MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin’s Kimberly Dinh and Drew teDuits were honored Monday with the Big Ten Conference’s Medal of Honor for excellence in athletics and academics.
The award is presented annually at each Big Ten institution to a male and female student-athlete in the graduating class who has demonstrated proficiency in scholarship and athletics. The conference’s most exclusive award, it was the first of its kind in intercollegiate athletics to recognize academic and athletic excellence.
KIMBERLY DINH
An exemplary student and four-year starter for the women’s golf team, Dinh was a Capital One Academic All-America First Team At-Large winner this season after being a second team Academic All-American last year. A three-time CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-District first team honoree, Dinh was a four-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree at Wisconsin and is a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar.
Dinh received a Big Ten Postgraduate Scholarship after graduating this spring with a 4.0 cumulative grade-point average in chemical engineering. She will pursue her graduate studies in chemical engineering at M.I.T.
Throughout her career, Dinh was able to master the balance of being a student-athlete. An invited walk-on as a freshman, Dinh improved her game each year and cut over two strokes off her scoring average over four years.
Either the No. 1 or No. 2 golfer in seven of UW’s 11 tournaments this season, Dinh finished her career ranked fourth all-time in scoring at Wisconsin with 76.62 strokes per round. Her final 2015 season scoring average of 75.22 ranks seventh all-time. She has career-low collegiate marks of 69 for 18 holes, 142 for 36 holes and 216 for 54 holes.
Dinh was a member of UW’s 2013, 2014 and 2015 NCAA regional qualifying teams. She also played in the 2013 NCAA Championship, where she was the recipient of the Elite 89 award given to the student-athlete with the best cumulative GPA of all participants in the NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship.
A member of the Dean’s list every semester in Madison, Dinh is a member of Chi Sigma Alpha, Phi Kappa Phi, Society of Women Engineers, and the Chancellor’s Scholarship Program, as well as a member of Tau Beta Pi, a prestigious group for engineers.
Dinh has also found time to volunteer for a wide variety of initiatives and collected over 376 hours of community service over her career.
Dinh is the third athlete in UW golf history to earn the Big Ten Medal of Honor with Dana Tzakis (1995) and Alli Blomquist (2001).
DREW teDUITS
The third Badger swimmer to win an individual men’s NCAA championship and first since 1959, teDuits performed at a high level both in the pool and in the classroom during his time at Wisconsin.
A two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection, teDuits won both an NCAA championship and Big Ten championship in the 200 backstroke as a sophomore in 2013. He also had an honorable mention All-America finish in the 100 backstroke at the 2013 NCAA Championships.
teDuits struck gold once again this season as a senior, claiming another Big Ten crown in the 200 backstroke. The All-American finished sixth in the event at the 2015 NCAA Championships, while also earning honorable mention All-America status as part of UW’s 400 medley relay team.
During his senior season, the Fitchburg, Wisconsin, native claimed 24 first-place finishes, including 11 in the 200 back alone.
In addition to earning first-team All-Big Ten accolades in 2013 and 2015, teDuits was also a second-team All-Big Ten winner in 2014.
teDuits capped off his illustrious swimming career in Madison with school records in the 100 backstroke, 200 backstroke and was also part of UW’s record-holding 400 medley relay team. teDuits holds the second-fastest time in program history for the 200 individual medley.
A kinesiology major, teDuits plans to attend dental school. He is the fifth swimmer in UW history to earn the Big Ten Medal of Honor and the first since Maggie Meyer in 2011.
The Big Ten Medal of Honor was first awarded in 1915 to one student-athlete from the graduating class of each university who had “attained the greatest proficiency in athletics and scholastic work.” Big Ten schools currently feature more than 8,200 student-athletes, but only 24 earn this prestigious award on an annual basis. In the 99 years of the Medal of Honor, more than 1,300 student-athletes have earned this distinction.
WISCONSIN’S BIG TEN MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENTS
In 1914, the conference endowed a Medal of Honor, to be awarded annually at each institution, to a student in the graduating class that has demonstrated proficiency in scholarship and athletics. Winners in 1964 were 50th Anniversary winners of the Medal of Honor. Beginning in 1982, a senior woman student-athlete from each institution has also been awarded the Big Ten Medal of Honor.
1915 – Martin Thomas Kennedy, Rowing
1916 – William Dow Harvey, Track and Field
1917 – Mead Burke, Track and Field
1918 – Ebert Edward Simpson, Jr.
1919 – Charles H. Carpenter, Football
1920 – Anthony G. Zulfer, Baseball, Basketball
1921 – Allan C. Davey, Football
1922 – George Bunge, Football
1923 – Gustave K. Tebell, Baseball, Basketball, Football
1924 – Harold J. Bentson, Rowing
1925 – Lloyd Vallely, Cross Country, Track
1926 – Stephen H. Polaski, Football
1927 – Jefferson DeMent Burrus, Rowing
1928 – Louis Behr, Basketball
1929 – Theodore A. Thelander, Baseball, Basketball, Football
1930 – Donald W. Meikeljohn, Tennis
1931 – Louis E. Oberdeck, Rowing
1932 – Harvey H. Schneider
1933 – Nello Anthony Pacetti, Football
1934 – Robert A. Schiller, Wrestling
1935 – Rolf Falk Poser, Basketball
1936 – Howard Thurston Heun, Rowing
1937 – Leonard L. Lovshin, Football
1938 – Charles H. Fensk, Cross Country, Track
1939 – Walter I. Bietila, Baseball
1940 – Ralph H. Moeller, Football
1941 – Kenneth E. Bixby, Baseball
1942 – Burleigh E. Jacobs
1943 – Frederick R. Rehm
1944 – Edward M. Dzirbik, Wrestling
1945 – Ken Chandler, Track
1946 – Jerry Thompson, Football
1947 – Exner Menzel, Basketball
1948 – Carlyle Fay, Jr., Rowing
1949 – Donald R. Peterson, Rowing
1950 – Robert J. Wilson, Football
1951 – David Staiger, Track, Football
1952 – Walter E. Deike, Cross Country, Track
1953 – James T. Moran, Football, Rowing
1954 – Norbert J. Esser, Basketball, Football, Track
1955 – Richard W. Cable, Basketball
1956 – Robert E. Konovsky, Football, Wrestling
1957 – Patrick J. Levenhagen, Football
1958 – Walter V. Holt, Baseball
1959 – John R. Hobbs, Basketball, Football, Track
1960 – Dale L. Hackbart, Football
1961 – Gerald L. Kulcinski, Football
1962 – Thomas M. Hughbanks, Baseball, Basketball, Football, Track
1963 – Hugh V. (Pat) Richter, Baseball, Basketball, Football
1964 – William R. Smith, Track and Field
1965 – Gary V. Kirk, Tennis
1966 – David N. Fronek, Football
1967 – Dennis J. Sweeney, Baseball
1968 – Michael Gluck, Wrestling
1969 – Karl Rudat, Football
1970 – Douglas R. McFadyen, Hockey
1971 – Don Vandrey, Track and Field
1972 – Pat Matzdorf, Track and Field
1973 – Keith D. Nosbusch, Football
1974 – Gary D. Anderson
1975 – James R. Dyreby, Jr., Rowing
1976 – Patrick J. Christenso, Wrestling
1977 – Peter W. Brey, Basketball
1978 – Michael Eaves, Hockey
1979 – Steve Lacy, Cross Country, Track
1980 – Thoams G. Stauss, Football
1981 – David C. Goodspeed, Wrestling
1982 – David Mohapp, Football and Ann French, Badminton
1983 – David Farley and Rose Thomson, Cross Country, Track
1984 – John Johannson, Hockey and Janet Huff, Basketball
1985 – John Easker, Cross Country, Track and Cathy Branta, Cross Country, Track
1986 – Tim Hacker, Cross Country, Track and Lisa Fortman, Tennis
1987 – J. J. Weber, Basketball and Amy Justeson, Swimming
1988 – Paul Gruber, Football and Chris Gilles, Tennis
1989 – Dave Lee, Wrestling and Maureen Hartzheim, Cross Country, Track
1990 – John Byce, Hockey and Susan Temple, Volleyball
1991 – Jack Waite, Tennis and Elaine Demetroulis, Tennis
1992 – Matt Demaray, Wrestling and Heather Taggart, Soccer
1993 – Donovan Bergstrom, Track and Kim Sherman, Cross Country, Track
1994 – Louis Hinshaw, Track and Field and Susie Holt, Soccer
1995 – Jeff Gold, Soccer and Dana Tzakis, Golf
1996 – Scott Lamphear, Soccer and Lauren Gavaris, Tennis
1997 – Alastair Steel, Soccer and Kathy Butler, Cross Country, Track
1998 – Erik Raygor, Hockey and Katie Voigt, Basketball
1999 – Brian Doherty, Soccer and Shannon Brown, Soccer
2000 – Jay Schoenfelder, Cross Country, Track and Gina Panighetti, Swimming
2001 – Mike Kelley, Basketball and Allie Blomquist, Golf
2002 – Danny Westerman, Tennis and Andrea Wanezek, Swimming
2003 – Kirk Penney, Basketball and Erin Byrd, Volleyball
2004 – Ryan Tremelling, Track and Morgan Shields, Volleyball
2005 – Jim Leonhard, Football and Carla MacLeod, Ice Hockey
2006 – Nathan Brown, Track and Field and Jessica Ring, Ice Hockey
2007 – Joe Thomas, Football and Sara Bauer, Ice Hockey
2008 – Adam Barhamand, Rowing and Katrina Rundhaug, Cross Country, Track
2009 – Joe Krabbenhoft, Basketball and Gwen Jorgensen, Cross Country, Track
2010 – Jack Bolas, Cross Country, Track and Chavon Robinson, Track
2011 – Gabe Carimi, Football and Maggie Meyer, Swimming
2012 – Peter Konz, Football and Laurie Nosbusch, Soccer
2013 – Elliot Krause, Cross Country, Track and Kendall Schmidt, Rowing
2014 – Reed Connor, Cross Country, Track and Mary Massei, Softball
2015 – Drew teDuits, Swimming and Kim Dinh, Golf
Swimming news courtesy of Wisconsin Swimming and Diving.
