Ryan Smith and Katie Weininger named Ohio Northern's Clyde Lamb Award winners for 2008-09

Ryan Smith/Katie Weininger

By Steven Wright

ADA — Ohio Northern seniors Ryan Smith (Miamisburg) and Katie Weininger (Sycamore/Mohawk) have been named Ohio Northern's Clyde Lamb Award winners for the 2008-09 school year.

The Clyde Lamb Award is given to the top senior male and female student-athletes at each of the 10 Ohio Athletic Conference schools each school year.

To be eligible for the award, you must participate in an OAC-sponsored sport for at least two years, have senior status, have a minimum GPA of 3.00 and display sportsmanlike conduct in a manner that has brought credit to the student-athlete and his/her institution.

Smith, a biology major who will be attending medical school at Cincinnati after graduation, helped guide the men's soccer team to the NCAA Division III Elite Eight, the deepest in the tournament that any ONU men's soccer team has reached.

The team also won its second OAC Tournament Championship in three years, the only two times in school history the team has made the tournament. 

This season, Smith was Second Team NSCAA/adidas Scholar All-America, First Team NSCAA/adidas Scholar All-Mid East Region and First Team Academic All-Ohio Athletic Conference.

Throughout his career, Smith was a three-time First Team All-OAC honoree and was named OAC Defender of the Year as a sophomore and a senior.

He was also awarded one of the NCAA's Postgraduate Scholarships in recognition of his outstanding achievements as a scholar and a student-athlete.

"Everyone in our program is proud of Ryan and he is very deserving of this honor," said head men's soccer coach Brent Ridenour. "Ryan is an amazing student athlete and our soccer program is better because he was with us for four years. Ryan has left a legacy."

Weininger, who has a dual major in public relations and sport management, was an AVCA First Team All-American selection and was OAC Co-Player of the Year for the Ohio Northern volleyball team.

Weininger was an outstanding all-around performer, dishing out 1,421 assists with 253 digs and 187 kills this season. She ended her career ranked on ONU’s all-time assists list with 4,680 after only setting three seasons.

At 11.10 assists per set, she ranked fourth in the country and led the Polar Bears to 12.93 assists per set as a team, which is the nation’s top number.

Weininger led the Polar Bear volleyball team to a 34-5 record this season, which included a school-record 27-match winning streak. ONU advanced the NCAA Division III Final Four before bowing out to eventual champion Emory (Ga.) in five sets.

She has also been named AVCA First Team All-Great Lakes Region, ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Third Team Academic All-America, First Team Academic All-District IV and First Team Academic All-OAC this season.

"Katie is a phenomenal ambassador for the university and our volleyball program," said head volleyball coach Kate Witte. "She is a classy, articulate young women who is the perfect representation of what ONU stands for."

Weininger will continue her education at Ashland where she will pursue a master's of education in sport education and serve as an assistant coach for the volleyball team.