Now that the 2009-10 Ivy League season has come to a close, the time for awarding individual accolades has arrived. Senior forward Ryan Wittman was officially named Ivy League Player of the Year in a unanimous selection, while senior tri-captain Jeff Foote also received honors as the league’s best defensive player. Senior guard Louis Dale joined his teammates on the First-team All-Ivy squad, and sophomore guard Chris Wroblewski nabbed an honorable mention.

Wittman became just the third player in Cornell history to earn the distinctive honor, following in the footsteps of Ken Bantum ’85 and Dale, who won the award in the aftermath of his 2007-08 season. It was expected that Harvard senior guard Jeremy Lin –– also a First-team honoree –– would challenge Wittman for the top player nod; however, that proved to not be the case, as Wittman garnered votes from all eight Ivy coaches who voted on the award.

The Red’s leading scorer averaged 17.5 points, four rebounds and 1.9 assists in his final year at Cornell, which was highlighted by his draining a conference record 100 3-pointers to give him 368 for his career –– also an Ivy League record. Wittman shot an impressive 47 percent from the field, including a blistering 42 percent mark from beyond the arc. In his career Wittman has tallied a school-best 1,974 points, and will have the opportunity to become just the fifth player in league history to reach the 2,000-point plateau when the Red resumes play in the NCAA tournament next week.

“Obviously it’s a big honor, but the only reason it means something is because we won the championship. We have two other guys in Jeff and Lou who are just as deserving of it … it’s great to see all of us on the First-team,” Wittman said.Ryan Wittman: 2009-10 Ivy League Player of the Year (unanimous); Three-time First-team All-Ivy selection. - By: Tina Chou

Wittman’s selection to the First-team was his third consecutive appearance on the list, as he and Dale became the first set of teammates to make the squad in three consecutive years since Penn’s Jerome Allen and Matt Maloney achieved the feat over the 1992-95 seasons. 

Foote, now a back-to-back winner of the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year award, boasts league-bests in field goal percentage (62.3) and rebounds (8.2), while averaging just under two blocked shots per game. The 7-0 center earned Ivy League Player of the Week honors three times, with two of those coming against the fierce competition of NCAA powerhouses Syracuse and Kansas.

“I was really happier for the rest of my teammates, like Louis and Ryan, for getting Player of the Year … [this] was more of a team accomplishment. … It’s more about the team this year,” Foote said.

Foote can add the First-team and defensive accolades to a list that also includes MVP of the MSG Holiday Festival, during which he put up 19 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks against St. John’s. On the season, Foote averaged 12.3 points and 2.3 assists per game, playing an integral part in many of the Red’s league-best 27 victories.Jeff Foote: First-team All-Ivy unanimous selection 2009-10; Two-time Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year. - By: Tina Chou

Dale earned a spot on the league’s top team for the third consecutive year, making him the 25th player in Ivy history to achieve the feat. 

“It’s a good team award as well –– just being awarded for our hard work is definitely something special,” Dale said.

The Red point guard led the Ivies with a 4.8 assist per game average, while establishing a new career-high with 39 steals on the season. Dale totaled an impressive line that included 11.9 points and 2.9 boards per game, shooting 46 percent from the field and 39 percent from beyond the arc. Louis Dale: Three-time First-team All-Ivy selection; 2007-08 Ivy League Player of the Year. - By: Emily Burke

Only a year removed from receiving Rookie of the Year honors, Wroblewski joins this year’s squad as an honorable mention. Wroblewski averaged 8.9 points, 3.3 assists and 2.7 rebounds per game in a season that saw him take hold of Cornell’s all-time 3-point field goal percentage mark, shooting 46 percent from outside.  

The trio of Cornell seniors are joined on the team by Lin and Penn sophomore guard Zack Rosen, who was instrumental in the Quakers’ upset of the Red last month.