Colorado University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Grady and Grevsgaard Named CU Athletes of the Week
February 10, 2009 | General, Men's Golf, Skiing
BOULDER-Seniors Patrick Grady (men's golf) and Maria Grevsgaard (skiing), were named University of Colorado Athletes of the Week for the week of February 2-8. This marks the second award of the year for both Grady and Grevsgaard. This week's honors add to both athletes career totals, this is Grady's fourth honor, and Grevsgaard adds to her ski team record which now stands at nine.
Grady, a Broomfield, Colo. (Broomfield) native, tied for third to pace the Buffaloes to a sixth place finish in the Hawai'i?Hilo Invitational. It was the fifth top-five finish in his career, three of which have come in his last six tournaments. He closed with a 2-under 70 on the 6,913-yard, par-72 North Course at the Mauna Lani Resort, which gave him a 54-hole score of 212. He was one of just 11 players in the 100-man field to record two subpar rounds in the tournament and defeated over a dozen players ranked in the nation's top 50, including number one. He was 7-under for the tournament on the four par-5 holes. It was also the best individual finish by a Buffalo to open the spring season since 2002, when Kane Webber finished third in the Matlock Collegiate Classic. It tied for the sixth best spring opening result in school history, trailing wins by Hale Irwin (1967 New Mexico Intercollegiate), George Kelley (1973 Galveston Island Intercollegiate) and Scott Petersen (1993 John Burns Intercollegiate) and runner-up finishes by Irwin (1965 Houston All-American) and Larry McAtee (1966 NMSU meet). It was CU's best finish to open the spring since it took third in the Matlock in '02.
Grevsgaard, a Geilo, Norway (Norges Toppidrettsgymnas) native, captured her third and fourth-straight wins at the DU Invitational this weekend, blitzing the collegiate circuit again in the 10K freestyle and 5K classical races. Her 32:10.1 finish on the 10k course was 48 seconds faster than the second place finisher. On the 5k course Grevsgaard (18:34.8) finished 21 seconds better then New Mexico's Polina Ermoshina (18:55.7). She now has five wins in the last six races and 24 total in her career, continuously adding to her school record, eight ahead the next closest in Buff history.
Others nominated for this week's award were: Cory Higgins (men's basketball), Jeremy Dodson (men's track), Reid Pletcher (men's skiing), Abbie Probert (tennis), Veronica Maul (women's track) and Brittany Spears (women's basketball).
Men's Basketball: Cory Higgins, Sophomore, Danville, Calif.
Higgins averaged 17.5 points with 4.5 rebounds and two steals per game in Colorado's two-near misses against Nebraska and at No. 2 Oklahoma. Higgins, a sophomore guard shot 50 percent in both games (6-of-12 vs. NU; 9-of-18 at OU), added 15 points and grabbed six rebounds in Buffs' 55-53 home loss to the Cornhuskers. Against OU, a 77-72 road loss, Higgins scored a team-high 20 points, the eighth time he has netted more than 20 points a game this season.
Men's Track: Jeremy Dodson, Senior, Denver, Colo.
Dodson raced to a pair of runner-up finishes on Saturday at the New Mexico Classic in Albuquerque, N.M. He was the top collegiate finisher in both races as the winners were from Adidas and unattached. Dodson ran a provisional qualifying time of 21.07 seconds in the finals of the 200-meter dash. The time was the second fastest in CU history (top mark is 21.02) and is currently the fifth best in the country and the second best in the Big 12. He also took second in the 60-meter dash, clocking a time of 6.75.
Men's Skiing: Reid Pletcher, Freshman, Sun Valley, Idaho.
Pletcher finished second (just five seconds out of the leader) in the men's 10K classical race and fourth in the freestyle race at the DU Invitational this past weekend. Friday's second place finish was the best finish of his young collegiate career and his first top-10 effort, proving just how much depth the men's nordic team has.
Tennis: Abbie Probert, Sophomore, London, England.
Probert won a pair of singles matches, then added two more doubles victories with teammate Michala Hedelund Jensen helping Colorado to a 1-1 week. Probert defeated New Mexico's Manumea Durie, 6-0, 6-1 on Saturday helping the Buffaloes defeat the No. 49 Lobos, 5-2. Probert and Hedelund Jensen also helped the team secure the doubles point with a win at No. 3. On Sunday against No. 58 Oregon, Probert helped CU build to 3-0 team lead only to fall 4-3 to the Ducks. Probert defeated Madelie Janse van Rensburg, 6-2, 6-3 at the No. 4 singles lost. It was Probert's fifth win in six outings. The London, England native also helped CU clinch the doubles points over the Ducks with a 9-7 win at No. 3, also with Hedelund Jensen.
Women's Track: Veronica Maul, Senior, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Maul led CU in the 400-meter dash at the New Mexico Classic on Saturday. She took second place with a season best time of 57.98 seconds. Maul was also part of the women's 4x400-meter relay which finished third overall, clocking a time of 3:54.43.
Women's Basketball: Brittany Spears, Sophomore, Pasadena, Calif.
Spears had a team high 14 points in the Buffs' 53-47 loss to Iowa State. Spears recorded her 13th career double double adding 12 rebounds to her totals. The Buffs' went on a 9-0 run to end the half with Spears contributing 7 of the 9 points to cut the ISU lead to 31-22. Earlier in the week at Kansas Spears 10 points and seven rebounds in CU's 65-54 loss.