UMD News Releases

DULUTH, MN – A pair of All-Americans who helped propel their teams to NCAA Division II quarterfinal playoff berths -- football offensive guard Andrew Muer and volleyball libero Julie Rainey (volleyball) were bestowed with the University of Minnesota Duluth's Outstanding Male and Female Senior Athlete Awards for 2014-15 at the fifth annual Dinner with Champions banquet on Tuesday night (May 5) at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center while Adam Krause (hockey) and Amelia Maher (track and field) were recipients of this year's E.L. "Duce" Rasmussen Award as the school's top scholar-athletes.

In addition, senior soccer defender Kelli Klun received the Shjon Podein Community Service Award, which has been presented annually since 2003 to a UMD student-athlete who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the field of play and has made noteworthy humanitarian contributions in the Duluth and University communities.

The night also included the awarding of the Chancellor's Cup to the women's basketball Bulldogs -- for the second straight year -- for maintaining the best collective grade point average during the last two semesters (3.63) of any UMD team.

2015 Dinner With Champions Photo Booth

Andrew Muer, a third-year starter from Perham, Minn., capped off a rewarding Bulldog career by being named to a school-record seven different All-American teams in 2014 -- the Associated Press (first team), American Football Coaches Association (first team), USA College Football (first team), Don Hansen (first team), D2Football.com (second team), Beyond Sports Network (second team) and Daktronics (third team). The two-time All-NSIC first team pick anchored a front line for a Bulldog offense that ranked eighth among all NCAA II clubs in rushing yardage (282.5 yards per game), 11th in scoring (40.9 points per game) and second in first downs (348) this past fall. Muer and the Bulldogs rolled up their third most wins in program history (they were 13-1 overa), captured a league-record 19th Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conferene title and secured a seventh straight berth in the NCAA II playoffs

After being redshirted as a first-year freshman in 2011, Julie Rainey started all 137 matches over the next four seasons for the Bulldogs, who went 123-14 (.898) during that stretch. This past fall, she captained UMD captained UMD to its best winning percentage in school history (.943 off a 33-2 record), the NSIC regular season and tournament titles, and the top seed in the NCAA II Central Regional Tournament. For her spirited play, the Stewartville, Minn., native was chosen the NSIC Libero of the Year for the second straight season in addition to landing her second American Volleyball Coaches Association All-American citation in as many years (first team in 2014 and second team in 2013). A member of the All-NSIC first team as a senior, junior and sophomore and a 2014-15 Shjon Podein Community Service Award finalist, Rainey exited the Bulldog program as its all-time leader in digs with 2,465 (762 more than the next closest competitor).

A right winger from Hermantown, Minn., Adam Krause has compiled a 3.72 cumulative grade point average while majoring in finance. During each of the past two seasons, he's been chosen to the National Collegiate Hockey Association's Scholar-Athlete Team and has not failed to make the Labovitz School of Business Dean's List since enrolling at UMD. In 2014-15, Krause was a nominee for a pair of prestigious national honors -- the Hockey Humanitarian Award and the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award -- as well as finalist for Shjon Podein Community Service Award (for the second year in a row). On the ice, he saved some of his best hockey for last, matching or eclipsing career highs for goals (seven), assists (10) and points (17) this past season despite missing a month with a wrist injury. Krause, UMD's first two-year team captain since the 2007-08 season, also ranked second among Bulldogs in plus-minus (a career-best +15).

Amelia Maher, a psychology major who maintains a 3.96 GPA, earned a NSIC Myles Brand All-Academic with Distinction Award in 2014-15 and was UMD's nominee for that conference's Willis R. Kelly Scholar-Athlete Award. Besides qualifying for the College of Liberal Arts Dean's List all seven of her semesters at UMD, the Sauk Centre, Minn., native, and 2015 team captain was the recipient of the Claudia A. Johnson Reaching Higher Scholarship, the UMD Psychology Legacy Scholarship and the Triple H. Scholarship. Maher, a USTFCCCA All-Academic Team qualifier in 2013-14 and and three-time All-NSIC Academic Team honoree, captured the NSIC indoor pentathlon title in 2014 and competed at the NCAA II Championships in that event. She was also part of UMD's 10th-place finishing distance medley relay team at the NCAA II indoors that winter. The current UMD record holder in the indoor 200-meter dash and outdoor 4 x 100 relay, Maher reigned as the NSIC indoor and outdoor high jump champion as a junior.

Since her arrival on the UMD campus in 2012, Kelli Klun has been heavily involved in an array of volunteering endeavors. During the past two years, she's been matched with a teenage girl in the Mentor Duluth Program (Big Brothers/Big Sisters) and has also delivered meals every Friday to the area's elderly and homebound through "Meals on Wheels." In addition, Klun has worked weekly with special education classes at her alma mater (Duluth East High School) since she was a freshman and as a volunteer coach at the East Select Soccer youth clinics the last four years. The 2013 All-NSIC second team honoree spearheaded two events this past school year -- the Salvation Army's Adopt-a-Family program and a "Kick's For Causes" fundraiser at one of UMD's home soccer games. Klun, who will graduate this May with a B.A. degree in communication, has also given her free time at Animal Allies in Duluth.

Also on Tuesday night at the Dinner with Champions event, Dave Walter of Duluth received the Bruce Bennett Service Award (exceptional service and commitment to UMD athletics) while the Marsh Nelson Bulldog Award recognizing leadership and support of the Bulldogs in the community went to Richard and Patricia DeLano of Duluth.