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 Derrick Hawk, along with Brandy Andersen and Kevin Martin, were honored Sunday by the Mountain Amateur Athletic Club. |
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May 3, 2004
Cullowhee, N.C. - Western Carolina student-athletes Brandy Andersen (women's golf), Derrick Hawk (baseball) and Kevin Martin (men's basketball) were honored Sunday at the 46th annual Mountain Amateur Athletic Club's WNC Sports Awards Banquet. The banquet recognizes individuals as well as team sports for outstanding achievements both on and off the field every year.
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Andersen, an Orlando, Fla., native, was selected as the Most Outstanding Female Athlete from Outside Western North Carolina for her accomplishments during the 2002-03 season. A freshman at the time, Andersen led the Lady Catamounts to their first ever Southern Conference Championship. She was also the SoCon individual champion with a 212, which is a WCU record as well as a SoCon record. Andersen was the only player to shoot under par for the tournament and the only one to shoot par or better in each of the three rounds. As a result, she was named the SoCon Freshman of the Year and an All-Conference member. She was also named the National Player of the Week by Golf World Magazine and was featured in Sports Illustrated's "Faces in the Crowd" section last spring. In the 2002 fall semester, Andersen won the Wachovia-Great Smokies Intercollegiate with a 141, which stands as a WCU two-round record. She shot a 66 in round one of that tournament to shatter the WCU single round record, shooting an eagle, hole-in one and birdie in a three-hole stretch. She finished tied for 18th at the NCAA East Regional tournament, carding a 219 three-round total. Also an exceptional student, Andersen maintains over a 3.8 GPA and was named to the 2003 National Golf Coaches Association All-American Scholar team as well as the Academic All-SoCon team.
Hawk, a Sylva, N.C., native, was selected as the Most Outstanding Male Athlete from Inside Western North Carolina. He was named All-Southern Conference in 2003 as his 10 wins ranked third in the league, his four saves was sixth and his 28 games pitched was fifth. Hawk ended the 2003 season with a 10-2 record and a 2.86 ERA, while opponents only posted a .227 batting average against the righty. He additionally led WCU and ranked 81st nationally with his 10 wins, helping the Catamounts win the SoCon regular-season and tournament championships, while reaching the final of the NCAA Wilson Regional. His 10 wins marked the first time a Catamount had accomplished the feat since 1997, was just the 15th Catamount all-time to do so and just 39th in SoCon history. In SoCon play, Hawk was 8-1 with a save in 11 appearances. Although he suffered the loss in the NCAA Regional, his pitching performance will go down as one of the best in WCU history. Entering the game with WCU trailing 4-2 in the sixth, he pitched a career-high eight-plus innings as the Cats fell in the 14th to the nationally-ranked N.C. State Wolfpack.
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Martin, a Zanesville, Ohio native was selected as the Most Outstanding Male Athlete from Outside Western North Carolina. He was named All-SoCon for the third consecutive year in 2004, making him just the second Catamount to be honored three times by the league. The 6-7 guard led the SoCon in scoring for a second consecutive year, making him the first player in the league to accomplish the feat since former Catamount Frankie King did so in 1994 and '95. Martin ranked either first or second in the NCAA all season in scoring, finishing second with a season average of 24.9 ppg. He was additionally named to the United States Basketball Writers Association All-District team and the National Association of Basketball Coaches All-Region team, being the only SoCon player named to either team and the only non-ACC player to be named to either team. Martin has scored 1,838 points through three seasons at Western. His total ranks fourth on the WCU all-time list, while ranking as the Catamounts' leading scorer since the school joined the NCAA Division I ranks for the 1976-77 season. He also ranks among the WCU career leaders in 3-pointers made (third with 174), 3-pointers attempted (third with 503), free throws made (third with 534) and steals (ninth with 134). While Martin still has one more year of eligibility, his career scoring average of 23.3 currently ranks third and his 84.1 career free throw percentage currently ranks second. This past year, his 673 points ranks ninth on the WCU single-season lists, while his 24.9 season scoring average is eighth. Martin was named this year's WCU Male Athlete of the Year while also being voted as his team's MVP.
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