June 3, 2004
DAVIS, Calif. -
Four outstanding Aggies have been named recipients of UC Davis' annual student-athlete awards and will be presented with those awards at the Cal Aggie Athletic Hall of Fame ceremonies on Saturday evening at Freeborn Hall.
Two-time All-American golfer Scott Gordon has been named winner of the Colby E. "Babe" Slater Award as the Aggies' top male athlete, four-time All-American water polo player Tiffany Hodgens and rower Kari Harris will share the Dr. Hubert Heitman Award as the school's top female athletes, and lacrosse standout Kelly Albin will receive the W.P. Lindley Award given for scholastic and athletic achievement, and leadership.
Gordon, a senior from Fair Oaks majoring in landscape architecture, had the greatest single season in school history in which he shattered the scoring record by almost a stroke and a half. Gordon's 71.54 scoring average was 1.36 strokes per round better than Jay Westerlund's record of 72.90, set in 2003. Additionally, 2004 saw Gordon break or tie four other schools records, including a 6-under par, 65, in the final round of The Nelson Invitational, tying the school mark with three others. He was a three-time California Collegiate Athletic Association Player of the Week honoree this season and was named the team's MVP following the year. He was co-medalist at the 2004 Aggie Invitational and finished the year with six top 10 finishes, three of them in the top five. He capped his season by being named to the NCAA Division I All-Pacific Region team and is now eligible for All-America honors, which are announced later this month.
In May Hodgens, a senior from San Diego who is a double major in English and art studio, completed the most prolific career in school annals and established herself as one of the all-time greats in collegiate history. On March 6 of this season she surpassed Princeton's Adele McCarthy-Beauvais as the all-time leading scorer in NCAA history. She scored a team-best 79 goals this year, finishing with a total of 355 for her career. She led UC Davis to a 21-11 season and a No. 14 ranking in the final national poll. Hodgens earned All-America honors for the fourth time in her career, including Division II Player of the Year distinction. She was selected for both the D-I and D-II All-America teams this year. Additionally, she was selected to the All-Western Water Polo Association first team. She holds the top four spots on the school's single-season goals list, and owns school records for career hat tricks (70), multi-goal games (96), consecutive hat tricks (6) and consecutive games with a goal (20, twice).
Harris, a sophomore from Etna majoring in biochemistry and molecular biology, occupied highly important the stroke seat in the Aggies' varsity eight boat for key portions of the season after serving as a stroke on the Aggies' crew last season which captured a national championship - in just her first year of competition. Her impact has been tremendous and noticeable. At the San Diego Crew Classic in April - one of the largest regattas in the country - Harris was moved back into the stroke seat where the Aggies beat rival Sacramento State for the first time since 1998. The Aggies beat the rival Hornets not once, but twice, as UC Davis won the petite final of the Cal Cup. Her stroke later helped the Aggies post a time of 6:48.3 at nearby Lake Natoma, among the program's fastest times ever on one of the best competition sites in the country. Besides the petite final win at the Crew Classic, Harris helped lead UC Davis to fourth place at the WIRA Championships and a third-place showing (in a field of 33 crews) at the prestigious Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia.
Albin, a senior food science major from Fort Bragg, is another Aggie who has excelled competitively and academically. Albin is a three-year All-American who this past season set a school record with 29 assists and finished second in scoring with 43 goals and 72 total points, earning her a spot on the All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation squad. Additionally, she was named to the Harrow Sports Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association/UC Lacrosse Division II, Inside Lacrosse and womenslacrosse.com All-America first teams. She finished her Aggie career as the school record holder in assists and ground balls and among the leaders in goals, points and shots. In the classroom, Albin's 3.95 grade-point average ranks her among the school's top five upperclass student-athletes. She has been nominated for CoSIDA Academic All-America honors, which she won as a junior in 2002, and the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship Award. Additionally, she serves as a coordinator for the Peer Counselors in Athletics.
