Colorado University Athletics
Montez, Tompkins and Simpson Named CU Athlete's of the Week
September 29, 2016 | Football, Soccer, Volleyball
BOULDER – CU female athletes Jalen Tompkins (soccer) and Gabby Simpson (volleyball) dominated this past weekend in their sports to deserve co-female athlete of the week honors and Steven Montez (football) takes the honors for the men.
The two second-year standouts Montez and Tompkins both had outstanding performances in route to achieving Pac-12 opening victories for their respective teams over the weekend. The women's soccer team is on a roll right now, having outscored their opponents 14-2 in their current five game win streak. Fans continue to be informed the "rise" is real after football's 41-28 win over a very competitive Oregon Duck team on the road Saturday. Gabby Simpson's performance against two Pac-12 teams this weekend was good enough to be recognized in Colorado's record book as she has been racking up the numbers on the volleyball stat sheets.
Montez, a redshirt freshman quarterback, had quite the starting debut in CU's 41-38 win at Oregon. One of the best QB debuts in CU history, he completed 23-of-32 passes for 333 yards with three TDs and a passer rating of 177.7. He was just as potent on the ground, rushing 21 times for 135 yards while finding the end zone one more time.
His 135 yards broke current running backs coach Darian Hagan for most rushing yards in his quarterback debut in school history (116). He ended the day with 468 yards of total offense and earned 23 first downs (8 rush/15 passing). That total surpassed Kordell Stewart who previously held the record for most total yards (430) in a game by a quarterback in school history. It is now the fourth most in a single-game by any player in Colorado history.
Thompkins deserves much of the credit for how dominate the women's soccer team has been defensively this season, recording seven saves to lead the Buffs to a 1-0 lead, her third shutout of the season. CU went into Pullman having never won there before and came out with the program's 200th victory. The defining moment was in the 87th minute when she had a spectacular dive to keep the match scoreless just two minutes before Taylor Kornieck scored the game's only goal in the 89th minute.
Simpson became just the third player to record back-to-back triple doubles in a five set loss to Utah on Wednesday and a five set win over Arizona on Sunday. The triple double against Utah was the second of her career as she had 11 kills, 11 digs and 24 assists, while also adding four blocks. On Sunday, she became the first player in program history, some 30 years, to record 20-plus kills and assists in the same match with 22 kills and 21 assists. She added 10 digs for that consecutive triple-double and had an ace and five blocks in the match.
Also nominated for this week's honors: Morten Toft Hansen (men's golf)
Hansen led the Buffs at the New Mexico Tucker Invitational as his sixth place finish propelled the Buffs to a fifth place finish. He closed the event about as hot as one could – firing a 31 on his final nine holes (the front) in route to a 3-under 69. That gave him a 54-hole total of 215, or 1-under par, as he was one of seven players to beat par for the tournament on the 7,555-yard, par-72 UNM Championship Course layout.
It was also just one of three scores in the 60s in the final round, as well as his best collegiate round to date in relation to par. It was the highest individual finish by a Buff in this tournament in eight years, dating back to the 2008 event when Derek Tolan tied for medalist honors. And in the 62 years CU has participated in the Tucker, it is the highest finish by a Buff freshman. Hansen started on the 8th hole and eventually made the turn from 18 to 1 at 2-over par; he then eagled the 544-yard No. 1 hole and then scored three straight birdies on No.'s 4, 5 and 6. He played the par-4 holes here even overall and never scored worse than a bogey, a remarkable achievement for someone who had never played this course before. He had the eagle, nine birdies, 34 pars and 10 bogeys to complete the tournament.
The two second-year standouts Montez and Tompkins both had outstanding performances in route to achieving Pac-12 opening victories for their respective teams over the weekend. The women's soccer team is on a roll right now, having outscored their opponents 14-2 in their current five game win streak. Fans continue to be informed the "rise" is real after football's 41-28 win over a very competitive Oregon Duck team on the road Saturday. Gabby Simpson's performance against two Pac-12 teams this weekend was good enough to be recognized in Colorado's record book as she has been racking up the numbers on the volleyball stat sheets.
Montez, a redshirt freshman quarterback, had quite the starting debut in CU's 41-38 win at Oregon. One of the best QB debuts in CU history, he completed 23-of-32 passes for 333 yards with three TDs and a passer rating of 177.7. He was just as potent on the ground, rushing 21 times for 135 yards while finding the end zone one more time.
His 135 yards broke current running backs coach Darian Hagan for most rushing yards in his quarterback debut in school history (116). He ended the day with 468 yards of total offense and earned 23 first downs (8 rush/15 passing). That total surpassed Kordell Stewart who previously held the record for most total yards (430) in a game by a quarterback in school history. It is now the fourth most in a single-game by any player in Colorado history.
Thompkins deserves much of the credit for how dominate the women's soccer team has been defensively this season, recording seven saves to lead the Buffs to a 1-0 lead, her third shutout of the season. CU went into Pullman having never won there before and came out with the program's 200th victory. The defining moment was in the 87th minute when she had a spectacular dive to keep the match scoreless just two minutes before Taylor Kornieck scored the game's only goal in the 89th minute.
Simpson became just the third player to record back-to-back triple doubles in a five set loss to Utah on Wednesday and a five set win over Arizona on Sunday. The triple double against Utah was the second of her career as she had 11 kills, 11 digs and 24 assists, while also adding four blocks. On Sunday, she became the first player in program history, some 30 years, to record 20-plus kills and assists in the same match with 22 kills and 21 assists. She added 10 digs for that consecutive triple-double and had an ace and five blocks in the match.
Also nominated for this week's honors: Morten Toft Hansen (men's golf)
Hansen led the Buffs at the New Mexico Tucker Invitational as his sixth place finish propelled the Buffs to a fifth place finish. He closed the event about as hot as one could – firing a 31 on his final nine holes (the front) in route to a 3-under 69. That gave him a 54-hole total of 215, or 1-under par, as he was one of seven players to beat par for the tournament on the 7,555-yard, par-72 UNM Championship Course layout.
It was also just one of three scores in the 60s in the final round, as well as his best collegiate round to date in relation to par. It was the highest individual finish by a Buff in this tournament in eight years, dating back to the 2008 event when Derek Tolan tied for medalist honors. And in the 62 years CU has participated in the Tucker, it is the highest finish by a Buff freshman. Hansen started on the 8th hole and eventually made the turn from 18 to 1 at 2-over par; he then eagled the 544-yard No. 1 hole and then scored three straight birdies on No.'s 4, 5 and 6. He played the par-4 holes here even overall and never scored worse than a bogey, a remarkable achievement for someone who had never played this course before. He had the eagle, nine birdies, 34 pars and 10 bogeys to complete the tournament.
Players Mentioned
M
/ Soccer
QB
/ Football
S/OPP
/ Volleyball
GK
/ SoccerMonday, June 22
Saturday, April 11
Saturday, April 11
Saturday, April 11