DULUTH — Senior forward Clara Van Veeren of Duluth, Minn., was named WCHA Student-Athlete of the Year on Thursday, becoming the eighth person to do so after fifth-year senior goaltender Emma Soderberg won the award a year ago. The award was given to a Bulldog player.
Seven UMD winners were already the best in the league until Thursday when Van Wielen took eighth place. He is scheduled to return to UMD for a fifth season after receiving an exemption from playing during the 2020-21 COVID-19 pandemic season, so he has a chance to repeat as the award winner next season.
“She's very competitive and very hardworking. Nothing gets past her and knowing her the last four years, she deserves that opportunity,” Bulldogs senior defenseman Nina said. Jobst Smith said. “Her hard work and everything she does makes her a winner in everything she does. It’s really inspiring to coach with her, work with her and grow with her. ”
Goaltender Ritta Shovlin is the only Bulldog player to win two consecutive championships in 2006 and 2007. Other UMD winners include Katherine Daoust (2018), Lara Stalder (2017), Jocelyn Larocque (2011), and Caroline Ouellette (2005). ).
The WCHA's Outstanding Student-Athlete Award is voted on by the league's eight faculty athletics representatives and combines both on-ice and off-ice accomplishments.
Van Wielen, who scored a career-high 13 goals this year, has maintained a 4.0 grade-point average over four seasons and will graduate in May with a degree in political science and philosophy. She has been named an All-America Scholar twice and has been named to the WCHA's All-Academic team three times. Van Wheelen also serves as president and equity chair of the UMD Athletic Department's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council.
Van Wieren was one of three Bulldogs named as a finalist for the 2023-24 WCHA Player of the Year award, along with goaltenders Haley MacLeod and Yves Gascón. McLeod, a sophomore, lost WCHA Goaltender of the Year to St. Cloud State's Sanni Ahola, and Gascón, a freshman, lost WCHA Rookie of the Year to Ohio State's Joy Dunn.
