University of North Carolina Athletics
Bitter Wins Turnbull Trophy As UNC MVP At Awards Banquet
October 18, 2009 | Men's Lacrosse
Oct. 18, 2009
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - First-team All-America attackman Billy Bitter earned the Turnbull Trophy as the overall Most Valuable Player of the 2009 University of North Carolina men's lacrosse team at the squad's team banquet and awards ceremony Saturday night in the Pope Box at Kenan Stadium. Midfielder Sean DeLaney and defenseman Ryan Flanagan won the awards as the team's offensive and defensive MVPs.
Billy Bitter, a junior attackman from Stowe, Vt., became the latest recipient of the Turnbull Trophy after a stellar 2009 campaign. His 46 goals were the second most in a season in UNC history behind only the 47 scored by Dennis Goldstein in 1991. Bitter's 71 points were the third most in a season in Tar Heel history beind only the 81 Bruce Ledith had in 1973 and the 75 Dennis Goldstein has in 1991. He scored on 40.7 percent of his shots and was third on the team in ground balls with 61. Tar Heel head coach Joe Breschi presented Bitter with the award.
Sean DeLaney, a senior midfielder from Moorestown, N.J., won the newly created award of the team's offensive most valuable player after a season in which he finished third on the team in scoring with 43 points on 35 goals and eight assists. Delaney's 35 goals were the most by a Tar Heel midfielder since Jason Wade scored 45 goals in 1996. Delaney scored the game-winning goals in one-goal wins over both Navy and Johns Hopkins. Assistant coach Pat Myers made the presentation.
Ryan Flanagan, a junior from West Islip, N.Y., merited the newly created award as the team's defensive MVP. Like Bitter and Delaney, Flanagan started all 18 games for the Tar Heels in 2009. He led the team in caused turnovers with 36, a total 12 more than any other Tar Heel and he was second on the team in ground balls with 67. Assistant coach Brian Holman made the presentation to Flanagan.
Breschi also announced that Sean DeLaney had been voted one of the team's 2010 captains along with senior defenseman Michael Jarvis of Richmond, Va.
Holmes Harden, Jr., Class of '93, presented the Holmes Harden, Sr. Memorial Award for most ground balls in a season to 2009 alumnus Shane Walterhoefer, a midfielder from Ellicott City, Md. Walterhoefer had 145 ground balls last year, the second most in a season in Tar Heel history behind only the 160 ground balls Jude Collins had in 1996.
Gary Burns, Class of '82, presented the Jay Gallagher Memorial Award as the squad's most outstanding freshman to 2009 co-winners Jimmy Dunster and Charlie McComas. Dunster, a midfielder from Cos Cob, Conn., was UNC's seventh leading scorer last year with 21 points on 13 goals and eight assists. Dunster started 14 games and had 23 ground balls. McComas, a defenseman from Parkton, Md., started 17 games on defense for the Tar Heels. He had 41 ground balls and 16 caused turnovers for the year.
The Danny Fox Memorial Award presented for service to the UNC lacrosse program was given to former Tar Heel assistant coach Greg Paradine. A '93 UNC alum, Paradine served two different stints as an assistant coach at Carolina before taking the job as the inaugural Director of Lacrosse and head men's and women's coaches at Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, N.C. this past summer.
Hall of Fame head coach Willie Scroggs presented the Colonel Robert Needham Unsung Hero Award to junior midfielder Chris Hunt of Arnold, Md. Hunt had a brilliant 2009 season as a defensive midfielder with 54 ground balls and 12 caused turnovers. He also scored three goals and had two assists.
Pat Olmert, Class of '89, presented the Dan Andrews Sportsmanship Award to 2009 alumnus Pell George, a defenseman from Baltimore, Md.
Randy Cox, Class of '84, presented the Kevin Reichardt Memorial Award as the team's most improved player to 2009 alumnus Andrew Pyke, a defenseman from Timonium, Md.
Margo Davy and Brett Davy, Class of '88, presented the Ralph"Rip" Davy Memorial Award for the outstanding senior leader to 2009 alumnus Grant Zimmerman, a goalkeeper from Cockeysville, Md.
The Tar Heels concluded fall ball with a scrimmage against the alumni Friday night. The spring season starts with scrimmages against Bucknell, Limestone and Lynchburg on January 30.
UNC opens its 2010 regular season at Jacksonville on Saturday, February 6, 2010 at 2:30 p.m. in the Dolphins' inaugural men's lacrosse game as a varsity team.
