Football team honored at banquet

RELEASED: March 6, 2003

DANVILLE, KY—Centre's Jennifer Patterson was named to the women's basketball Verizon third-team Academic All-District IV Team. Patterson is a senior from Louisville Manual High School and is majoring in pre-med, where she carries a 3.75 GPA. She has scored more than 1,200 points in her career and is ranked in the top 10 of Centre's all-time career-scoring list and in the top 20 of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference.

Patterson has led the Lady Colonels in each of her four years in field-goal percentage and is the only person to ever lead the SCAC in both field-goal percentage and free-throw percentage in the same season.

Head coach Jennifer Ruff is high on her senior. "Jennifer is well-deserving of this honor. She works very hard on her academics and is a great student as well as one of the best basketball players in the SCAC."

The Lady Colonels finished fourth in the SCAC this season. Centre finished the season with a record of 13-14 overall and 8-6 in the conference.

The Centre football team was honored at its annual banquet this past weekend at the Cowan Dining Commons on campus. Head coach Andy Frye and his staff celebrated a 6-4 season by honoring 81 players and their families.

Coach Frye presented the players with their letters and announced the following award winners: Charlie Moran Award (Most Improved), Kevin Tytus; Homer Rice Award (Most Valuable Special Teams), Ely Santos; Teel Bruner Award (Most Valuable Defensive Player), John Ortega; Bo McMillin Award (Most Valuable Offensive Player), Bryan Walker; Joe McDaniel Excellence Award, Daniel Nipp.

Tytus played cornerback for the Colonels, where he recorded 57 tackles including three tackles for a loss and one fumble recovery. Most Valuable Special Teams player Santos led the conference in kickoff returns with a 26.7-yard average and one touchdown. Santos was named Special Teams Player of the Year in the SCAC. Ortega was second on the team in tackles with 83. He also intercepted two passes, caused two fumbles, and had six pass breakups and was selected first-team all-conference as a safety. Walker earned Best Offensive Player by catching 30 passes for 546 yards and eight touchdowns and was also a first-team all conference selection. The Excellence Award, named after Centre's winningest coach ever, Joe McDaniel, was won by Nipp, who led the team in sacks with four and led the team in fumble recoveries with three. Nipp also had five tackles for a loss.

In a special presentation, Frye presented athletic director Brian Chafin with the game ball from Centre's 38-15 win over Kenyon College. It was Centre's 500th win on the gridiron since its inaugural game in 1880.

The program concluded with a video highlight tape and a special thanks to the seniors from Coach Frye.

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