Three Win Patterson Medals for 2009
Posted on Oct. 19, 2009Tyler Hansbrough ’09, ACC basketball’s all-time leading scorer, College World Series hits leader Dustin Ackley and Yael Averbuch ’09, a national player and scholar-athlete of the year in women’s soccer, are the recipients of the 2009 Patterson Medal, awarded annually to Carolina’s most outstanding male and female athletes.
Hansbrough is most decorated and honored player in Carolina basketball history. The Poplar Bluff, Mo., native led the Tar Heels to the 2009 NCAA title and was the 14th college basketball player since 1945 to earn consensus first-team All-America honors three times. He led the Tar Heels to 124 wins, three consecutive ACC regular-season titles, three consecutive No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament and played in two Final Fours (2008, 2009) and a Final Eight (2007).
Hansbrough is the only four-time first-team All-America and all-conference selection in ACC history. A first-round draft pick by the Indiana Pacers, Hansbrough is 12th in NCAA history with 2,872 points. He is Carolina’s leading scorer in NCAA tournament play with 325 points, the fourth-highest total in NCAA history. He holds the NCAA record for free throws (982) and is second in attempts. Hansbrough was the 2008 National Player of the Year, ACC Player of the Year, ACC Male Athlete of the Year, ACC Tournament MVP, NCAA East Regional Player of the Year. Last year, he earned All-America honors from The Associated Press (for a second time), USBWA (third time) and Sporting News (fourth time).
“If you just look at the resume and take the names away, Tyler Hansbrough accomplished more at The University of North Carolina than any player ever,” says Carolina head coach Roy Williams ’72. “He’s Carolina’s leading scorer, leading rebounder, won more games, and is the leading free throw scorer in NCAA history. And he won big games — he helped us win a national championship, plus his teams also went to a Final Four and the Final Eight. His legacy is unmatched, really.”
Ackley is the first-three All-America in UNC baseball history and a consensus first-team pick as a junior in 2009. He was Rivals.com’s 2009 National Player of the Year, becoming the fourth Tar Heel baseball player to win that award. Ackley was the 2009 ACC Player of the Year and 2007 ACC Freshman of the Year, becoming the fifth player in league history to earn both awards. A three-time All-ACC selection, Ackley played in 207 consecutive games, leading the Tar Heels to the College World Series in all three of his seasons.
The Walnut Cove native set UNC career records in hits (346), average (.412), runs (227) and total bases (544) and single-season marks for at-bats, runs, hits and total bases. He had 107 multi-hit games and capped his career by hitting .412 as a junior with 18 doubles, four triples, 22 home runs and 73 RBI. The second overall pick in the 2009 MLB Draft, Ackley set a College World Series record with 28 base hits and is the only player to earn a spot on the All-CWS Team three times.
“Dustin is without question the most talented player I have ever had the pleasure of coaching,” said Carolina head coach Mike Fox ’78. “He has an outstanding drive and work ethic and is also among the most humble young men I have coached despite all he accomplished.”
Women’s soccer midfielder Yael Averbuch won four ACC titles and led the Tar Heels to NCAA crowns in 2006 and 2008. She was Soccer Buzz.com’s National Player of the Year as a sophomore.
She earned first-team All-America honors in 2006, 2007 and 2008 and set an NCAA record with 105 consecutive starts, appearing in the starting lineup in every game as a Tar Heel. Against Yale in 2006, Averbuch scored four seconds into the match to set the record for fastest goal in NCAA women’s soccer history. She is a member of the U.S. U23 National Team and is playing professionally with Sky Blue FC in New Jersey, which won the initial WPS championship in August.
The Upper Montclair, N.J., native was a three-time Academic All-America. In 2008, she was the women’s soccer scholar-athlete of the year by ESPN The Magazine, the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and the ACC.
“Yael possessed a work ethic second to none,” says Carolina head coach Anson Dorrance ’74. “She was a relentless attacker and defender. Her leadership skills were exemplary as she captained the team as a junior and senior. She comes from an outstanding family that imbued her with discipline, character and the drive to succeed academically as well as athletically.”
The Patterson Medal is based primarily on athletic accomplishment, although sportsmanship and leadership are also considered. A committee of athletics, faculty and student representatives selects the winners, who are nominated by their respective head coaches. The award was first given in 1924 by Dr. Joseph Patterson (class of 1904, CMED) in memory of his brother, John Durand Patterson (class of 1908). The Patterson family of Chapel Hill continues to present the award.
Hansbrough is the 27th men’s basketball player to win the Patterson Medal and the first since Brendan Haywood in 2001. Ackley is the 16th baseball recipient and the fourth in as many years. Averbuch is the 10th women’s soccer player to win the award since 1989.
Patterson Medal Winners
1924: Monk McDonald ’23 (football, basketball, baseball)
1925: M.D. Bonner ’24 (football)
1926: Jack Cobb ’27 (basketball)
1927: Ad Warren ’27 (football, boxing, wrestling)
1928: Galen Elliott ’28 (track)
1929: Henry Satterfield ’29 (basketball)
1930: Ray Farris Sr. ’30 (football, boxing, baseball)
1931: Henry House ’31 (football, baseball)
1932: Staton McIver ’32 (football)
1933: Stuart Chandler ’33 (football)
1934: Virgil Weathers ’34 (basketball)
1935: Harry Williamson ’35 (track)
1936: Harry Montgomery ’36 (football)
1937: R.D. Buck ’37 (football)
1938: Andy Bershak ’38 (football, basketball)
1939: George Nethercutt ’39 (baseball)
1940: George Stirnweiss ’40 (football, baseball)
1941: Paul Severin ’41 (football, basketball)
1942: Bobby Gersten ’42 (basketball, baseball)
1943: Carlyle Thomas Mangum ’43 (track)
1944: Denny Hammond ’44 (swimming)
1945: E.B. Shultz ’46 (track)
1946: Jim Jordan ’46 (basketball)
1947: Walt Pupa ’47 (football)
1948: Jim Camp ’47 (football)
1949: Vic Seixas ’49 (tennis)
1950: Charlie Justice ’50 (football)
1951: Jimmy Thomas ’58 (swimming)
1952: Cecil Milton ’52 (swimming)
1953: Chalmers Port ’54 (baseball, football)
1954: Miles Gregory ’53 (football, wrestling)
1955: Albert Long Jr. ’55 (track, football, basketball, baseball)
1956: Jerry Vayda ’56 (basketball)
1957: Lennie Rosenbluth ’57 (basketball)
1958: Buddy Payne ’58 (football)
1959: Dave Scurlock ’59 (track)
1960: Jack Cummings ’60 (football)
1961: Rip Hawkins ’61 (football)
1962: Ray Farris Jr. ’62 (football)
1963: Joe Craver ’63 (football)
1964: Bill Haywood ’66 (baseball, soccer)
1965: Harrison Merrill ’65 (swimming)
1966: John Shaw ’66 (baseball)
1967: Danny Talbott ’67 (football, baseball)
1968: Larry Miller ’68 (basketball)
1969: Bill Bunting ’69 (basketball)
1970: Charlie Scott ’70 (basketball)
1971: Don McCauley ’71 (football)
1972: Dennis Wuycik ’72 (basketball)
1973: George Karl ’73 (basketball)
1974: Tony Waldrop ’74 (track)
1975: Charles Waddell ’75 (football, track, basketball)
1976: Mitch Kupchak ’76 (basketball)
1977: Walter Davis ’77 (basketball)
1978: Phil Ford ’78 (basketball)
1979: Greg Norris ’79 (baseball)
1980: Bonny Brown ’80 (women’s swimming)
1981: Lawrence Taylor ’81 (football) and Al Wood ’81 (basketball)
1982: C.D. Mock ’82 (wrestling)
1983: David Drechsler ’83 (football)
1984: Sue Walsh ’84 (women’s swimming)
1985: Ethan Horton ’86 (football)
1986: Brad Daugherty ’86 (basketball)
1987: Kenny Smith ’87 (basketball)
1988: Rob Koll ’89 (wrestling)
1989: Jeff Lebo ’90 (basketball)
1990: Shannon Higgins ’90 (women’s soccer)
1991: Sharon Couch ’91 (women’s track and field)
1992: Dwight Hollier ’91 (football)
1993: Kristine Lilly ’93 (women’s soccer)
1994: Mia Hamm ’94 (women’s soccer)
1995: Tisha Venturini ’95 (women’s soccer)
1996: Marcus Jones ’96 (football)
1997: Debbie Keller ’98 (women’ soccer)
1998: Cindy Werley ’98 (field hockey); Antawn Jamison ’99 (men’s basketball)
1999: Cindy Parlow ’00 (women’s soccer); Ebenezer Ekuban ’99 (football)
2000: Lorrie Fair ’00 (women’s soccer); Tripp Phillips ’99 (men’s tennis)
2001: Meredith Florance ’01 (women’s soccer); Brendan Haywood ’01 (men’s basketball)
2002: Katie Hathaway ’02 (women’s swimming); Danny Jackson ’01 (men’s soccer)
2003: Laura Greene ’03 (volleyball); Matt Crawford ’03 (men’s soccer)
2004: Shalane Flanagan ’05 (women’s track and field and cross country); Catherine Reddick ’04 (women’s soccer); Nicholas Monroe ’04 (men’s tennis)
2005: Alice Schmidt ’04 (women’s track and field and cross country); Jed Prossner ’05 (men’s lacrosse)
2006: Laura Gerraughty ’05 (women’s track and field); Andrew Miller ’07 (baseball)
2007: Ivory Latta ’07 (women’s basketball); Heather O’Reilly, senior (women’s soccer); Robert Woodard ’07 (baseball)
2008: Rachel Dawson ’07 (field hockey); Chad Flack ’09 (baseball)
2009: Dustin Ackley (baseball); Tyler Hansbrough ’09 (men’s basketball); Yael Averbuch ’09(women’s soccer)
