University of North Carolina Athletics
Blumberg, Creatore Win Patterson Medals For 2019-20
August 13, 2020 | Field Hockey, General, Men's Tennis
CHAPEL HILL—Eight-time men's tennis All-America William Blumberg and field hockey forward Marissa Creatore, who captained the undefeated national champions in 2018 and 2019, are the recipients of the Patterson Medals for 2019-20.
The Patterson Medal is based primarily on career athletic accomplishments. The recipients must have played at least three seasons for the Tar Heels. Sportsmanship and leadership are also considered. Dr. Joseph Patterson first presented the medal in 1924 to honor the memory of his brother, John Durand Patterson.
Blumberg was the 2020 Intercollegiate Tennis Association Men's Senior Player of the Year and one of three men's players in ITA history to be an eight-time All-America. He earned All-America accolades in in both singles and doubles in all four of his seasons at Carolina. He joined John-Patrick Smith (2008-11) of Tennessee and Rick Leach (1984-87) of USC as the only eight-time All-Americas in ITA history.
The Greenwich, Conn., native was the 2018 ACC Player of the Year, a three-time All-ACC selection, the 2017 National ITA and ACC Rookie of the Year and 2017 NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player. As a freshman in 2017, he became the first Tar Heel to reach the NCAA championship singles match. That same year he won the ITA Men's All-America singles title and was second in doubles.
He reached a No. 1 ranking in the country in singles and doubles in 2018. Overall, he went 80-15 in singles and 73-21 in doubles. He led the Tar Heels to an 87-19 record, two NCAA semifinals and one NCAA championship match appearance.
Blumberg was a two-time captain and, with Creatore, won the 2019-20 Mildred McCaskill Award for outstanding academics, athletics and community outreach at UNC.
"William winning the Patterson Medal is a tremendous honor for him and our tennis program, and it's so richly deserved," says head coach Sam Paul.
"He has been the epitome of a student-athlete. When you look back on his career accomplishments, he's probably the greatest player in our men's tennis program's history. And top of that, the quality of his character and his academic work are both top-notch. I couldn't be happier for William and his family."
Creatore was co-captain as a junior and senior when the Carolina field hockey team combined to go 46-0 with two NCAA and ACC championships. As a senior in 2019, she was the Most Valuable Player of the 2019 ACC Tournament, a third-team All-America, and a first-team All-South Region and second-team All-ACC selection.
The Chapel Hill native scored twice in Carolina's 3-1 win over Boston College to capture Carolina's 22nd ACC Tournament championship. She assisted on the game-winning goal in the national quarterfinals, had a goal and assist in the semifinal and scored Carolina's first goal in the title game victory over Princeton.
She tied for the team lead in 2019 with five-game winning goals and finished her senior season with 16 goals and six assists. She had 35 goals and 20 assists as a Tar Heel as UNC went 84-11 in her four active seasons.
Creatore started for three seasons after joining the team as an invited walk-on and redshirting in 2015. The Tar Heels won four ACC titles during her career (2015 as a redshirt, 2017, 2018 and 2019).
In addition to winning the McCaskill Award, Creatore was a member of the 2019 NFHCA National Academic Squad and a three-time Academic All-ACC honoree (2017, 2018, 2019). She was named a Tar Heel Leader of Distinction, the highest honor awarded by the Richard A. Baddour Carolina Leadership Academy. Creatore often represented her teammates and fellow student-athletes as a speaker and was active in student-athlete mental health initiatives.
"Watching Marissa's metamorphosis, from a recruited walk-on to the most outstanding female athlete at Carolina, has just been awesome," says head coach Karen Shelton.
"I'll never forget when she committed to come to UNC – she told me, 'I am going to work so hard for you.' And she did. She made most of time at Carolina, getting involved in so many different things and being a leader at every level. To have a student that works that hard and represents us so well and then is rewarded in this manner is just really gratifying for her and for me as a coach.
"So much of her contribution was in the impact she had on the team. As a two-year team captain, she played a major role in back-to-back undefeated seasons. And throughout that time, she worked on her own a lot, coming out early and getting in extra practice. It's great to have the reward of winning two national championships and then also be recognized individually. I'm so very proud of Marissa and of her Tar Heel career."
Creatore is the sixth field hockey player to win the Patterson Medal; Blumberg is the fifth men's tennis player to win the award.
Pronunciations: William Blumberg (BLUM rhymes with plum); Marissa Creatore (muh-RISS-uh CREE-uh-tour)
Patterson Medal Winners
1924— Monk McDonald (men's basketball, football, baseball)
1925— M.D. Bonner (football)
1926— Jack Cobb (men's basketball)
1927— Ad Warren (football, boxing, wrestling)
1928— Galen Elliott (men's track and field)
1929— Henry Satterfield (men's basketball)
1930— Ray Farris Sr. (football, boxing, baseball)
1931— Henry House (football, baseball)
1932— Staton McIver (football)
1933— Stuart Chandler (football)
1934— Virgil Weathers (men's basketball)
1935— Harry Williamson (men's track and field)
1936— Harry Montgomery (football)
1937— R.D. Buck (football)
1938— Andy Bershak (football, men's basketball)
1939— George Nethercutt (baseball)
1940— George Stirnweiss (football, baseball)
1941— Paul Severin (football, men's basketball)
1942— Bobby Gersten (men's basketball, baseball)
1943— Carlyle Thomas Mangum (men's track and field)
1944— Denny Hammond (men's swimming)
1945— E.B. Schulz (men's track and field)
1946— Jim Jordan (men's basketball)
1947— Walt Pupa (football)
1948— Jim Camp (football)
1949— Vic Seixas (men's tennis)
1950— Charlie Justice (football)
1951— Jimmy Thomas (men's swimming)
1952— Cecil Milton (men's swimming, men's tennis)
1953— Chalmers Port (baseball, football)
1954— Miles Gregory (football, wrestling)
1955— Albert Long Jr. (baseball, football, men's basketball, men's track and field)
1956— Jerry Vayda (men's basketball)
1957— Lennie Rosenbluth (men's basketball)
1958— Buddy Payne (football)
1959— Dave Scurlock (men's track and field)
1960— Jack Cummings (football)
1961— Rip Hawkins (football)
1962— Ray Farris Jr. (football)
1963— Joe Craver (football)
1964— Bill Haywood (baseball, men's soccer)
1965— Harrison Merrill (men's swimming)
1966— John Shaw (baseball)
1967— Danny Talbott (football, baseball)
1968— Larry Miller (men's basketball)
1969— Bill Bunting (men's basketball)
1970— Charlie Scott (men's basketball)
1971— Don McCauley (football)
1972— Dennis Wuycik (men's basketball)
1973— George Karl (men's basketball)
1974— Tony Waldrop (men's track and field)
1975— Charles Waddell (football, men's track and field, men's basketball)
1976— Mitch Kupchak (men's basketball)
1977— Walter Davis (men's basketball)
1978— Phil Ford (men's basketball)
1979— Greg Norris (baseball)
1980— Bonny Brown (women's swimming)
1981— Lawrence Taylor (football), Al Wood (men's basketball)
1982— C.D. Mock (wrestling)
1983— David Drechsler (football)
1984— Sue Walsh (women's swimming)
1985— Ethan Horton (football)
1986— Brad Daugherty (men's basketball)
1987— Kenny Smith (men's basketball)
1988— Rob Koll (wrestling)
1989— Jeff Lebo (men's basketball)
1990— Shannon Higgins (women's soccer)
1991— Sharon Couch (women's track and field)
1992— Dwight Hollier (football)
1993— Kristine Lilly (women's soccer)
1994— Mia Hamm (women's soccer)
1995— Tisha Venturini (women's soccer)
1996— Marcus Jones (football)
1997— Debbie Keller (women's soccer)
1998— Antawn Jamison (men's basketball), Cindy Werley (field hockey)
1999— Ebenezer Ekuban (football), Cindy Parlow (women's soccer)
2000— Lorrie Fair (women's soccer), Tripp Phillips (men's tennis)
2001— Meredith Florance (women's soccer), Brendan Haywood (men's basketball)
2002— Katie Hathaway (women's swimming), Danny Jackson (men's soccer)
2003— Matt Crawford (men's soccer), Laura Greene (volleyball)
2004— Shalane Flanagan (women's track and field and cross country), Nicholas Monroe (men's tennis), Catherine Reddick (women's soccer)
2005— Jed Prossner (men's lacrosse), Alice Schmidt (women's track and field and cross country)
2006— Laura Gerraughty (women's track and field), Andrew Miller (baseball)
2007— Ivory Latta (women's basketball), Heather O'Reilly (women's soccer), Robert Woodard (baseball)
2008— Rachel Dawson (field hockey), Chad Flack (baseball)
2009— Dustin Ackley (baseball), Yael Averbuch (women's soccer), Tyler Hansbrough (men's basketball)
2010— Whitney Engen (women's soccer), Casey Nogueira (women's soccer), Chip Peterson (men's swimming)
2011— Corey Donohoe (women's lacrosse), Mateo Sossah (men's track and field), T.J. Yates (football)
2012— Katelyn Falgowksi (field hockey), Tyler Zeller (men's basketball)
2013— Kara Cannizzaro (women's lacrosse), Jonathan Cooper (football)
2014— Crystal Dunn (women's soccer), Eric Ebron (football)
2015— Caroline Price (women's tennis), Joey Sankey (men's lacrosse)
2016— Kristen Brown (softball), Marcus Paige (men's basketball), Emily Wold (field hockey)
2017— Hayley Carter (women's tennis), Justin Jackson (men's basketball), Ryan Switzer (football)
2018— Joel Berry II (men's basketball), Marie McCool (women's lacrosse), Kenny Selmon (men's track and field)
2019– Ashley Hoffman (field hockey), Luke Maye (men's basketball)
2020– William Blumberg (men's tennis), Marissa Creatore (field hockey)
Recipients by Sport: Football 36, Men's Basketball 32, Baseball 16, Women's Soccer 14, Men's Track and Field 10, Field Hockey 6, Men's Swimming 5, Men's Tennis 5, Women's Track and Field 4, Wrestling 4, Women's Lacrosse 3, Men's Soccer 3, Women's Swimming 3, Boxing 2, Men's Lacrosse 2, Women's Tennis 2, Women's Basketball 1, Softball 1, Volleyball 1
The Patterson Medal is based primarily on career athletic accomplishments. The recipients must have played at least three seasons for the Tar Heels. Sportsmanship and leadership are also considered. Dr. Joseph Patterson first presented the medal in 1924 to honor the memory of his brother, John Durand Patterson.
Blumberg was the 2020 Intercollegiate Tennis Association Men's Senior Player of the Year and one of three men's players in ITA history to be an eight-time All-America. He earned All-America accolades in in both singles and doubles in all four of his seasons at Carolina. He joined John-Patrick Smith (2008-11) of Tennessee and Rick Leach (1984-87) of USC as the only eight-time All-Americas in ITA history.
The Greenwich, Conn., native was the 2018 ACC Player of the Year, a three-time All-ACC selection, the 2017 National ITA and ACC Rookie of the Year and 2017 NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player. As a freshman in 2017, he became the first Tar Heel to reach the NCAA championship singles match. That same year he won the ITA Men's All-America singles title and was second in doubles.
He reached a No. 1 ranking in the country in singles and doubles in 2018. Overall, he went 80-15 in singles and 73-21 in doubles. He led the Tar Heels to an 87-19 record, two NCAA semifinals and one NCAA championship match appearance.
Blumberg was a two-time captain and, with Creatore, won the 2019-20 Mildred McCaskill Award for outstanding academics, athletics and community outreach at UNC.
"William winning the Patterson Medal is a tremendous honor for him and our tennis program, and it's so richly deserved," says head coach Sam Paul.
"He has been the epitome of a student-athlete. When you look back on his career accomplishments, he's probably the greatest player in our men's tennis program's history. And top of that, the quality of his character and his academic work are both top-notch. I couldn't be happier for William and his family."
Creatore was co-captain as a junior and senior when the Carolina field hockey team combined to go 46-0 with two NCAA and ACC championships. As a senior in 2019, she was the Most Valuable Player of the 2019 ACC Tournament, a third-team All-America, and a first-team All-South Region and second-team All-ACC selection.
The Chapel Hill native scored twice in Carolina's 3-1 win over Boston College to capture Carolina's 22nd ACC Tournament championship. She assisted on the game-winning goal in the national quarterfinals, had a goal and assist in the semifinal and scored Carolina's first goal in the title game victory over Princeton.
She tied for the team lead in 2019 with five-game winning goals and finished her senior season with 16 goals and six assists. She had 35 goals and 20 assists as a Tar Heel as UNC went 84-11 in her four active seasons.
Creatore started for three seasons after joining the team as an invited walk-on and redshirting in 2015. The Tar Heels won four ACC titles during her career (2015 as a redshirt, 2017, 2018 and 2019).
In addition to winning the McCaskill Award, Creatore was a member of the 2019 NFHCA National Academic Squad and a three-time Academic All-ACC honoree (2017, 2018, 2019). She was named a Tar Heel Leader of Distinction, the highest honor awarded by the Richard A. Baddour Carolina Leadership Academy. Creatore often represented her teammates and fellow student-athletes as a speaker and was active in student-athlete mental health initiatives.
"Watching Marissa's metamorphosis, from a recruited walk-on to the most outstanding female athlete at Carolina, has just been awesome," says head coach Karen Shelton.
"I'll never forget when she committed to come to UNC – she told me, 'I am going to work so hard for you.' And she did. She made most of time at Carolina, getting involved in so many different things and being a leader at every level. To have a student that works that hard and represents us so well and then is rewarded in this manner is just really gratifying for her and for me as a coach.
"So much of her contribution was in the impact she had on the team. As a two-year team captain, she played a major role in back-to-back undefeated seasons. And throughout that time, she worked on her own a lot, coming out early and getting in extra practice. It's great to have the reward of winning two national championships and then also be recognized individually. I'm so very proud of Marissa and of her Tar Heel career."
Creatore is the sixth field hockey player to win the Patterson Medal; Blumberg is the fifth men's tennis player to win the award.
Pronunciations: William Blumberg (BLUM rhymes with plum); Marissa Creatore (muh-RISS-uh CREE-uh-tour)
Patterson Medal Winners
1924— Monk McDonald (men's basketball, football, baseball)
1925— M.D. Bonner (football)
1926— Jack Cobb (men's basketball)
1927— Ad Warren (football, boxing, wrestling)
1928— Galen Elliott (men's track and field)
1929— Henry Satterfield (men's basketball)
1930— Ray Farris Sr. (football, boxing, baseball)
1931— Henry House (football, baseball)
1932— Staton McIver (football)
1933— Stuart Chandler (football)
1934— Virgil Weathers (men's basketball)
1935— Harry Williamson (men's track and field)
1936— Harry Montgomery (football)
1937— R.D. Buck (football)
1938— Andy Bershak (football, men's basketball)
1939— George Nethercutt (baseball)
1940— George Stirnweiss (football, baseball)
1941— Paul Severin (football, men's basketball)
1942— Bobby Gersten (men's basketball, baseball)
1943— Carlyle Thomas Mangum (men's track and field)
1944— Denny Hammond (men's swimming)
1945— E.B. Schulz (men's track and field)
1946— Jim Jordan (men's basketball)
1947— Walt Pupa (football)
1948— Jim Camp (football)
1949— Vic Seixas (men's tennis)
1950— Charlie Justice (football)
1951— Jimmy Thomas (men's swimming)
1952— Cecil Milton (men's swimming, men's tennis)
1953— Chalmers Port (baseball, football)
1954— Miles Gregory (football, wrestling)
1955— Albert Long Jr. (baseball, football, men's basketball, men's track and field)
1956— Jerry Vayda (men's basketball)
1957— Lennie Rosenbluth (men's basketball)
1958— Buddy Payne (football)
1959— Dave Scurlock (men's track and field)
1960— Jack Cummings (football)
1961— Rip Hawkins (football)
1962— Ray Farris Jr. (football)
1963— Joe Craver (football)
1964— Bill Haywood (baseball, men's soccer)
1965— Harrison Merrill (men's swimming)
1966— John Shaw (baseball)
1967— Danny Talbott (football, baseball)
1968— Larry Miller (men's basketball)
1969— Bill Bunting (men's basketball)
1970— Charlie Scott (men's basketball)
1971— Don McCauley (football)
1972— Dennis Wuycik (men's basketball)
1973— George Karl (men's basketball)
1974— Tony Waldrop (men's track and field)
1975— Charles Waddell (football, men's track and field, men's basketball)
1976— Mitch Kupchak (men's basketball)
1977— Walter Davis (men's basketball)
1978— Phil Ford (men's basketball)
1979— Greg Norris (baseball)
1980— Bonny Brown (women's swimming)
1981— Lawrence Taylor (football), Al Wood (men's basketball)
1982— C.D. Mock (wrestling)
1983— David Drechsler (football)
1984— Sue Walsh (women's swimming)
1985— Ethan Horton (football)
1986— Brad Daugherty (men's basketball)
1987— Kenny Smith (men's basketball)
1988— Rob Koll (wrestling)
1989— Jeff Lebo (men's basketball)
1990— Shannon Higgins (women's soccer)
1991— Sharon Couch (women's track and field)
1992— Dwight Hollier (football)
1993— Kristine Lilly (women's soccer)
1994— Mia Hamm (women's soccer)
1995— Tisha Venturini (women's soccer)
1996— Marcus Jones (football)
1997— Debbie Keller (women's soccer)
1998— Antawn Jamison (men's basketball), Cindy Werley (field hockey)
1999— Ebenezer Ekuban (football), Cindy Parlow (women's soccer)
2000— Lorrie Fair (women's soccer), Tripp Phillips (men's tennis)
2001— Meredith Florance (women's soccer), Brendan Haywood (men's basketball)
2002— Katie Hathaway (women's swimming), Danny Jackson (men's soccer)
2003— Matt Crawford (men's soccer), Laura Greene (volleyball)
2004— Shalane Flanagan (women's track and field and cross country), Nicholas Monroe (men's tennis), Catherine Reddick (women's soccer)
2005— Jed Prossner (men's lacrosse), Alice Schmidt (women's track and field and cross country)
2006— Laura Gerraughty (women's track and field), Andrew Miller (baseball)
2007— Ivory Latta (women's basketball), Heather O'Reilly (women's soccer), Robert Woodard (baseball)
2008— Rachel Dawson (field hockey), Chad Flack (baseball)
2009— Dustin Ackley (baseball), Yael Averbuch (women's soccer), Tyler Hansbrough (men's basketball)
2010— Whitney Engen (women's soccer), Casey Nogueira (women's soccer), Chip Peterson (men's swimming)
2011— Corey Donohoe (women's lacrosse), Mateo Sossah (men's track and field), T.J. Yates (football)
2012— Katelyn Falgowksi (field hockey), Tyler Zeller (men's basketball)
2013— Kara Cannizzaro (women's lacrosse), Jonathan Cooper (football)
2014— Crystal Dunn (women's soccer), Eric Ebron (football)
2015— Caroline Price (women's tennis), Joey Sankey (men's lacrosse)
2016— Kristen Brown (softball), Marcus Paige (men's basketball), Emily Wold (field hockey)
2017— Hayley Carter (women's tennis), Justin Jackson (men's basketball), Ryan Switzer (football)
2018— Joel Berry II (men's basketball), Marie McCool (women's lacrosse), Kenny Selmon (men's track and field)
2019– Ashley Hoffman (field hockey), Luke Maye (men's basketball)
2020– William Blumberg (men's tennis), Marissa Creatore (field hockey)
Recipients by Sport: Football 36, Men's Basketball 32, Baseball 16, Women's Soccer 14, Men's Track and Field 10, Field Hockey 6, Men's Swimming 5, Men's Tennis 5, Women's Track and Field 4, Wrestling 4, Women's Lacrosse 3, Men's Soccer 3, Women's Swimming 3, Boxing 2, Men's Lacrosse 2, Women's Tennis 2, Women's Basketball 1, Softball 1, Volleyball 1
Players Mentioned
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