2000 Kanaley Award Winners Announced
Five student-athletes win Notre Dame’s top honor

May 2, 2000

Notre Dame, Ind. – Swimming standouts Elizabeth Barger and Ray Fitzpatrick, baseball star Jeff Perconte, women’s soccer All-American Jenny Streiffer (Baton Rouge, La.) and rowing headliner Katrina Ten Eyck have been named recipients of the prestigious Byron V. Kanaley Awards at the University of Notre Dame for the 1999-2000 school year.

The Byron V. Kanaley Awards are the most prestigious honors presented to senior student-athletes at the University. Since 1927, they have been awarded annually to monogram athletes who have been most exemplary as both students and leaders.

Selected by the Notre Dame Faculty Board on Athletics, the awards are named in honor of Byron V. Kanaley, a 1904 graduate who played baseball for the Irish. Following his graduation, Kanaley went on to enjoy a successful banking career in Chicago, Ill. He then served on the University’s Alumni Association as a lay trustee until his death in 1960.

Barger (Littleton, Colo.) won two BIG EAST championships and was a four-time all-conference selection in 2000 as the Irish won their fourth consecutive BIG EAST women’s swimming title. An 11-time BIG EAST champion during her illustrious career, Barger also holds two Notre Dame and two BIG EAST records, while earning honorable mention All-America honors in 1999. A five-time Dean’s List member, Barger has a 3.458 grade-point average in American studies. She was a 1999 College Swimming Coaches Association (CSCAA) All-Academic winner and earned honorable mention accolades in 1998. A two-time team captain, she earned second-team GTE-CoSIDA Fall/Winter At-Large honors this season. Barger becomes the fourth women’s swimmer and the first since Linda Gallo in 1996 to win the award.

Fitzpatrick (Doylestown, Pa.) became the first Notre Dame men’s swimmer to earn Academic All-America honors as he was named third-team GTE Men’s Fall/Winter At-Large in 2000. A team co-captain, Fitzpatrick won the 200 freestyle at the 2000 BIG EAST Championships, while leading Notre Dame to its second runner-up finish. A nine-time all-BIG EAST selection, Fitzpatrick has a 3.685 GPA while majoring in math. He is a seven-time Dean’s List honoree and holds seven Notre Dame swimming records. A member of the Academic Honors Program, Fitzpatrick was also named a College Swimming Coaches Association All-Academic honorable mention honoree in 1999. Fitzpatrick plans to enter medical school in the fall. This is the first men’s swimming winner of the Kanaley Award.

Perconte (Arlington Heights, Ill.), a solid offensive and defensive player for the Irish, was hitting .429 until a shoulder injury caused him to miss 11 games during the season. A tri-captain and starting second baseman, he played 34 error-free games to open the season. A six-time Dean’s List student, he carries a 3.73 GPA as a double major in economics and government. Perconte earned GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-District honors in 1999 and is a member of the Academic Honors Program. He is a two-time Rockne Student-Athlete Award winner and serves as a resident assistant at Knott Hall. Perconte becomes the 11th baseball player to win the honor and the first since Erik Madsen won the award in 1989. He will attend Notre Dame’s law school in the fall.

Streiffer (Baton Rouge, La.) earned All-America honors from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America in 1996 and 1999 when she led the Irish to the NCAA championship game. As a sophomore and a junior, Streiffer earned GTE/CoSIDA first-team Academic All-America accolades. She is one of only two players in Division I soccer history to score 70 goals and have 70 assists and is 10th in NCAA history and first in Notre Dame’s all-time listings with 211 career points. Streiffer has a 3.456 GPA in pre-professional studies and anthropology. She was the 2000 BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete of the Year and is a member of the Academic Honors Program. She was the 1997 recipient of the Knute-Rockne Scholar-Athlete Award and is a member of the Pre-Veterinary Club. She is the third women’s soccer player to receive the award and the first since Jen Renola in 1997. Streiffer plans to attend veterinary school after graduation.

Ten Eyck (Keystone, S.D.) is the rowing team’s most valuable athlete after leading the Irish in 2000 in only their second season of varsity rowing competition. Ten Eyck is an all-region nominee and was invited to the ARCO Training Center in San Diego to train with the United States National Team after sitting in the number-five seat of the first varsity eight boat this season. She also set Notre Dame records in the 2000- and 4000-meter ergometer test. A five-time Dean’s List honoree and Rockne Scholar-Athlete winner, Ten Eyck has maintained a 3.606 GPA majoring in the Program of Liberal Studies. She is a member of the Academic Honors Program, the PLS Honesty Committee and is a confirmation teacher at a local parish. Ten Eyck, the first rowing recipient of the Kanaley Award, plans to teach in a Catholic setting and enter the Society of Our Lady of the Holy Most Trinity.