ESSLY Awards - Day 2 Video
La Crosse, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Intercollegiate Athletics Department continues with its 7th Annual ESSLY Awards for the 2020-21 season. This year's awards are being shared virtually from August 28-31. ESSLY stands for "Eagle Sport, School, and Life Yearly Awards."
Student-athletes are honored in the areas of sport, school, and life. Awards presented included recognition of captains, team community service, 4.00 students, scholar-athletes, academic All-Americas, four-year participants, All-Americas, individual national champions, and team national champions.
Today's honorees include the Moment of the Year Award, Faculty Member of the Year, Team Grade Point Average of the Year, as well as the list of 2019-20 Scholar-Athletes and Athletic Trainers and the students finishing with a 4.00 grade point average for the fall semester.
Kimberly Steinert
UW-La Crosse is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III and Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC). The Eagles offer 21 varsity programs with over 600 student-athletes. UW-La Crosse has won 71 national championships in school history, including 43 in NCAA Division III (37 since 2001). The 43 national titles ranks second in NCAA III history. The Eagles have captured 418 conference titles.
Moment of the Year – Kimberly Steinert
Kimberly Steinert became the second player in school history to earn a bid to the NCAA Division III Tennis Championships. She was one of 32 players to be selected to compete in the 2021 championships. Steinert finished 13-2 overall on the season while being voted the 2021 WIAC Player of the Year. Going 6-0 in WIAC matches, Steinert was also named to the 2021 All-WIAC Sportsmanship Team. She was selected to the 2021 All-WIAC First Team at No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles with Kellie Hierl.
Dr. Barbara Bennie
Faculty of the Year – Dr. Barbara Bennie (Mathematics and Statistics)
Dr. Bennie is a professor in the mathematics and statistics department, with specialites in applied statistics and game theory. She was nominated by Maggie Lang, a member of the Eagles' golf team. Here is what Maggie had to say about Dr. Bennie.
"Throughout my time here at UWL, I have learned from many amazing professors. Dr. Bennie is more than just an amazing professor, though. She has taught me not only how to analyze statistics, but how to be a strong educator. Dr. Bennie connects with each of her students at a more personal level by telling us about her life and listening to things about ours. She has also taken the content from her classes and created more real life situations out of them. I learned a great deal from Dr. Bennie over the past couple years, even over zoom. During our time online, Dr. Bennie made sure to respond quickly to emails, give many options for office hours, look for constant feedback on how to make her class better, and provide flexibility to students who needed extra time and resources. I believe that Dr. Bennie should receive this award because she teaches a great deal about not only her content but also how to be a great human being."
Team GPA of the Year – Women's Cross Country – 3.666
Women's cross country earned the 2020 U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic Award. Programs must have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.10 or higher on a 4.00 scale. UW-La Crosse was tied for second among the eight teams in the WIAC to earn the award. It marks the 15th time in the last 16 years the Eagles have earned the USTFCCCA Scholar Team Award.
Top-Five in Cumulative Grade Point Average
1. Women's Cross Country - 3.666
2. Volleyball - 3.639
3. Women's Swimming & Diving - 3.636
4. Gymnastics - 3.594
5. Soccer - 3.571
2020 Fall Semester 4.0
Women's Basketball
| Alana Gilles |
Julia Seidel |
Men's Cross Country
| Nathan Schacherl |
Zachary Slevin |
Isaac Wegner |
Women's Cross Country
| Anna Buchberger |
Kaylan Marshall |
Charlotte Mueller |
Madeline Vantassel |
Football
Gymnastics
Lacrosse
| Ellen Coggio |
Val Johnson |
Sammi Sonstegard |
Soccer
| Ellie Arndt |
Addie Pauling |
Softball
| Lauren Kidd |
Jordyn McCormack |
Paige Rhyner |
Men's Swimming & Diving
Women's Swimming & Diving
| Alexis Burgos |
Kathleen Casella |
Lindsey Evenson |
Kaitlyn Michalek |
| Mackenzie Reischl |
Kylee Sommer |
Mikaylie Sosnowski |
Claire Vandenhouten |
Men's Track & Field
| Troy De Bruin |
Nathan Schacherl |
Zachary Slevin |
Justin Sullivan |
Isaac Wegner |
Women's Track & Field
| Charlotte Mueller |
Emily Van De Hey |
Volleyball
Wrestling
| Konrad Ernst |
Tristan Jenny |
Sam Wenzel |
2020-21 Scholar-Athletes (* WIAC Scholar-Athlete)
Baseball
| Brennan Schmitt* |
Zach Pronschinske |
Parker Plume |
Women's Basketball
Women's Cross Country
| Libby Brugger |
Maddy Sweeney |
Football
| Devonte Amos |
Markus Torpman |
Oliver Vasanoja |
Golf
| Maggie Lang |
Leah Sindberg |
Gymnastics
Lacrosse
| Ellen Coggio |
Val Johnson |
Sammi Sonstegard |
Gabby Storin |
Emily Virata |
Soccer
| Tori Barnhart |
Hayley Hargroder |
Natalie Jamison |
Kaitlyn Villars |
Softball
| Katie Block |
Maddie Muelken |
Allison Oster |
Sabrina Scardamaglia |
Mia Schmidtke |
Women's Swimming & Diving
| Kira Pauls |
Samantha Rod |
Natalie Sims |
Ellie Szczupakiewicz |
Sydney Vian* |
Men's Track & Field
| Troy De Bruin* |
Brian Hansford |
Matt Haynes |
Seth Holden |
Alec Morrison |
| Dillon Murman |
Andrew Pischke |
Samuel Sadowski |
Jacob Sullivan |
|
Women's Track & Field
| Kelly Aldrich |
Lucy Fashingbauer |
Emma Platzbecker |
Savannah Rygiewicz* |
| Clair Shepardson |
Payton Siehr |
Amanda Wiebke |
|
Volleyball
| Julia Van Fleet |
Elyse Weber |
Wrestling
| Konrad Ernst* |
Tristan Jenny |
Sam Wenzel |
