May 31, 2006
DAVIS, Calif. - Three UC Davis student-athletes and two Aggie teams will be presented with the university's year-end awards as part of the Cal Aggie Athletics Hall of Fame and Student-Athlete Awards Banquet Saturday. Specificially, football's Tony Kays has been named as the 2005-06 recipient of the Colby E. "Babe" Slater Award as the outstanding male athlete of the year, women's basketball and track and field athlete Jackie Turpin claimed the Heitman Award as the top female athlete of the year, and tennis player Ally Muller captured the W.P. Lindley Award for achievement in athletics, academics and in the community.
Furthermore, men's cross country and women's volleyball each repeated as winners of the Lysle Leach Men's Team Award and Marya Welch Women's Team Award, respectively, for compiling the highest composite grade-point averages for the year.
Kays, a junior receiver from Elk Grove, Calif., set school records of 93 receptions and 1,213 regular-season receiving yards last fall, helping UC Davis football achieve its 36th consecutive winning season. Had the program been eligible to officially rank among the NCAA statistical leaders, Kays would have led all Division I-AA players in total receptions and receptions per game. The Aggie co-captain earned either second- or third-team All-America status from the Associated Press, The Sports Network and Football Gazette; and added an All-Great West Football Conference first-team nod in 2005.
Kays also set a UC Davis record for single-game catches. He first tied the mark with 12 against New Hampshire, then broke it with 15 receptions against Portland State a week later. Kays also made an acrobatic catch during the final scoring drive in the Aggies' monumental 20-17 upset of Stanford in September.
Turpin, a senior point guard from the San Diego suburb of Santee, Calif., capped her four-year Aggie career by earning first-team All-Div. I Independent honors and helping UC Davis compile a 16-12 overall record. She led the team in scoring with 12.3 points per game, assists (85) and steals (45); and was the team's second-leading rebounder (6.0) despite her 5-foot-7 size. Turpin, who also shot better than 80 percent from the free throw line, finished her career among the school's all-time leaders in assists, steals and rebounds.
An accomplished discus thrower and pole vaulter in high school, Turpin subsequently joined the Aggie track and field team to bolster the throws squad. She added the javelin throw to her arsenal during April's dual meets then went on to capture the D-I Independent title in that event one month later.
Muller, a senior from Chico, Calif., completed her third season as her team's No. 1 singles and doubles player. In the classroom, she posted a 3.66 GPA in her major of international relations, earning her a spot on the 2006 D-I Independent All-Academic Team and as a member of the UC Davis Golden Key Honor Society.
On the court, Muller is a two-year team captain who amassed 44 singles and 59 doubles wins in her career. She also has earned All-California Collegiate Athletic Association honors and her team's Most Inspirational and Most Valuable awards during her four years. Muller, whose humanitarian efforts have led her to Peru and Venezuela, plans on joining the Peace Corps after her graduation from UC Davis.
In addition to the presentations of the student-athlete awards, Saturday's festivities will feature the inductions of the newest Cal Aggie Athletic Hall of Fame enshrinees, announced earlier in the year. Alphabetically, this year's inductees comprise track and field athlete Jamila Demby, tennis player Helen Dawn Nazar, basketball player Angelo A. Rivers, gymnast Cheryl Sidel and football player Wesley W. Terrell.
