UK's Finest Honored at Catspy Awards

LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Kentucky athletics department presented more than 25 awards to 26 individuals and five teams at the fourth annual Catspy Awards, held Tuesday at Rupp Arena. Women's tennis and men's golf earned Team of the Year honors, while Danielle Wallace (volleyball) and Antoine Huffman (football) were named Mr. and Miss Wildcat, respectively.



Gymnast Heather Hite and women's basketball standout Carly Ormerod were named Co-Female Rookies of the Year, while rifle's Jason Dardas won Male Rookie of the Year. Softball's Brooke Marnitz won Female Performance of the Year after hitting for the cycle against Indiana State on Feb. 25. Rafael Little won Male Performance of the Year after collecting 372 all-purpose yards against Vanderbilt - the second most in school history.



Taryn Ignacio and J.B. Holmes won the K-Association Athlete of the Year Awards. Ignacio recently claimed UK's first-ever NCAA Championship in platform diving and was named the SEC Woman Diver of the Year. Holmes closed out his senior season in 2005 by taking the men's golf team to the NCAA Championships where they posted a seventh-place finish - the best in school history. Holmes, a four-time All-America honoree and the 2005 SEC Golfer of the Year, has already made a name for himself on the PGA tour, capturing the FBR Open title in February.



Associate Athletics Director Sandy Bell was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award for her extraordinary accomplishment s during her 17 years working in UK's compliance department. A native of Lexington, Bell has worked her way through the ranks. After joining UK in 1989, she was promoted to Director of Compliance in 1993. In 1996, Bell was named Assistant Athletic Director and was later promoted to her current title.



A complete list of all the winners is below:

Rookie of the Year
Heather Hite - Gymnastics
Carly Ormerod - Women's Basketball
Jason Dardas - Rifle



Performance of the Year
Brooke Marnitz - Softball
Rafael Little - Football



K-Association Athlete of the Year
Taryn Ignacio - Diving
J.B. Holmes - Men's Golf



Team of the Year
Women's Tennis
Men's Golf



Supporting Role
Brannan Sapp - Men's Soccer



Scratch Award
Crissy Cannon - Gymnastics
Ravi Moss - Men's Basketball



Blue Heart Award
Elizabeth Dotson - Women's Golf



Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Meghan Cooper - Softball
Taylor Begley - Football



Fifth Third Bank Community Service Award
Nicole Allyn - Track & Field
Antoine Huffman - Football



Character Award
Vicki Goss - Rifle



Academic Team of the Year
Softball
Men's Soccer



Coach of the Year
Mickie DeMoss - Women's Basketball
Brian Craig - Men's Golf



Miss Wildcat
Danielle Wallace - Volleyball



Mr. Wildcat
Antoine Huffman - Football



Play of the Year
Jenny Pfeiffer - Women's Basketball
Raymond Fontaine, Bo Smith and Antoine Huffman - Football



Courage Award
Mike Lyden - Diving Coach



Lifetime Achievement Award
Sandy Bell - Associate AD for Compliance