University of North Carolina Athletics
Florance, Haywood Named Recipients Of Patterson Medals
October 22, 2001 | General
Oct. 22, 2001
CHAPEL HILL --- Women's soccer National Player of the Year Meredith Florance and record-setting men's basketball player Brendan Haywood have been named recipients of the Patterson Medal for the year 2000-01 as the outstanding senior athletes at the University of North Carolina.
The most recent men's basketball player to receive the award was Antawn Jamison in 1997-98. Florance is the eighth women's soccer recipient.
The Patterson Medal is based mainly on athletic accomplishment, although sportsmanship and leadership are also considered. The selection is made by a committee of athletic officials, faculty members and student representatives. The award was first given by Dr. Joseph Patterson in memory of his brother, John Durand Patterson. It has since been continued by the Patterson family. In recent years, the Patterson family decided to give two awards each year -- one to the school's top male senior athlete and the other to the top female performer.
Florance won the Honda Award as the National Soccer Player of the Year in 2000 when she led the Tar Heels to the NCAA championship. The Dallas native scored five game-winning goals as a senior, including NCAA Tournament wins over Connecticut and Virginia.
Florance's biggest career goal may have been the goal with which she tied the NCAA championship game against UCLA. Florance tied the game at 1-1 with 15 minutes to play and the Tar Heels went on to win, 2-1, for their 17th national title.
A member of the United States National Team, Florance was fourth in the nation as a senior with 26 goals, the sixth-highest single-season total in Carolina history. She led the ACC in goals and points and was a first-team All-ACC selection. Florance earned Most Outstanding Player honors at the 2000 ACC and NCAA Tournaments. She also was named National Player of the Year by Soccer Times and was a consensus first-team All-America in 2000.
In her career, Florance scored 59 goals and 32 assists for 150 points. She netted 10 game-winning goals. As a junior, Florance scored the game-winning goal in the 2-0 win over Notre Dame in the NCAA final. In 1998, Florance scored the dramatic, game-winning goal in Carolina's 1-0 win over Portland in the fourth overtime of the NCAA semifinal.
"Obviously our coaching staff is excited for Meredith," says UNC women's soccer head coach Anson Dorrance. "We are very proud of Meredith. She had a remarkable senior year when she did everything we dreamed she could do, leading us in scoring and leading an unlikely team to the national championship. We are indebted to her and her legacy for being such an incredible performer through a difficult but joyous season."
Haywood earned second-team All-America honors from The Sporting News as a senior. The Greensboro, N.C., resident was a second-team All-ACC selection and was a member of the ACC's All-Defensive Team. He holds Carolina career records for blocked shots (304) and field goal percentage (.638). He is the only player in ACC history to hold school records for blocks and field goal percentage.
A three-year starter at center, Haywood was a member of four NCAA Tournament teams and led the Tar Heels to the 2000 Final Four in Indianapolis. Haywood led the eighth-seeded Tar Heels to wins over Missouri, Stanford, Tennessee and Tulsa en route to the NCAA South Region title. He averaged 15.8 points, 9.6 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game in the 2000 NCAA Tournament. He had a career-high 28 points against Missouri in the opening round and 20 points and 12 rebounds in the national semifinal against Florida.
Haywood led the nation in field goal percentage as a junior when he shot 69.7 percent from the floor, a Carolina and ACC single-season record.
As a senior, Haywood recorded the first triple-double in UNC history when he had 18 points, 14 rebounds and a school-record 10 blocked shots against Miami (Fla.). He also scored the game-winning basket in a 71-70 win over fourth-ranked Wake Forest and hit the game-winning free throws with 1.2 seconds to play in the 85-83 win at second-ranked Duke. He averaged 12.3 points and 7.3 rebounds as a senior and finished his career by averaging 10.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.
"Brendan had a record-setting playing career on both ends of the court, but more important, he earned his degree and was an outstanding leader," says UNC men's basketball head coach Matt Doherty. "He was our best defensive player and the primary reason we were able to hold the opponents to such a low shooting percentage. I'm glad I had the opportunity to coach him and look forward to watching his progress in the NBA."
Florance and Haywood earned their undergraduate degrees from UNC and have gone on to professional careers for the Carolina Courage and Washington Wizards, respectively.
Here is a complete list of the Patterson Medal winners:
1924-- Monk McDonald (football, basketball, baseball)
1925-- M.D. Bonner (football)
1926-- Jack Cobb (basketball)
1927-- Ad Warren (football, boxing, wrestling)
1928-- Galen Elliott (track)
1929-- Henry Satterfield (basketball)
1930-- Ray Farris, Sr. (football, boxing, baseball)
1931-- Henry House (football, baseball)
1932-- Staton McIver (football)
1933-- Stuart Chandler (football)
1934-- Virgil Weathers (basketball)
1935-- Harry Williamson (track)
1936-- Harry Montgomery (football)
1937-- R.D. Buck (football)
1938-- Andy Bershak (football, basketball)
1939-- George Nethercutt (baseball)
1940-- George Stirnweiss (football, baseball)
1941-- Paul Severin (football, basketball)
1942-- Bobby Gersten (basketball, baseball)
1943-- Carlyle Thomas Mangum (track)
1944-- Denny Hammond (swimming)
1945-- E.B. Schulz (track)
1946-- Jim Jordan (basketball)
1947-- Walt Pupa (football)
1948-- Jim Camp (football)
1949-- Vic Sexias (tennis)
1950-- Charlie Justice (football)
1951-- Jimmy Thomas (swimming)
1952-- Cecil Milton (swimming)
1953-- Chalmers Port (baseball, football)
1954-- Miles Gregory (football, wrestling)
1955-- Albert Long, Jr. (track, football, basketball, baseball)
1956-- Jerry Vayda (basketball)
1957-- Lennie Rosenbluth (basketball)
1958-- Buddy Payne (football)
1959-- Dave Scurlock (track)
1960-- Jack Cummings (football)
1961-- Rip Hawkins (football)
1962-- Ray Farris, Jr. (football)
1963-- Joe Craver (football)
1964-- Bill Haywood (baseball, soccer)
1965-- Harrison Merrill (swimming)
1966-- John Shaw (baseball)
1967-- Danny Talbott (football, baseball)
1968-- Larry Miller (basketball)
1969-- Bill Bunting (basketball)
1970-- Charlie Scott (basketball)
1971-- Don McCauley (football)
1972-- Dennis Wuycik (basketball)
1973-- George Karl (basketball)
1974-- Tony Waldrop (track)
1975-- Charles Waddell (football, track, basketball)
1976-- Mitch Kupchak (basketball)
1977-- Walter Davis (basketball)
1978-- Phil Ford (basketball)
1979-- Greg Norris (baseball)
1980-- Bonny Brown (swimming)
1981-- Lawrence Taylor (football) and Al Wood (basketball)
1982-- C.D. Mock (wrestling)
1983-- David Drechsler (football)
1984-- Sue Walsh (swimming)
1985-- Ethan Horton (football)
1986-- Brad Daugherty (basketball)
1987-- Kenny Smith (basketball)
1988-- Rob Koll (wrestling)
1989-- Jeff Lebo (basketball)
1990-- Shannon Higgins (soccer)
1991-- Sharon Couch (track)
1992-- Dwight Hollier (football)
1993-- Kristine Lilly (soccer)
1994-- Mia Hamm (soccer)
1995-- Tisha Venturini (soccer)
1996-- Marcus Jones (football)
1997-- Debbie Keller (soccer)
1998-- Cindy Werley (field hockey) and Antawn Jamison (basketball)
1999-- female winner: Cindy Parlow (soccer), male winner: Ebenezer Ekuban (football)
2000-- female winner: Lorrie Fair (soccer), male winner: Tripp Phillips (tennis)
2001?female winner: Meredith Florance (soccer), male winner: Brendan Haywood (basketball)
