Colorado University Athletics
Basketball and Skiing Dominate CU Athlete of the Week Honors Over Winter Break
January 18, 2008 | General, Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball, Skiing
BOULDER- Senior basketball standouts Richard Roby and Jackie McFarland, both earned multiple University of Colorado Athlete of the Week honors over fall break, as Roby earned three and McFarland earned two. Marcus Hall (senior) and Bianca Smith (sophomore, women's basketball) also earned one, as did skiers, Matt Gelso (sophomore), Lucie Zikova (senior) and Maria Grevsgaard (senior).
Roby, McFarland and Zikova all had historic CU Athlete of the Week moments over break. Roby is now tied atop the men's basketball list with former standout Shaun Vandiver with 10 career honors and he moved into third place on the all-time list behind only Jenny Barringer (11) and Adam Goucher (14). McFarland also moved up the ranks as she is now in sole possession of second place on the women's basketball list with eight career honors, she trails Shelly Sheetz who has nine career honors. McFarland is also now in sixth place on the all-time list trailing only Barringer, Goucher, Roby, Vandiver and Sheetz. Zikova became skiing's all-time leader in CU Athlete of the Week honors as she now has five, which moved her out of a three way tie for the skiing lead with Annette Skjolden and Bjorn Svensson who both have four career honors.
December 10-16
Roby, a San Bernardino, Calif. (Lawrence Academy [Groton, Mass.]) native, recorded his first double-double of the season in CU's last second 67-65 loss to New Orleans. Roby led all scorers with 27 points on 9-of-20 shooting and 8-of-9 shooting from the charity stripe, 16 of those points came in a close second half. Roby also recorded 14 rebounds and four assists in 38 minutes of playing time. This was Roby's eighth career CU Athlete of the Week award.
Smith, a Missouri City, Tex., (Bellaire) native came off the bench to contribute 11 points in 20 minutes to help CU to a 64-29 win over Texas Southern. Smith also recorded five rebounds and an assist to help the Buffs record their fifth straight win. This was Smith's second career CU Athlete of the Week award.
December 17-23
???????Roby, a San Bernardino, Calif. (Lawrence Academy [Groton, Mass.]) native, recorded his second straight double-double with a game-high 18 points and 19 rebounds in CU's 73-70 road win over intrastate rival Colorado State. This marked CU's first victory at Moby Arena in four years and snapped CSU's 24-game winning streak against non-conference opponents. This was CU's third road win of the year and Roby contributed with 7-of-14 shooting and a career-best eight offensive rebounds. Roby also recorded four assists, two steals and a blocked shot in the game. This was Roby's ninth career CU Athlete of the Week award.
McFarland, a Derby, Kan., (Derby) native recorded her 41st career double-double to help CU to a 57-43 win over Dartmouth. McFarland recorded 11 points, 12 rebounds, four blocks, two steals and an assist to help CU to their sixth straight win. This was McFarland's eighth career CU Athlete of the Week award.
December 24-30
???????Roby, a San Bernardino, Calif. (Lawrence Academy [Groton, Mass.]) native, scored a game-high 25 points on 9-of-17 shooting in CU's 93-47 home win over Grambling State. Roby was a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line and recorded six rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals in the game. Roby scored 18 second half points which helped him to his fourth 20+ scoring effort of the season and the 34th of his career. This was Roby's 10th career CU Athlete of the Week award.
McFarland, a Derby, Kan., (Derby) native averaged 19 points and six rebounds in the No. 25 Colorado's two games and wins this week. McFarland recorded 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the floor, and a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line in CU's 81-38 win over Southern Utah. She also recorded four assists, three rebounds, one block and one assist in only 25 minutes of playing time. In the Buffs 91-64 win over Jacksonville State, she recorded 16 points and nine rebounds to help CU to their eighth straight win. McFarland also added two assists, a block and a steal in the contest. This was McFarland's ninth career CU Athlete of the Week award.
December 31-January 6
Hall, a Houston, Texas (Jersey Village) native recorded a game-high 16 points in CU's 63-53 win over Southern Methodist on January 4. Hall also recorded a team-best six assists and two steals in the game. Hall has led CU in scoring and assists six times this season. Hall also recorded an impressive ten rebounds, nine assists, eight steals and one block in CU's 68-81 loss to Tulsa. This was Hall's fifth career CU Athlete of the Week award.
Zikova, a Prague, Czech Republic (Gymnazium Ustavni 400) native finished third in the giant slalom and first in the slalom to help CU lead its own invitational through alpine competition. She won the slalom in a rout with a two-run time of 1:23.48 to win by 1.69 seconds over New Mexico's Malin Hemmingsson.
The win was the 11th of Zikova's career, tying her for third all-time in wins by a CU skier; she is already the record holder for the most victories by an alpine woman. Per Kare Jakobsen won 13 men's cross country titles to lead all Buff skiers, followed by John Skajem, the alpine leader with 12. Line Selnes and Anette Skjolden won 11 women's Nordic events, as Zikova pulled even with the pair for the most wins by a woman in program history.
She tied Skajem for the most slalom wins with eight, and trails Jakobsen by one for the most wins in any discipline; he captured nine freestyle cross country races in his career. It was also the second straight collegiate slalom at night she won at Steamboat, matching her memory from the 2006 NCAA Championships. This was Zikova's fifth career CU Athlete of the Week award.
January 7-13
???????Gelso, a Truckee, Calif. (Truckee) native, finished third in the men's 20-kilometer classical race and fourth in the 15-kilometer freestyle event at the Utah Invitational in helping CU to a third place finish. This was Gelso's second career CU Athlete of the Week award.
Grevsgaard, a Geilo, Norway, (Norges Toppidrettsgymnas) native won both the 15-kilometer classic and the 10-kilometer freestyle races at the Utah Invitational and made some history in the process. While all eyes have been on teammate and senior alpiner Lucie Zikova's chase to become CU's all-time leader in wins, Grevsgaard's victories were the ninth and 10th of her career, just the seventh skier in school history to reach double figures in wins. She became the fifth
Nordic skier to accomplish the feat, the fourth woman overall and the third cross country female to attain 10 or more. She won the classic race by an astounding three-and-a-half minutes and the freestyle event by 30 seconds, demolishing the field both times on the Soldier Hollow course layout. This was Grevsgaard's third career CU Athlete of the Week award.
