PEORIA, Ill. -- Bradley University will announce the 2007 Watonga Award winner from a pool of three finalists during the athletic department's annual Senior Send Off and Watonga Awards Ceremony Tuesday night at the Michel Student Center Ballroom.
Tuesday's ceremonies will begin at six o'clock with the hour-long Senior Send Off program, which is coordinated by the Braves Council to recognize all of the graduating senior student-athletes. The Watonga Awards program will immediately follow Senior Send Off, approximately seven o'clock, and will include the presentation of the Orville Nothdurft Lifetime Achievement Award, the Carl Grose Community Service Award and the Megan Fong Inspiration Award, as well as the announcement of the candidates for the Alumni B-Club Most Outstanding Athlete awards.
The Watonga Award is the highest honor Bradley University bestows upon a graduating senior student-athlete and recognizes the ability of the winner to combine athletic and academic success with community service. The 2007 Watonga Award finalists include soccer player Zach Bell (Rochester, Ill./Rochester H.S.), baseball player Ryan Curry (Downers Grove, Ill./South H.S.) and volleyball player Amber DeBroux (Byron, Ill./Byron H.S.).
A transfer from Springfield College in Illinois, Bell was the soccer team's leading scorer during each of his two seasons while helping the Braves to back-to-back Missouri Valley Conference regular-season championships in 2005 and 2006, as well as a NCAA Tournament appearance in 2005. Boasting a 3.53 cumulative grade point average as a health science major, Bell was a voted a second team National Soccer Coaches Association of America Scholar All-American last fall and recently was accepted into the physical therapy doctoral program at Bradley. In addition to his soccer and academic performance, Bell has been heavily involved in the soccer program's community service activities, while also volunteering to coach his younger brother's youth soccer team in the Springfield area.
Boasting a .414 batting average through Sunday and riding his second 14-game hitting streak of the season, Curry is the only player in The Valley hitting at least .400 this season and he ranks second in school history with his 236 career hits. A two-time All-MVC selection, second team in 2004 and honorable mention in 2006, Curry has emerged as a league Player-of-the-Year candidate by helping the Braves (27-16, 10-8 MVC) to 12 wins in the last 13 games, including the current seven-game league winning streak that equals the longest in program history. Owning a 3.18 cumulative grade point average as business management and administration major, Curry has earned a spot on the Bradley Athletic Director's Honor Roll during each of his first seven semesters. Among his community service activities, Curry has volunteered for the Salvation Army's annual Christmas bell-ringing program each of his four years and assisted with Little League clinics in both Peoria and Naperville.
A two-time, second-team All-Missouri Valley Conference honoree as an outside hitter, DeBroux led the Braves in kills (361), attack percentage (.217) and points per game (3.97) during the 2006 season. In addition to her on-court honors in 2005 and 2006, DeBroux was voted a first-team Valley Scholar-Athlete last fall and she enters final exams with a 3.52 cumulative grade point average as a marketing major. She has earned a spot on the Bradley Athletic Director's Honor Roll six times during her career. DeBroux's community service has included volunteer work at the annual Megan Fong Blood and Marrow Drive, as well as activities for Easter Seals, the Loaves and Fish soup kitchen and the Greater Peoria Family YMCA.
