Dartmouth College's Emily Henrich and Life University's Harley Wheeler have been awarded with MA Sorensen and Rudy Scholz awards, respectively. These awards are handed out to the top collegiate player, in each category, in the country. The awards are selected from a group of finalists, who are determined by a combination of a panel of experts, fan voting, and votes from teams and coaches around the USA. The panel then selects the winner from the finalists.
The Sorensen award is yet another major accomplishment from Henrich's 2018-19 season. The Freshman center became a capped Eagle in the Spring and was pivotal in helping Dartmouth win their first NIRA National Championship.
“The voting was extremely close this year,” said Alex Goff, member of the voting panel and Senior Editor of FloRugby. “This was an indication, I think, that we just had a really competitive group of players.'
The other finalists for Sorensen awards were: The 2018 Sorensen Award winner- McKenzie Hawkins (Lindenwood University), AnnaKaren Pedraza (Lindenwood University), Megan Rom (Life University), and Kat Ramage (Dartmouth College)
It was been a banner year for Wheeler as well. Wheeler made the All-American first team in both 15s and sevens, he recently won the D1A National Championship and was also a part of the Men's Falcons team that won the Las Vegas Invitational in March.
“Every year it's tough but this year I think there were many candidates who could have won this award,” said Goff. “Harley's performances in the most important games of the season, I think, put him over the top.'
In addition to Wheeler, the five finalists for the Scholz Award were: Aaron Matthews (Saint Mary's), Tanner Pope (Arkansas State), Eamonn Matthews (St. Bonaventure), and Matt Rogers (Arizona).
About the Sorensen and Scholz Awards:
The MA Sorensen Award and Rudy Scholz Award were begun in the 2015-16 season by the Washington Athletic Club of Seattle, WA. Senior VP of Athletics, Special Projects & Community Partners, Wayne Milner, spearheaded the effort, working with Goff’s help to create awards for the best college players in the country.
Previous Sorensen Winners:
2016: Hope Rogers, Penn State
2017: Ilona Maher, Quinnipiac
2018: McKenzie Hawkins, Lindenwood
Previous Scholz Winners:
2016: Dylan Audsley, Saint Mary's
2017: Bryce Campbell, Indiana
2018: Connor McNerney, Navy
