Greensboro, NC (02/20/01) — Four of Guilford College’s top student-athletes received the 2001 Nereus C. English '26 Athletic Leadership Award at a banquet Tuesday evening on Guilford’s campus. This year’s recipients are: senior soccer player Jenny Akman (Washington, DC/Georgetown Day), junior golfer Andrew Biggadike (Ridgewood, NJ/Ridgewood), junior soccer and basketball player Amy Evans (New Bern, NC/New Bern), and senior golfer Clint Fields (Siler City, NC/Jordan-Matthews). The foursome raises the number of English Award recipients in 19 years to 145.

Named for one of the college’s most loyal alumni, the annual English Award is the school’s highest honor for athletic ability and leadership. Guilford first presented the prize in 1977 to the student-athletes who reached the highest ideals of athletic accomplishment, leadership and academic achievement. Jim English '66, of Thomasville, NC, made the presentations on behalf of the English family at this year’s banquet.

Akman completed her stellar soccer career at Guilford last fall as the Quakers' first all-conference goaltender in school history. After earning honorable mention honors in 1998 and 1999, she received second team All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) recognition in 2000. Akman ended her career with a memorable performance in Guilford's ODAC quarterfinal loss to Lynchburg with a 20-save performance against the eventual league-champion Hornets. She leaves with school records for saves in a season (318), career saves (666) and saves in a game (41, vs. Western Carolina, 1999). Akman also established new records for games started and played by a goaltender (62). Also an accomplished student, she earned a spot on the 2000 GTE Academic All-District III College Division Women's At-Large First Team. A dean's list chemistry major, Akman received the 1998 CRC Freshman Chemistry Award and completed an internship at the Goddard Space Center in 1999. The daughter of Jerome and Susan Akman, she is one of 44 recipients of the Charles Dana Scholarship given to those students of outstanding character, leadership and scholarship.

Biggadike is in the midst of his third season with Guilford's golf top-ranked team and stands second on the club with a 74.2 scoring average through six fall matches. He enjoyed a brilliant sophomore season last year, winning third team All-American honors and the ODAC Player of the Year and Guilford's Best Undergraduate Male Athlete Awards. A 2000 Golf Coaches Association of America All-District 3 selection, Biggadike shared medalist honors at last year's ODAC Tournament and earned a spot on the All-ODAC team for the second time in as many years. A member of the Quakers' 2000 NCAA Division III Tournament team, he has a 75.5 stroke average and eight top-five finishes in his career. A fourth-place finisher at the 2000 New Jersey Amateur Championships, Biggadike is the son of Ralph and Maylin Biggadike.

One of the top multi-sport players in Guilford history, Evans owns most of the school's soccer scoring records and ranks among the Quakers' career steals and assists leaders in basketball. Through three soccer seasons, Evans has 104 career points and 47 goals, both school records, in 55 matches. She also holds Guilford's season standards for points (44, 1999) and goals (19, 1999). A three-time All-ODAC player, the forward led the league in scoring in 1998 and 1999 and received Guilford's Best Undergraduate Female Athlete Award in 1999. Evans is a two-time team captain and a four-time ODAC Player of the Week Award winner.

On the hardwood, Evans is in the midst of her best basketball season and ranks among the conference's best in steals and assists. She became a team captain in January and has helped the Quakers to a school-record 16 ODAC wins and a number-two seed in this week's ODAC Tournament. She ranks third on Guilford's career steals and assists charts and sixth in blocked shots. Evans received Guilford's Best Defensive Player Award in each of the past two seasons. A dean's list accounting and management double major, Evans is a regular on Guilford's Student-Athlete Honor Roll and the daughter of Bob and Kathy Evans.

Fields is in the midst of his final season with Coach Jack Jensen's top-ranked golfers. The three-year letter winner played on the Quakers' 1998 and 2000 teams, which won the ODAC championship and qualified for the national tournament each year. He earned All-ODAC and All-ODAC Tournament recognition both seasons. Fields shared medalist honors at the 2000 ODAC Tournament with a two-day 146 with Biggadike and junior teammate Andrew Eversole (Greensboro, NC/Northwest Guilford). A member of Guilford's Student-Athlete Honor Roll and an Academic All-ODAC selection, Fields is a sport management major and the son of Sue Fields.