Gause & Zurick Earn B1G Outstanding Sportsmanship Awards
Jun 07 | Football
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Seniors Quentin Gause of football and Racquel Zurick from women's golf were Rutgers University's recipients of the 2015-16 Big Ten Conference Outstanding Sportsmanship Award. Team captains and Big Ten All-Academic selections, they both excelled in the classroom and competitively, while also serving the community.
A 2015 All-Big Ten honorable mention selection at linebacker, Gause finished his senior year with a career-best 96 tackles to rank second on the team. The team captain totaled 15 tackles in a game twice during the campaign and earned the "R" Man Courage Award for demonstrating courage, belief, strength and inspiration to all.
A 2014-15 Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, Zurick carded a 73 to open the 2016 Big Ten Championship and competed in all events during her junior and senior campaigns. The co-captain earned All-Tournament honors with an eighth place finish after shooting 226 (77-75-74) at the Diane Thomason in the fall of 2015.
A journalism and media studies major, Gause was a three-time all-conference academic team member and a national semifinalist for the 2015 William V. Campbell Trophy, an honor that goes to the best football scholar-athlete in the nation. In addition, he made a difference in the community and was a nominee for the 2015 Allstate American Football Coaches Association Good Works Team. He has made visits to local hospitals, worked with the Boys & Girls Club of New York, volunteered with the Special Olympics of New Jersey and Embrace Kids Foundation.
A double major in human resource management and labor studies, Zurick was a three-time all-academic team member and served as a student intern in the office of athletic compliance as a senior. Her academic performance was instrumental in women's golf receiving public recognition from the NCAA for its perfect multi-year Academic Progress Rate score.
In 2014, Gause was the recipient of the Rutgers Leadership Award, presented to a student-athlete who has demonstrated exceptional leadership qualities as students, athletes and citizens during the academic year. He previously participated in a missionary trip to Haiti to help rebuild parts of the country following a devastating earthquake.
Zurick was very active with the Rutgers Leadership Academy and performed 46 hours of community service in 2015-16 alone. Among the many outreach initiatives she was involved in were the Elijah's Promise Community Soup Kitchen, the HERO Campaign, the Big Chill, the Christ Church Cleaning, the Rutgers Dance Marathon, the 2016 Beach Sweep and Rutgers Day.
Gause signed as an undrafted free agent with the Philadelphia Eagles.
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