Hundreds of Cougar athletes and Cougar Club members gathered for the annual Cougar Club Y Awards last week, paying tribute to the top student-athletes, coaches and volunteers for their efforts on and off the field.

The ceremony will be televised nationally on BYUTV on May 12 at 10 p.m. and May 13 at 1:30 p.m.

The winners among the nominated BYU student-athletes are selected by a vote of their student-athlete peers and represent the finest accomplishments and performances of the past 12 months (April 2005 through March 2006).

During that time, BYU has won two individual national championships and 11 conference championships while garnering 40 all-America citations and placing 94 individuals on all-conference teams. The Cougars have also collected seven league freshman-of-the-year awards, seven conference player-of-the-year honors and seven coach-of-the-year awards.

BYU is currently ranked 30th in the Sports Academy Director's Cup Division I standings, which ranks the top overall athletics programs in the country, making it the top Mountain West Conference school and the top school from a non-BCS conference.

The softball team was named the women's team of the year. The team went 45-14 overall and won the Mountain West Conference regular-season title and MWC tournament title.

The men's golf team was selected as the men's team of the year. It finished fourth at the NCAA national championships in 2005.

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The female athlete of the year award went to senior basketball star Ambrosia Anderson, who was recently drafted by the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx.

The male athlete of the year honor was awarded to all-American swimmer Brett Allen, who broke seven records this season.

Female rookie of the year was presented to golfer Juli Wightman, who was the 2005 MWC freshman of the year. Male rookie of the year was awarded to basketball player Trent Plaisted, who led BYU and all MWC freshmen in scoring.

The Ed Stein outstanding senior male athlete award was presented to 2005 volleyball star Mike Burke. The Lu Wallace outstanding senior female athlete award went to gymnast Marie-Helene Claveau.

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