Nelson, Rettke named Sullivan Award semifinalists
March 09, 2020 | General News, Women's Swimming & Diving, Volleyball
Vote now to send Badgers to final round of nation’s best amateur athletes
MADISON, Wis. – Two athletes from the University of Wisconsin have been named to the 90th AAU James E. Sullivan Award, the AAU announced on Monday.
Beata Nelson, a senior on the women's swimming and diving team, and Dana Rettke, a junior on the volleyball squad, are among the 33 semifinalists named.
Voting for the award is open to the public at www.aausullivan.org. The semi-finalist round opens at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, March 9 and closes at 11:59 p.m. on Friday, March 13. Finalists will be named at the AAU Gussie Crawford Lifetime Achievement Award ceremony on Monday, March 23, and the AAU James E. Sullivan Award presentation will be held at the prestigious New York Athletic Club on Tuesday, April 21.
Fans can vote once per day for a Badger here. Voting closes on Friday, March 13 at 11:59 p.m. ET.
Beata Nelson, Women's Swimming & Diving
Nelson is one of the best backstrokers in college swimming. She is a seven-time All-American, six-time honorable mention All-American, five-time Big Ten champion and holds the collegiate, U.S. Open and American record in the 100-yard backstroke (49.18). Nelson is the only woman to break 50 seconds in 100 backstroke six times and holds the NCAA record in the 200-yard backstroke (1:47.24). She was named CSCAA Women's Swimmer of the Year after winning three individual national titles (100 back, 200 back, 200 IM).
Nelson is Wisconsin's school record-holder in the 100 back, 200 back, 100 fly and 200 IM, as well as holding Big Ten records in the 100 back (49.18), 200 back (1:47.24) and 200 IM (1:50.79). She was also the 2019 Big Ten Swimmer of the Year, Big Ten Swimmer of the Championship and All-Big Ten First Team. Academically, Nelson made the Academic All-Big Ten team in both 2018 and 2019.
Dana Rettke, Volleyball
Rettke was the youngest member of the 2019 U.S. National Team that won the Volleyball Nations League and earned a berth in the 2020 Olympics. The 6-foot-8 middle blocker is a three-time first-team All-American for the Badgers and was also named the 2019 Big Ten Conference Player of the Year and the 2019 American Volleyball Coaches Association Northeast Regional Player of the Year. Over her career, Rettke has earned three first-team All-Big Ten honors, two Academic All-Big Ten awards, and is an eight-time Big Ten Player of the Week. She was also a 2019-20 Honda Award finalist in volleyball.
Rettke has aided Wisconsin to three NCAA tournament appearances, including a national runner-up finish in 2019. She has the UW career record holder in hitting percentage and ranks among the top Badger players in kills, kills per set, total blocks, blocks per set, points and points per set.
About the Award
The AAU Sullivan Award has been given out since 1930 to the nation's best amateur athlete. Only one finalist will join the illustrious list of previous winners which include: Bobby Jones (1930), Doc Blanchard (1945), Wilma Rudolph (1961), Bill Bradley (1965), Mark Spitz (1970), Bill Walton (1973), Bruce Jenner (1976), Carl Lewis (1981), Joan Benoit (1985), Janet Evans (1989), Peyton Manning (1997), Michael Phelps (2003), Tim Tebow (2007), Shawn Johnson (2008), Missy Franklin (2012), and Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott (2014) and the first volleyball player to win the award, Wisconsin's own Lauren Carlini (2016).
Players Mentioned
