With The Herald's last issue, the Sports Desk takes an opportunity to select its top male and female athletes from the past year.
Sarah Hayes '06 - women's basketballHayes had one of most impressive all-around seasons in Bears' history in 2005-2006. She was a unanimous selection to the All-Ivy first team for the second consecutive season and was named Ivy League Player of the Year, the first Brown player to win the award since Martina Jerant '94.
Hayes finished second in the league in scoring with 15.8 points per game and led the league in steals for the second straight season, averaging 2.63 per game. A 5'8" guard, she led the Bears in rebounding and finished fifth in the league with an average of 7.1 per contest. Hayes was also the only guard to shoot over 50 percent from the floor.
Over the year, Hayes had three 20-point games, including a career-high 25 against Hampton University in an 86-71 victory at the Brown Classic. Her most clutch performance came in the Bears' 64-62 defeat of Harvard in Cambridge, Mass., where Hayes drained a jumper with 0.4 seconds left to give Bruno the win.
Throughout her career, Hayes amassed over 1,000 points, 600 rebounds, 250 assists and 250 steals, becoming only the second player in league history to accomplish that feat. Hayes also captured almost every major individual award for a player, becoming the league's rookie of the year in 2003, making second team All-Ivy in 2004, earning first team All-Ivy honors in 2005 and finishing her career with the Player of the Year trophy.
Hayes is also a standout in the classroom. She was named a District I Academic All-American by the College Sports Information Directors of America for each of the past two years.
For all her accomplishments, Hayes was named Cox Sports Television and the Rhode Island Basketball Media Division I Women's Player of the Year - the third consecutive Bears player to garner that honor.
Nick Hartigan '06 - footballOne of the best running backs in the history of the Ivy League wrapped up his career this fall by leading Brown to a 9-1 overall record and its first-ever outright Ivy League championship. Hartigan, the team's running back, led the nation in rushing yards per game with 172.7 and also amassed 1,727 yards on the ground in 2005. That total broke Hartigan's own school record set in 2003 and was the second highest in Ivy history. He was a unanimous selection for Ivy League Player of the Year and only the second Bear to win that award.
Hartigan had five games of over 190 yards rushing including an astounding 252 and four touchdowns against the University of Rhode Island. He closed out his career in fashion with 229 yards and three scores against Columbia to clinch the Ivy title.
In his four years at Brown, Hartigan gained 4,492 yards and scored 54 touchdowns - both top the school lists. His 54 scores set a league record for touchdowns, and he also owns the career mark for points with 326. He was named the CoSIDA All-American of the year following the season.
One of the most decorated athlete in the history of Brown athletics, Hartigan was also a finalist for a Rhodes Scholarship and the Walter Payton Award, given to the top player in Division I-AA.
- Justin Goldman
