perdita Felicien, Illinois, track and field
2004 - Kelly Mazzante, Penn State, basketball
2005 - Jennie Ritter, Michigan, softball
2006 - Tiffany Weimer, Penn State, soccer
2007 - Jessica Davenport, Ohio State, basketball
2008 - Hannah Nielsen, Northwestern, lacrosse
2009 - Maria Hernandez, Purdue, women's golf
2010 - Megan Hodge, Penn State, volleyball
2011 - Shannon Smith, Northwestern, lacrosse
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