BOBBIE AND KUNITZ CHOSEN AS "BULLDOGS OF THE YEAR"

Two Ferris State All-Americans Honored As Top Athletes For 2002-03 Season

Senior Kathryn Bobbie (Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario/Sir James Dunn), the only three-time (2000-03) All-American in FSU women’s golf history, earned the women’s honor while fellow senior Chris Kunitz (Regina, Saskatchewan) of the Ferris men’s ice hockey team was the consensus men’s athletics choice. The Bulldog of the Year Award, which was reinstated this season following a seven-year absence, is presented annually to the most outstanding Ferris State male and female student-athlete. Award criteria consists of strong athletic achievements (must be a letterwinner and achieve outstanding athletic accomplishment), strong individual character and academic achievement.

Kathryn Bobbie became the first three-time All-American in Ferris State women's golf history.

Bobbie became the program’s first three-time All-American as a result of garnering first-team 2002-03 National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) Division II Women’s Golf All-America honors. The two-time (2000-01 and 2002-03) Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Women’s Golf Athlete of the Year received second-team accolades a season ago after garnering first-team laurels in 2000-01. Bobbie, a three-time (2000-03) All-GLIAC First-Team honoree, concluded her four-year Bulldog career as the program’s all-time leader with a 79.69 stroke average (7,093 total strokes in 89 rounds) and is also the program’s current record holder for the lowest 36-hole score – 148 at Tri State Fall Invitational (Oct. 22-23, 2000).

The top individual medalist at the GLIAC Championships (April 26-27) for the third consecutive season with a two-round 148 score, Bobbie recorded a team-leading 10 top 20 finishes which included a squad-best seven top five individual efforts. She registered a seventh-place finish (313 score) at the 2003 NCAA Division II National Championships (May 14-17) in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla., after finishing tied for eighth place at the 2002 NCAA-II Championships (May 15-18) in Allendale, Mich., with a four-round 321 score. As a result, Bobbie earned the distinction of being only the second women’s golfer in FSU history to advance on an individual basis joining Amy Summers (1992).

Bobbie, who was Ferris’ Most Valuable Player this season for the third straight year after being an award co-recipient in 1999-00, paced the Bulldogs this campaign with a single-season school-record 78.28 stroke average in 32 total rounds and also is the holder of the program’s all-time second-best single-season mark with a 79.88 average in 26 rounds set in 2000-01. A three-time (2000-03) GLIAC All-Academic and a two-time (2001-03) Verizon Academic All-District IV College Division Women’s At-Large Second Team honoree, Bobbie has been named to the NGCA’s All-America Scholar Team the last three seasons (2000-03).

Kunitz turned in one of the most noteworthy performances in Ferris State hockey history this season as evidenced by being among three Hobey Baker Memorial Award finalists as the nation’s top collegiate player. Kunitz, who signed a pro contract with the National Hockey League’s (NHL) Anaheim Mighty Ducks in April 2003, was instrumental in leading the Bulldogs to a school-best 31-10-1 overall record and the program’s first-ever Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) Regular-Season Championship title with a first-place 22-5-1 league mark.

A 2002-03 JOFA/American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) West All-America First-Team pick, Kunitz was the CCHA’s 2002-03 Player of the Year and earned the distinction of being the first Ferris skater to win the prestigious league award. A two-time (2001-02 and 2002-03) All-CCHA First-Team selection, Kunitz was both the CCHA’s overall and league leader in points, goals and assists this season. He finished second nationally in both points (1.88) and goals (0.83), fourth in assists (1.05), tied for sixth in short-handed goals (three) and tied for eighth in game-winning goals (five). A four-time (Oct. 21 & 28, Feb. 3 and March 3) CCHA Offensive Player of the Week selection and a Detroit Free Press CCHA First-Teamer, Kunitz set a Bulldog single-season record with 79 points on 35 goals and 44 assists in 52 contests this campaign. His 35-goal output ranked second on FSU’s single-season leaders charts while his assists was the third best season production total at Ferris.

All-American Chris Kunitz helped guide the Bulldog hockey team to its best season ever in the program's 25-year history as a NCAA Division I member.

Kunitz was tops among the CCHA’s overall plus/minus leaders with a school-best +47 rating and led the league in goal scoring for the second consecutive season. In this season’s 28 league contests, the 2002-03 Inside College Hockey (INCH) First-Team All-American totaled 51 points with 24 goals and 27 assists to go with a +31 rating (third best in the CCHA). This season, Kunitz compiled a career-high 24 multiple-point game performances, including 13 multi-goal game efforts.

A two-time (Oct. 29 and Feb. 4) U.S. College Hockey Online (USCHO) Offensive Player of the Week, Kunitz concluded his collegiate career ranked second among FSU’s all-time goal scorers with 99 career tallies and was two shy of tying the school record. He accumulated 175 career points with 99 markers and 76 assists in 152 career games to tie for the sixth-highest scoring total in Bulldog history. The FSU assistant captain registered 48 career multiple-point games while scoring a school-record 19 game-winning goals during his four-year career. Kunitz, who was the recipient of Ferris’ Most Valuable Player, Lloyd Earl Leading Scorer and Plus/Minus Awards, was also named to the all-tournament teams for the NCAA West Regional, the CCHA Super Six Championship, and the Connecticut Classic.

Past Bulldog of the Year Recipients
1995-96 – Bill Love (Football), Theresa Luciow (Softball)
1994-95 – Bill Love (Football), Shelli Gaul (Women’s Track & Field)
1993-94 – Ed Philion (Football), Kathy O’Connor (Women’s Volleyball & Women’s Basketball)
1992-93 – Monty Brown (Football), Jodi Raab (Women’s Basketball)
1991-92 – Dan Hutcheson (Wrestling), Monica Ferguson (Women’s Cross Country/Track & Field)
1990-91 – John DePourcq (Men’s Ice Hockey), Karen Volkers (Women’s Volleyball)
1989-90 – Paul Cochran (Men’s Track & Field/Football), Karen Volkers (Women’s Volleyball)
1988-89 – Jarvis Walker (Men’s Basketball), Penny Bailey (Women’s Track & Field/Cross Country)
1987-88 – Dave DenBraber (Football), Patty Theis (Women’s Volleyball)
1986-87 – Brad Morris (Wrestling), Patty Theis (Women’s Volleyball) and Karen Kramer (Women’s Basketball)
1985-86 – Scott Kelly (Baseball), Patty Theis (Women’s Volleyball)
1984-85 – Paul Jungck (Wrestling), Sharon Sanders (Women’s Volleyball)