The University of Minnesota Duluth athletic department "Week of Champions" presented by Northland Subway begins with our first award winners in recognition of the CLASSROOM.  Natalie Cahill (women's tennis) and Henry George (baseball) are the 2020-21 E.L. "Duce" Rasmussen award winners for top scholar athletes.  In addition, the 2020-21 Chancellor's Cup goes to the UMD volleyball Bulldogs (in the closest margin in history), for maintaining the best collective grade point average during the last two semesters (3.68).  The runner-up with a cumulative 3.67 grade point average was the UMD women's basketball team.






Cahill, a senior from Pine City, Minn., is an exercise science and rehabilitation sciences major with a minor in psychology.  An impact performer and team captain on the Bulldog women's tennis team, Cahill, holds a 3.979 grade point average.  She has been accepted into the UMN Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) Program and was awarded the UMN DPT year one scholarship (the highest ratings possible among applicants).  Cahill is actively involved in campus life being a UMD Student Life Office Assistant, coordinating a campus food shelf and clothing center for students in need, student-athlete advisory committee member (SAAC), a member of the exercise science club, and a member of the leadership team with UMD Catholic Campus Ministries. Her athletic achievements include All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference third team honors for singles, paced the 2021 Bulldogs in singles victories by going 8-3 (primarily at No. 2), ranked in the top 15 in winning match percentage in the NSIC this year, and earned an NSIC Academic Team of Excellence Award and represented tennis on the UMD Athletic Academic Scholar List by compiling the highest grade point average on the team.  Cahill also has been a key member of the women's tennis team winning the Team Impact Award for community service the last 3 years along with volunteering with Courage Kenny Adaptive Yoga, Bulldogs Not Bullies, Damiano Center, Special Olympics, and Key Zone.  
 
Dr. Charles Fountaine, Professor of Exercise Science, says this about her, "Natalie's overall academic performance has been nothing short of spectacular, with an overall GPA at this time of 3.979, which is the highest GPA in her cohort. As an instructor, I have found Natalie to be a very engaged student, and as her faculty adviser, I have been very impressed with her maturity and work ethic, as she has been an absolute pleasure to work with."  Kelly Phillips, also an instructor in the Exercise Science program, echoes these words, "Natalie embodies everything good in a student-athlete from her academic drive, athletic passion and commitment to the UMD community.  She is well respected amongst her peers, classmates and program faculty in Exercise Science."
 

George, a senior from Woodbury, Minn., is a finance major with a minor in coaching.  A team captain with the Bulldog baseball team, George holds a 3.89 grade point average and has achieved the Dean's list every semester at UMD along with receiving the LSBE Honors Scholarship.  George has been actively involved in Athletes in Action (a student ministry on campus for varsity athletes).  He has been a student leader for 3 years which include facilitating and coordinating studies, events, and meetings. As part of his leadership, he has led the Operation Christmas Child project which provides packaging of shoeboxes with toys for children.  On the field, George has been a 4-year starter for the Bulldogs.  As a freshman he was second on the team in batting average and voted rookie of the year.  He continued to improve with a 2nd team All-Conference performance in his sophomore year along with finishing 3rd in the NSIC in batting average and being named team MVP.  The 2x team captain continues to be one of the top hitters in the NSIC.
 
Timothy Peterson, professor in finance, says this, "Henry is a perceptive, quick learning individual with a high aptitude for finance and business. He is driven to understand the many facets of the business world. In one of my courses (Managerial Finance), he was especially adept at analytically using complex financial concepts and formulas to solve an investment problem and compiling a well written summary outlining his recommendation to solve the problem at hand. Henry constantly contributed to class discussions with insightful comments, enhancing the overall quality of the classroom experience." 

Geoff Bell, professor of Strategic Management, has this to say, "Henry George studied strategy with me in Spring 2020 – a semester we will all remember as "the big pivot!"  While many students struggled with the pivot to online learning, Henry continued to excel.  He was one of only 6 students (out of 80 in my two classes) who scored 75/75 on his final term paper which is a comprehensive assessment of course material.  Moreover, he was a regular contributor to class discussion before we pivoted to an asynchronous format.  Henry is very deserving of this award, and I commend him to the selection committee."
 
Stay tuned for tomorrow as the Bulldogs unveil the Shjon Podein community service award and the Team Impact awards for community service. Awards will be released each day on umdbulldogs.com and Bulldog social media channels.