May 2, 2014
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IOWA CITY, Iowa — Senior wrestler Tony Ramos and sophomore field hockey player Natalie Cafone have been named the University of Iowa’s 2014 Male and Female Athletes of the Year. The duo will be Iowa’s nominees for the 2014 Big Ten Conference Athletes of the Year awards. Winners will be announced in late June, following a vote by a panel of Big Ten media voters.
Ramos won the NCAA and Big Ten championships at 133 pounds his senior season, posting an overall record of 32-2, with a team-high 12 pins. He was undefeated in eight Big Ten duals, and finished the season with 18 straight wins, including five in a row against ranked opponents at the NCAA tournament. He scored bonus points in 19 of his 32 wins, and led Iowa with 76 dual points scored.
Cafone finished the 2013 season as the NCAA statistical champion for points per game, leading the nation with a 2.48 points per game average. The Fairfield, N.J., native earned her first career All-America accolade after posting team highs in points (52) and goals (22). Cafone tied for third nationally with 1.05 goals per game and was named to the All-Big Ten first team, the Big Ten All-Tournament team, and the NFHCA West Region All-America first team. She is the first Hawkeye to lead the nation in points per game since Kristy Gleason in 1992 (3.95). Former Hawkeye Ellen Egan led the nation in the category in 1983 (3.88).
Nine wrestling and 10 field hockey student-athletes have earned Iowa’s nomination for the conference Athlete of the Year awards. The Hawkeyes have produced five winners, including wrestlers Ed Banach (1983), Barry Davis (1985) and Brent Metcalf (2008), and field hockey standout Kristy Gleason (1994).