Repella, Williams Win Brown Cup
May 06, 2010 01:53 PM | General
May 6, 2010
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| Liz Repella | Reed Williams |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Junior women’s basketball guard Liz Repella and senior linebacker Reed Williams have been selected as the recipients of the 2010 Red Brown Cup, presented annually to West Virginia University’s most outstanding all-around student-athletes.
The Red Brown Cup encompasses the student-athlete’s athletic, academic and civic achievement as selected by the WVU Athletic Council to annually award the top male and female student-athletes. The award is given in memory of Robert “Red” Brown, former WVU coach and athletic director.
Repella, a Steubenville, Ohio, native, helped the WVU women’s basketball team to a school-record 29 wins, a school-record 13 BIG EAST victories and an NCAA Tournament second round appearance for the third time in the last four years. WVU was ranked as high as No. 7 nationally in both major polls, which marked the first time in program history WVU was ranked in the nation’s Top 10. WVU finished second in the BIG EAST, a school record, went 17-0 at home in setting a school-record for most home wins and strung together 16 straight victories, the second-longest win streak in school history. The Mountaineers advanced to the BIG EAST Championship for the second time in school history and have won 19 straight home games, the longest home winning streak in school history.
Last season, Repella, who has 68 career and consecutive starts, garnered all-BIG EAST first-team honors, was named to the BIG EAST and preseason WNIT all-tournament teams and was named to the preseason all-conference team. A WBCA all-Region I nominee for the State Farm Coaches’ All-America Team, Repella was a co-captain last season, averaging a team-best 13.9 points and was third in rebounds (5.9) steals (49) and assists (40). She recorded 28 double-figure games with seven 20-point efforts. She scored her 1,000th career point in the win at Providence, and now shows 1,141 for her career, good for 21st all-time at WVU.
Academically, Repella boasts a 3.95 GPA in exercise physiology and was one of five student-athletes nationally to be named an ESPN The Magazine First Team Academic All-American. She is a five-time WVU Athletic Director’s Academic Honor Roll member, two-time BIG EAST Academic All-Star and three-time WVU President’s List (4.0) honoree. A five-time Dean’s List recipient, Repella garnered the 2009 BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence award for women’s basketball and is a two-time academic all-district II first team honoree.
In the community, Repella has taken part in the “Adopt-A-Grandparent” program at the Heritage Home, is the team’s representative on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and is a camp volunteer at the Boys & Girls Club. She also has visited Ruby Memorial Children’s Hospital, taken part in the Suncrest and Westover Middle School Read Aloud programs and has been a part of the Girl Scouts Adopt-A-Player, Hundred High School’s Girl’s Basketball Camp and the Youth Academy (Fairmont) Strength & Conditioning Clinic.
Williams, a Moorefield, W.Va., native, helped lead WVU to a 42-9 record during his career, with four bowl appearances, including three New Year’s Day wins and two BCS wins. He helped WVU achieve national rankings for 50 weeks during his career and was named WVU’s 2009 Defensive Player of the Year, given the Ira Errett Rodgers Award for leadership and was named a 2009 team captain. An all-BIG EAST second-team performer last year, Willliams also was named the 2007 Fiesta Bowl Defensive MVP. He finished his career with 253 tackles, 68 coming in 2009.
In the classroom, the four-year letterwinner maintained a 3.87 GPA in finance and marketing and was named the BIG EAST’s 2009 Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Williams was one of just 16 student-athletes from all divisions to earn a spot on the prestigious National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete team and garnered 2009 ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-American second-team honors after earning first-team honors in 2007. Williams also was named the Konica Minolta Gator Bowl Scholar Athlete and is a four-time BIG EAST Academic All-Star, WVU Athletic Director’s Academic Honor Roll, Dean’s List and National Football Foundation’s Hampshire Honor Society member. He is also a member of Golden Key National Honor Society and was one of 10 students from around the state selected for the Huntington Bank Junior Board of Directors (young executive program).
Outside of the playing field and classroom, Williams has volunteered with the Boys and Girls Club throughout the state and participated in reading programs and local hospital visits. A Special Olympics volunteer, Williams also has assisted with Christmas shopping for underprivileged children, served as a guest speaker for many local events, such as the Marion County Division of State Police child advocacy fundraiser and participated in reading days.
Past winners of the Red Brown Cup: Jim Bishop, rifle (1988); Tracey Thompson, volleyball (1989); Don DeCarlo, track (1990); Scott Collins, wrestling (1991); Rosemary Kosiorek, basketball (1992); Mike Compton, football (1993); Rich Braham, football (1994); Lajuanda Moody, gymnastics (1994); Bob Donker, track (1995); Lisa Szymczak, basketball (1996); Kristen Quackenbush, gymnastics (1996-97); Charity Wachera, track (1998); Eric deGroh, football (1999); Rebecca Burbridge, basketball (1999); Greg Robinette, football (2000); Steve Bohan, track (2001); Krista Smith, volleyball (2002); Amanda Halovanic, gymnastics (2003); Chrissie Abbott, soccer (2004); Greg Jones, wrestling (2004-05); Kevin Pittsnogle, basketball (2006); Karrie Hutchins, soccer (2006); Janáe Cox, gymnastics (2007); Jay Henry, football (2007); Nick Delic, swimming (2008), Kailee Goold, volleyball (2008); Marie-Louise Asselin, track (2009); Ryan Stanchek, football (2009); Liz Repella, women’s basketball (2010); Reed Williams, football (2010).
