Doton, Haas Earn 2003-04 Athlete Of The Year Awards
9/1/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Sept. 1, 2004
Kelly Doton and Bill Haas, the most recent national players of the year in field hockey and men's golf, respectively, were named Wake Forest's Female and Male Athlete of the Year for the 2003-04 academic year. Doton receives the Marge Crisp Award and Haas the Arnold Palmer Award, the traditional honors given to Wake Forest's top athletes. Doton is a two-time winner of the Crisp Award. Haas follows 2003 winner Josh Howard. Doton was a three-time All-ACC selection and two-time ACC Player of the Year. After leading Wake Forest to its second straight NCAA championship in the fall of 2003, Doton received the prestigious Honda Award, which goes annually to the nation's top player. Doton led the Demon Deacons to four straight Final Fours and was named to the NCAA All-Tournament Team each year. Haas concluded his remarkable college career in the spring and is now making waves on the PGA Tour. After breaking the NCAA record for career stroke average and finishing second at the 2004 NCAA Championship, Haas earned the Ben Hogan Award, college golf's equivalent to the national player of the year. A two-time ACC Player of the Year, Haas won a school-record 10 career tournaments. In 2004, he was ranked No. 1 the entire the season and 32 of his 42 rounds were at par or better. Doton's selection as the Marge Crisp Award winner means that a field hockey player has captured the honor in three of the last four years. Haas is the first Deacon men's golfer to win the Palmer Award since Gary Hallberg in 1979. The Marge Crisp and Arnold Palmer Award winners are chosen by Wake Forest head coaches and a group of athletic administrators.