Brenner, Davis Named Michigan's Outstanding Sportsmanship Award Winners
6/30/2021 11:30:00 AM | General, Men's Basketball, Women's Gymnastics
ROSEMONT, Ill. -- University of Michigan women's gymnastics junior Abby Brenner and men's basketball graduate student Austin Davis were named U-M's Outstanding Sportsmanship Award winners for the 2020-21 academic year by the Big Ten Conference Wednesday (June 30).
Brenner and Davis were chosen from Michigan's 29 Big Ten Sportsmanship Award recipients to represent the block "M" as individuals who distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior.
Brenner was a staple on the vault, uneven bars and floor exercise before her injury on the floor during the Big Five Meet. The junior battled her way back and competed on the uneven bars at the national championship meet, as her 9.9250 ignited the Wolverine spirit in the third rotation en route to the program's first national championship.
Brenner, a two-time Chip Hills Spirit Award winner, has spent time as a pen pal for local community classes and reading to classes virtually, led and held virtual community social clubs, and helped create Mott-Tube videos that were sent to patients at the Mott Children's Hospital during COVID.
Davis earns his second straight Outstanding Sportsmanship honor for Michigan. A team captain, Davis began the 2020-21 season as the starting center before suffering a foot injury that caused him to miss five games. He relinquished his starting spot to freshman Hunter Dickinson, whom he mentored and helped to consensus All-America second-team honors, a spot on the All-Big Ten first team and Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors.
Prior to getting hurt, Davis was setting new career bests in every statistical category. He ended up averaging 5.4 points and 2.8 rebounds per game while shooting 70.5 percent from the field, and he helped the Wolverines to the Big Ten championship, a semifinal appearance in the Big Ten Tournament, and the program's second-ever No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament.
Davis is finishing his master's degree in movement science, planning to either play professionally overseas or return to work with Jon Sanderson in the strength and conditioning department.
One member of each varsity sports team on every Big Ten campus was chosen by his or her institution as a Sportsmanship Award honoree, and two Outstanding Sportsmanship Award winners were then selected from each institution.
All of the Sportsmanship Award winners have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. In addition, these honorees must be in good academic standing and must have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting.
2020-21 Michigan Big Ten Sportsmanship Award Winners
Baseball: Joe Pace
Men's Basketball: Austin Davis
Women's Basketball: Hailey Brown
Men's Cross Country: Jacob Branch
Women's Cross Country: Kathryn House
Field Hockey: Clare Brush
Football: Carlo Kemp
Men's Golf: Charlie Pilon
Women's Golf: Ashely Lau
Men's Gymnastics: Alan Gerdov
Women's Gymnastics: Abby Brenner
Ice Hockey: Jack Becker
Men's Lacrosse: Jackson Zaugg
Women's Lacrosse: Quinn Melidona
Rowing: Ally Eggleton
Men's Soccer: Carlos Tellez
Women's Soccer: Janiece Joyner
Softball: Sarah Schaefer
Men's Swimming and Diving: Will Roberts
Women's Swimming and Diving: Sierra Schmidt
Men's Tennis: Nick Beaty
Women's Tennis: Merri Kelly
Men's Indoor Track and Field: Devin Meyrer
Men's Outdoor Track and Field: Roland Amarteifio
Women's Indoor Track and Field: Katt Miner
Women's Outdoor Track and Field: Maddy Trevisan
Volleyball: Maddie Dowd
Water Polo: Heidi Ritner
Wrestling: Kanen Storr
Players Mentioned
