N.C. State golfer Matt Hill and North Carolina women's soccer player Casey Nogueira were named the ACC's male and female athletes of the year, the conference announced Thursday.
Hill was the 2009 individual champion and won eight tournaments in the past year, easily eclipsing the previous ACC record of five. A junior, Hill will receive the Anthony J. McKevlin Award, named in honor of a former sports editor of the News & Observer. He is the first golfer ever to win the award.
He is the second golfer in NCAA history to win conference, regional and national titles in the same year. Tiger Woods was the other, in 1996.
Nogueira led her team to an NCAA title and was named national player of the year. She is a senior from Raleigh and will receive the Mary Garber Award, named for the Winston-Salem Journal reporter who was a pioneer for female sports journalists. Nogueira led the nation with 25 goals, including both of the Tar Heels' goals in their 2-1 defeat of Notre Dame in the NCAA championship match.
The awards were determined by voting of 49 members of the Atlantic Sports Media Association. Each school in the conference nominated one male and one female athlete for consideration.
Hill received 20 votes. Florida State football player Myron Rolle was second with nine votes.
Nogueira's 18 votes put her ahead of Duke freshman tennis player Mallory Cecil (13) and track and field champion Kim Williams of Florida State (7).
