The volleyball and gymnastics stars were honored Sunday the Nebraska Student-Athlete Recognition Banquet.
the Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Saturday, April 19, 2008 7:00 pm
One of the most decorated student-athletes in NU history, Sarah Pavan has added yet another honor to what has been a storied career.
Pavan, who will graduate next month with a degree in biochemistry, was honored as the female student-athlete of the year at Sunday’s Nebraska Student-Athlete Recognition Banquet at the Devaney Sports Center.
The male student-athlete of the year was Stephen Tétrault, the fourth men’s gymnast to win the honor.
Pavan is the fifth volleyball player to win the award, which tacks onto a lengthy list of honors won by the native of Kitchener, Ontario. Pavan was the Volleyball Academic All-American of the Year in 2006 and 2007, and was the Academic All-American of the Year for all sports at the Division I level in 2006-07.
A 4.0 student in biochemistry, she was selected as an NCAA Today’s Top Eight winner and was an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship recipient.
On the court, Pavan is one of only four volleyball players in NCAA history to be a four-time first-team All-American. Pavan was a three-time Big 12 Player of the Year and was selected as the AVCA National Player of the Year in 2006 as she helped the Huskers win their third NCAA title. She was the first Nebraska student-athlete to receive the Honda-Broderick Cup, recognizing her athletic and academic accomplishments.
Tétrault’s affiliation with Nebraska dates back nearly 14 years, when he began competing for the Nebraska School of Gymnastics. Upon joining the Nebraska team in 2004, Tétrault was named a College Gymnastics Association First-Team All-America Scholar-Athlete three times. Last season, he was one of only 11 men’s gymnasts to earn a prestigious Academic All-America award.
As a competitor, Tétrault is one of the top all-arounders to compete for Nebraska. In his freshman year, Tétrault placed fifth on vault at the NCAA Championships to earn his first All-America honor. He then notched two more All-America honors during his junior season on both pommel horse and in the all-around. Tétrault is expected to complete his bachelor’s degree in mathematics, and after graduation, Tétrault plans to attend medical school.
The Herman Awards, presented to the teams with the highest grade-point average, went to the men’s tennis team for the sixth time and the women’s cross country team for the seventh time.
The Life Skills Award, which honors the team that demonstrated the strongest commitment to all phases of the life skills program over the past year, including outreach, education and leadership, went to the volleyball team for the second straight year.