 Football:
Head football coach Mark Farley was recognized for his successes and those of his Panther team with the Eddie Robinson Award, presented annually to the top  head coach in NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision. Farley also was awarded the Gateway Football Conference’s Coach of the Year honor and named the FCS Schutt Sports Coach of the Year by American Football Monthly.
UNI senior quarterback Eric Sanders finished second in the Walter Payton Award balloting. He was UNI’s first finalist for the Payton Award, which honors the top offensive player in the FCS. Sanders passed for 2,842 yards and 17 touchdowns in 2007. He completed 75.2 percent of his passes as a senior, and finished his UNI career as the FCS’s all-time completion percentage leader at 69.64 percent. He was a first-team all-Gateway selection and named the league’s Offensive Player of the Year.
The Panthers completed the first-ever perfect regular season (11-0) in the 23-year history of the Gateway Football Conference and held the No. 1 rank in the Sports Network Top 25 poll for six straight weeks.
The Panther’s quest for a national championship was cut short during the quarterfinal game against Delaware at the UNI-Dome on Dec. 1, ending the team’s exciting and accolade-filled season at 12-1.
Volleyball:
The UNI volleyball team earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament this year by winning the Missouri Valley Conference tournament title. UNI finished the 2007 season with a 22-11 record, losing to Wisconsin in the first round of the NCAA tournament. This was UNI’s second consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament and 13th appearance in the program’s history.
Cross-country:
Senior women’s cross-country team member Traci Hawley received All-Region honors in 2007, finishing 20th among 178 competitors at the NCAA Midwest Regional. Hawley, who also received All-MVC honors and was named to The Valley’s Scholar-Athlete team, set school records in the 4K, 5K and 6K races. Hawley finished second in the 2007 State Farm Missouri Valley Cross Country Championships, leading the Panthers to a third-place finish in the team standings.
The men’s team finished seventh in the team standings at the 2007 State Farm Missouri Valley Cross Country Championship, led by sophomore Dorian Ulrey’s fifth-place finish.
Soccer:
The Panthers returned to the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in 2007, capturing six wins on the season, the second most victories in a single season since the 2004 season. Seniors Amy Seubert and Jenna O’Hara were named to the MVC’s Scholar-Athlete team; Seubert also was named to the MVC All-Tournament Team and first-team All-MVC.
For complete coverage and all the latest facts and figures, visit www.unipanthers.com. |
