Albee, Burke Rider Athletes of Year
Diver Amanda Burke and baseball player A.J. Albee were named the Rider University Athletes of the Year for the 2009-10 academic school year.
Burke, a recent Rider graduate, wins the award for the third straight year. Albee, who just completed his junior year at Rider, wins the award for the first time.
"Getting this award means a lot to me," said Burke (Southampton, Pa. /William Tennent High School), who finished first in the three-meter dive and second in the one-meter dive at the NCAA Zone Meet, qualifying for the NCAA Championships for the third consecutive year. "It's an honor to have and it serves as a reminder that the hard work I've put in is being recognized. I'm being rewarded for my accomplishments. This was a goal of mine, to win this again and it is something I can look back on."
Burke was the first Rider diver to ever qualify for Nationals and did so three times.
"There are a lot of great athletes at Rider so this is a pretty big honor," said Albee (Ashley, Pa. /Hanover Area High School), who set Rider single-season records this year for runs scored and runs batted in, as well as assists and double plays at second base, leading the Broncs to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship and the NCAA Tournament. "I am very surprised."
"A.J. was consistent from day one, extending for the entire 59-game season," said Rider head coach Barry Davis, the New Jersey Division I Coach of the Year. "His work ethic is superb and his ability to play in the clutch in big games separates him from others. He is very deserving of the award."
Albee was named the MAAC Championship Tournament MVP and was named to the NCAA Regional All-Tournament team. "Playing in the NCAAs was a great highlight of the season," Albee said, "against Texas, the number two team in the nation, in front of 7,000 fans, that was pretty exciting."
Burke was the Eastern College Athletic Conference Champion and the MAAC Champion in both the one-meter and the three-meter dives, earning Diver of the Year honors at both championships.
"This season was my best season," Burke said. "Even though I did not get All-American, I just missed it on both boards."
"The coaching staff is very proud of what Amanda has been able to accomplish at Rider," said Rider head coach Steve Fletcher. "Her energy in the gym and at the pool is unmatched. She loves the sport and is very coachable, because she genuinely wants every opportunity to improve. Despite her multiple successful appearances on a national stage, Amanda takes great pride in the achievements of her team in dual meet rivalries and at the MAAC and ECAC Championships."
Burke owns all five Rider team diving records and all four Rider Pool diving records, as well as both MAAC diving records, and is currently training at the USA Diving National Training Center in Indianapolis and attending National and International meets.
"I just had a Zone meet in Minnesota (to qualify) for the Summer Nationals," said Burke, who placed fifth in both one-meter and three-meter events after placing first in the one-meter preliminaries. "This is my chance so I'll be training out here for a couple of years."
Burke placed second in the preliminaries in the 2010 Winter Nationals, fifth in the finals, and is looking to better that at the upcoming Summer Nationals.
Albee was a First-Team All-New Jersey selection this year, batting .360 with 86 hits, just two shy of the Rider record. In 59 games he scored a Rider record 63 runs and knocked in a Rider record 60, while compiling a Rider record 182 assists and turning a Rider record 39 double plays, leading Rider to a program best 36 wins. "I just went out there every day and tried to work hard," Albee said. "I was really happy that we were able to win the MAAC and go to the Regional."
Albee is playing ball this summer in the Shenandoah Valley League in Virginia and returns to Rider in September for his senior year.
Burke will be training at the USA Diving National Training Center in Indianapolis for the 2012 Summer Olympics.
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