Men’s Tennis repeats with top team GPA at academic awards banquet
5/4/2020 8:34:00 PM | General, Men's Tennis
Before Montana men's tennis head coach Jason Brown officially turned the page on the 2019-20 season, he sent out one last message to that team's group chat.
After a season that was cut short before it was halfway over, Brown's message came with some good news about one final win for the Grizzlies. A win that wasn't on the court, and came less than a week after the team was supposed to be in Arizona competing for a Big Sky title.
That message: For the second-straight year, the Grizzly netters have earned the Dusten Hollist Team Award, which recognizes the top cumulative team GPA in the department over the past year, with Brown's Grizzlies pulling a combined 3.67.
"It felt symbolically nice to tell the guys we got to win something this year that we set out to win," said Brown.
"This award means a lot to them. Everyone was super pumped. The reaction felt similar to someone winning a tournament or winning a big conference match. It was a lot of virtual high fives, and they were congratulating each other."
In this age of social distancing, the men's tennis team and 66 other UM student-athletes all had to exchange digital high fives for their academic honors during the first-ever virtual scholar-athlete awards night, held via Twitter on Monday evening as opposed to its usual well-dressed banquet setting.
The Grizzly Scholar-Athlete Awards Banquet celebrates all that UM student-athletes do when the bright lights aren't on. The hard work that is done on late nights when no one is looking and in hotel lobbies on team road trips.
Now for the second-straight year, the men's tennis team – a team that competes in both the fall and spring semesters and spends long weekends courtside at tournaments and studying in those hotel lobbies – showed that academics hold just as much importance to the team as winning.
"We set (the Hollist Award) as one of our team goals. It's definitely one of the things we talk about from meeting number one. We set the bar high with academics," said Brown.
"When we're on the road, the guys are in the lobby studying together just like it's practice. They're earning it. This is an earned, not given award for sure."
And as one of the teams that took the time to be by his bedside during his fight with cancer two years ago, winning the award named for Dusten Hollist makes the honor that-much sweeter for the Grizzlies.
"It's extra special for us, and it's a tribute to what a great guy he was and a great advocate for us," added Brown. "When he'd come and speak to us, the team felt really connected to him. His passion for Grizzly athletics showed through."
Taking home Montana's top individual awards at the banquet were a pair of track and field athletes and a member of the soccer team.
This year's President's Award winner on the men's side was junior Ridge Albright, a first-time recipient from Corvallis, Mont., and jumper on the track team who maintains a 4.0 GPA in Finance.
There was a tie for the women's President's Award this year, with track and field senior Samantha Engebretsen of Enumclaw, Wash., taking home the award for a third time with a 4.0 GPA in social work, and soccer junior Zoe Tanstrum of Borah, Idaho, winning for the first time with a 4.0 in environmental studies.
The full list of scholarship recipients and award winners is below.
Dusten Hollist Team Award:
Men's Tennis (second-time recipient)
- 3.67 average GPA Spring and Fall Semesters 2019
President's Awards: Individual male and female recipients:
Male:
Ridge Albright, men's track and field (first-time recipient)
- Junior, 4.0 cumulative GPA, Finance
Female (tie):
Samantha Engebretsen, women's track & field (three-time recipient)
- Senior, 4.0 cumulative GPA, Social Work
Zoe Transtrum, soccer (first-time recipient)
- Junior, 4.0 cumulative GPA, Environmental Studies
Dean Erhard Athletic Award in Cross Country and Track
Bea Frissell – Women's Cross Country
Harriet Anderson Memorial Athletic Scholarship
Nathan Graves – Men's Track & Field
Markovich Family Athletic Scholarships
Caitlin Rogers – Soccer
Cami Sellers – Softball
Mike and Cathie Frellick Lady Griz Basketball Scholarship
Madi Schoening – Women's Basketball
Anne and Warren Hill Athletic Scholarship
Kylie Esh – Golf
Larry and Kristin Stayner Family Athletic Scholarship
Kris Brown – Football
The Charles (Chawky) and Helen Miller Memorial Athletic Scholarship
Kyle Owens – Men's Basketball
Jim Powell Memorial Scholarship for Men's Basketball
Josh Vazquez – Men's Basketball
Col. Thomas M. Alison, USAF (Ret.) Memorial Scholarship
Bryson Deming – Football
Carol Huggins Lady Griz Scholarship
Sophia Stiles – Women's Basketball
Dusten Hollist Memorial Scholarship in Athletics
Elsa Godwin – Volleyball
Max and Betty Swanson Memorial Athletic Scholarship
Claire Howard – Soccer
Stockman Bank Scholarship
Marcus Welnel – Football
Keith Kerbel Memorial Scholarship
Emma Normand – Women's Track & Field
Sylvia Jensen Athletic Scholarship
Alison Monroe – Soccer
John L. Olson Family Scholarship
Elijah Alford – Football
John Kolendich Memorial Scholarship
Max Korkh – Men's Tennis
Frank W. Milburn Memorial
Julia Ronney – Women's Tennis
David and Goldie Enger Athlete Scholarship
Alexa Coyle – Soccer
Frank Nugent Memorial Scholarship
Milo Benn – Men's Tennis
'54 Griz Football Scholarship
Braydon Deming – Football
Ernest L. and Ruth A. Kradolfer Athletic Scholarship
Tristin Achenbach – Softball
Douglas LeBrun Track and Field Scholarship
Alyson Tekippe – Women's Track & Field
Clark Wilson Memorial Endowed Scholarship
Claire Howard – Soccer
Kole Swartz Legacy Scholarship
Jackson Pepe – Football
Ekegren Education Scholarship
Ailsa Gilbert – Women's Track & Field
Colleen Marks Athletic Scholarship
Dylan Cook – Football
William (Robi) Robertson Memorial Athletic Scholarship
Gabe Sulser – Football
John Van Heuvelen Memorial Athletic Scholarship
Bianca Bostrom – Women's Tennis
Wayne Harrington Family Athletic Scholarship Endowment
Finn Anderson – Men's Tennis
Naseby Rhinehart Endowment Fund
Alex Walker – Women's Tennis
Skyler Martin – Football
Alexis Knauss – Softball
Cade Johnstone – Men's Track & Field
Marcus Knight – Football
McKenzie Kilpatrick – Soccer
Erik Ogren Memorial Scholarship
Caitlin Rogers – Soccer
Bugs Dwyer Memorial Scholarship
Kendra Bottenberg – Women's Track & Field
B. Tim Stark Memorial Track and Field Scholarship
Jaree Mane – Women's Track & Field
Janet and Michelle Hainline Scholarship
Avery Adams – Soccer
Katherine Markette-John Schuler Scholarship
Women's Basketball (multiple)
Michael R. Jorgensen Endowment Fund
Levi Janacaro – Football
Jace Lewis – Football
Erika Camp Memorial Athletic Scholarship
Kylie Frohlich – Women's Basketball
Lefty Monson Family Men's Basketball Scholarship
DJ Carter-Hollinger – Men's Basketball
Ronald and Julia Blake Memorial Fund
Matt Rensvold – Football
Mitch Roberts – Football
Abigail Dodge – Women's Track & Field
Brooklyn Weisgram – Softball
Paul Johnstone – Men's Track & Field
Brian and Karen Sippy Endowed Scholarship
Catie Semadeni – Volleyball
Blaine and Ellen Bloomgren Family Scholarship
Carly Smiedala – Women's Track & Field
Moose Miller Football Scholarship
Camron Humphrey – Football
GSA License Plate Scholarship
Mack Anderson – Men's Basketball
Sarina Moreno – Volleyball
Bill and Phyllis Bouchee Family Football Scholarship
Garrett Graves – Football
Bob & Adeline O'Conner Memorial Athletic Scholarship
Cami Sellers – Softball
Bill Ruegamer Scholarship
Teigan Avery – Golf
Ken Staninger Memorial Scholarship
Cody Kanouse – Football
Mike and Sandy Persha Athletic Scholarship
Zoe Transtrum – Soccer
The Julie Deming Memorial Scholarship
Carmen Gfeller – Women's Basketball
After a season that was cut short before it was halfway over, Brown's message came with some good news about one final win for the Grizzlies. A win that wasn't on the court, and came less than a week after the team was supposed to be in Arizona competing for a Big Sky title.
That message: For the second-straight year, the Grizzly netters have earned the Dusten Hollist Team Award, which recognizes the top cumulative team GPA in the department over the past year, with Brown's Grizzlies pulling a combined 3.67.
"It felt symbolically nice to tell the guys we got to win something this year that we set out to win," said Brown.
"This award means a lot to them. Everyone was super pumped. The reaction felt similar to someone winning a tournament or winning a big conference match. It was a lot of virtual high fives, and they were congratulating each other."
In this age of social distancing, the men's tennis team and 66 other UM student-athletes all had to exchange digital high fives for their academic honors during the first-ever virtual scholar-athlete awards night, held via Twitter on Monday evening as opposed to its usual well-dressed banquet setting.
The Grizzly Scholar-Athlete Awards Banquet celebrates all that UM student-athletes do when the bright lights aren't on. The hard work that is done on late nights when no one is looking and in hotel lobbies on team road trips.
Now for the second-straight year, the men's tennis team – a team that competes in both the fall and spring semesters and spends long weekends courtside at tournaments and studying in those hotel lobbies – showed that academics hold just as much importance to the team as winning.
"We set (the Hollist Award) as one of our team goals. It's definitely one of the things we talk about from meeting number one. We set the bar high with academics," said Brown.
"When we're on the road, the guys are in the lobby studying together just like it's practice. They're earning it. This is an earned, not given award for sure."
And as one of the teams that took the time to be by his bedside during his fight with cancer two years ago, winning the award named for Dusten Hollist makes the honor that-much sweeter for the Grizzlies.
"It's extra special for us, and it's a tribute to what a great guy he was and a great advocate for us," added Brown. "When he'd come and speak to us, the team felt really connected to him. His passion for Grizzly athletics showed through."
Taking home Montana's top individual awards at the banquet were a pair of track and field athletes and a member of the soccer team.
This year's President's Award winner on the men's side was junior Ridge Albright, a first-time recipient from Corvallis, Mont., and jumper on the track team who maintains a 4.0 GPA in Finance.
There was a tie for the women's President's Award this year, with track and field senior Samantha Engebretsen of Enumclaw, Wash., taking home the award for a third time with a 4.0 GPA in social work, and soccer junior Zoe Tanstrum of Borah, Idaho, winning for the first time with a 4.0 in environmental studies.
The full list of scholarship recipients and award winners is below.
Dusten Hollist Team Award:
Men's Tennis (second-time recipient)
- 3.67 average GPA Spring and Fall Semesters 2019
President's Awards: Individual male and female recipients:
Male:
Ridge Albright, men's track and field (first-time recipient)
- Junior, 4.0 cumulative GPA, Finance
Female (tie):
Samantha Engebretsen, women's track & field (three-time recipient)
- Senior, 4.0 cumulative GPA, Social Work
Zoe Transtrum, soccer (first-time recipient)
- Junior, 4.0 cumulative GPA, Environmental Studies
Dean Erhard Athletic Award in Cross Country and Track
Bea Frissell – Women's Cross Country
Harriet Anderson Memorial Athletic Scholarship
Nathan Graves – Men's Track & Field
Markovich Family Athletic Scholarships
Caitlin Rogers – Soccer
Cami Sellers – Softball
Mike and Cathie Frellick Lady Griz Basketball Scholarship
Madi Schoening – Women's Basketball
Anne and Warren Hill Athletic Scholarship
Kylie Esh – Golf
Larry and Kristin Stayner Family Athletic Scholarship
Kris Brown – Football
The Charles (Chawky) and Helen Miller Memorial Athletic Scholarship
Kyle Owens – Men's Basketball
Jim Powell Memorial Scholarship for Men's Basketball
Josh Vazquez – Men's Basketball
Col. Thomas M. Alison, USAF (Ret.) Memorial Scholarship
Bryson Deming – Football
Carol Huggins Lady Griz Scholarship
Sophia Stiles – Women's Basketball
Dusten Hollist Memorial Scholarship in Athletics
Elsa Godwin – Volleyball
Max and Betty Swanson Memorial Athletic Scholarship
Claire Howard – Soccer
Stockman Bank Scholarship
Marcus Welnel – Football
Keith Kerbel Memorial Scholarship
Emma Normand – Women's Track & Field
Sylvia Jensen Athletic Scholarship
Alison Monroe – Soccer
John L. Olson Family Scholarship
Elijah Alford – Football
John Kolendich Memorial Scholarship
Max Korkh – Men's Tennis
Frank W. Milburn Memorial
Julia Ronney – Women's Tennis
David and Goldie Enger Athlete Scholarship
Alexa Coyle – Soccer
Frank Nugent Memorial Scholarship
Milo Benn – Men's Tennis
'54 Griz Football Scholarship
Braydon Deming – Football
Ernest L. and Ruth A. Kradolfer Athletic Scholarship
Tristin Achenbach – Softball
Douglas LeBrun Track and Field Scholarship
Alyson Tekippe – Women's Track & Field
Clark Wilson Memorial Endowed Scholarship
Claire Howard – Soccer
Kole Swartz Legacy Scholarship
Jackson Pepe – Football
Ekegren Education Scholarship
Ailsa Gilbert – Women's Track & Field
Colleen Marks Athletic Scholarship
Dylan Cook – Football
William (Robi) Robertson Memorial Athletic Scholarship
Gabe Sulser – Football
John Van Heuvelen Memorial Athletic Scholarship
Bianca Bostrom – Women's Tennis
Wayne Harrington Family Athletic Scholarship Endowment
Finn Anderson – Men's Tennis
Naseby Rhinehart Endowment Fund
Alex Walker – Women's Tennis
Skyler Martin – Football
Alexis Knauss – Softball
Cade Johnstone – Men's Track & Field
Marcus Knight – Football
McKenzie Kilpatrick – Soccer
Erik Ogren Memorial Scholarship
Caitlin Rogers – Soccer
Bugs Dwyer Memorial Scholarship
Kendra Bottenberg – Women's Track & Field
B. Tim Stark Memorial Track and Field Scholarship
Jaree Mane – Women's Track & Field
Janet and Michelle Hainline Scholarship
Avery Adams – Soccer
Katherine Markette-John Schuler Scholarship
Women's Basketball (multiple)
Michael R. Jorgensen Endowment Fund
Levi Janacaro – Football
Jace Lewis – Football
Erika Camp Memorial Athletic Scholarship
Kylie Frohlich – Women's Basketball
Lefty Monson Family Men's Basketball Scholarship
DJ Carter-Hollinger – Men's Basketball
Ronald and Julia Blake Memorial Fund
Matt Rensvold – Football
Mitch Roberts – Football
Abigail Dodge – Women's Track & Field
Brooklyn Weisgram – Softball
Paul Johnstone – Men's Track & Field
Brian and Karen Sippy Endowed Scholarship
Catie Semadeni – Volleyball
Blaine and Ellen Bloomgren Family Scholarship
Carly Smiedala – Women's Track & Field
Moose Miller Football Scholarship
Camron Humphrey – Football
GSA License Plate Scholarship
Mack Anderson – Men's Basketball
Sarina Moreno – Volleyball
Bill and Phyllis Bouchee Family Football Scholarship
Garrett Graves – Football
Bob & Adeline O'Conner Memorial Athletic Scholarship
Cami Sellers – Softball
Bill Ruegamer Scholarship
Teigan Avery – Golf
Ken Staninger Memorial Scholarship
Cody Kanouse – Football
Mike and Sandy Persha Athletic Scholarship
Zoe Transtrum – Soccer
The Julie Deming Memorial Scholarship
Carmen Gfeller – Women's Basketball
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