Bennett, Wasinger Named Bulldog Club Student-Athletes Of The Year
4/27/2000 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 27, 2000
SPOKANE, Wash. - Golfer Lisa Wasinger and pitcher Steve Bennett were named the Bulldog Club Female and Male Student-Athletes of the Year, respectively, Thursday at the 17th annual Bulldog Club Senior Athletes Luncheon.
Special recognition was also given to Gonzaga's five senior men's basketball players who were presented Senior Male Athlete of the Year plaques for their accomplishments the past two seasons in bringing not only basketball recognition but university prestige nationwide. Axel Dench, Ryan Floyd, Richie Frahm, Mike Nilson and Matt Santangelo played significant roles in Gonzaga's run to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight in 1999 and to the Sweet 16 this past season.
Wasinger, a native of Oak Harbor, WA, was the first women's golfer recruited to Gonzaga, and she became an immediate impact player. She finished third in the inaugural West Coast Conference Women's Golf Championship as a freshman in 1997 and earned All-WCC honors. She finished in the top 10 of the WCC Championship three times, including this year's 9th-place finish which earned her All-WCC honorable mention accolades.
Away from the golf course she has been involved in such projects as a Spokane County Health District Volunteer, Habitat for Humanity, the GSBA President's Advisory Council, president of the Student Athlete Advisory Council, director of the Shriner's Sub-committee and is also a member of Alpha Sigma Nu academic honor society. She'll graduate with a 3.61 grade point average in finance and marketing.
Bennett, a native of Helena, MT, battled back from "Tommy John" elbow surgery in 1997 to become one of the most dominant pitchers in Bulldog baseball history. His 19 wins tie for 8th on the all-time GU charts, his 286 innings pitched and 246 career strikeouts both rank fourth all-time and his 95 strikeouts this season are fifth on the single-season charts. Entering this weekend's action he has a career mark of 19-11 and an earned run average of 3.95. He has been an integral part in leading Gonzaga's transition from the Pacific-10 Conference North into the West Coast Conference where this season the Bulldogs are contending for the Coast Division title of the WCC. He was an All-WCC honorable mention selection as a freshman in 1996 and earned second-team All-WCC honors last season.
Off the field Bennett is a team representative to the Student Athlete Advisory Council, volunteered with the Salk Middle School Baseball Spelling Bee and has been a volunteer for the Bulldog Club Golf Tournament. He graduated last spring with a 3.60 grade point average in human resource management and is currently enrolled in the MBA program with a 3.75 GPA.
