June 10, 2015

The Badgers enjoyed their share of success in 2014-15 and UWBadgers.com is honoring the best student-athletes, teams, performances and moments of the year. Over the next few weeks, we'll unveil the best of the Badgers in five categories: Athletes of the Year (June 9-12), Big Ten Medal of Honor (June 15-20), Team Achievements of the Year (June 22-26), Games of the Year (June 29-July 2) and Plays of the Year (July 6-10).  |   2014-15 Year in Review

Today we feature Female Athlete of the Year nominee Lauren Carlini and Male Athlete of the Year nominee Melvin Gordon:

Lauren Carlini
It can be hard to remember that Carlini was only a sophomore in 2014-15. After all, the setter is already a two-time All-American, becoming just the second first-team volleyball All-American in Wisconsin history when she was honored last fall.

Carlini, a 6-foot-2 setter, wrapped up her second season in the Cardinal and White by leading the Badgers to the 2014 Big Ten Conference championship with a 19-1 record. Along the way, she was named the Big Ten Player of the Year and the Big Ten Setter of the Year.

The Aurora, Illinois, native ranked second in the conference and 20th nationally, putting up 11.23 assists per set. She also ranked among the top servers and defenders in the Big Ten, averaging 0.39 aces and 3.03 digs per set, respectively.

For the second straight season under Carlini's leadership, the Badgers qualified for the NCAA tournament. Wisconsin cruised through its first- and second-matches in the UW Field House, before edging Ohio State in the NCAA Louisville Regional semifinals. UW's season came to an end against eventual national champion Penn State in the regional final. The Badgers won the first set against the Nittany Lions despite Carlini rolling her ankle. She returned to the court for the remaining three sets despite what was later diagnosed as a severe sprain.

With Carlini running the offense, Wisconsin set season records for kills per set (14.34), assists per set (13.37) and hitting percentage (.275). Carlini broke her own school mark for assists per set and also set UW's season record for service aces per set at 0.39.
 
The Badgers ended the 2014 season with a 31-3 mark (.912), the second-best winning percentage in program history. Despite not advancing to the national semifinals, Wisconsin ended the season ranked fourth in the national polls.

Luckily for UW, Carlini will be around for another two years.

Melvin Gordon
Gordon's final chapter at Wisconsin was a spectacular season that saw the junior running back put together one of the most dominant efforts in college football history.

The Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year and Doak Walker Award winner as the nation's top tailback, Gordon finished runner-up for the sport's most prestigious award, the Heisman Trophy. He led the nation in rushing, at 184.8 yards per game, and in scoring, with 32 touchdowns -- showcasing his penchant for powerful runs and explosive plays along the way.

It was a year that, statistically, ranks second only to the 1988 campaign of the legendary Barry Sanders that is often regarded as the greatest season in college football history.

Gordon fell just 41 yards short of matching Sanders' single-season record of 2,628 rushing yards, amassing a total of 2,587 that smashed Ron Dayne's Big Ten record by nearly 500 yards.

His 32 touchdowns rank second in league history, trailing only Montee Ball's FBS record-tying 39 from 2011.

In a transcendent performance, Gordon broke LaDainian Tomlinson's FBS single-game rushing record by steamrolling Nebraska's defense for 408 yards -- in just three quarters -- as Camp Randall Stadium became a scene fit for a snowglobe on Nov. 15.

Gordon followed that performance by grinding out 200 yards at Iowa and another 151 vs. Minnesota to carry the Badgers to wins in three consecutive trophy games and secure the inaugural Big Ten West Division title.

He capped his collegiate career with one final showcase, pounding Auburn's defense for an Outback Bowl-record 251 rushing yards and three touchdowns to help hand UW its first bowl win of his career.

A unanimous Consensus All-American, Gordon finished the season with five 200-yard rushing games, including four in which he topped the 250 mark. He left Mike Rozier's FBS record for career rushing average of 7.16 in the dust, finishing his career with a mark of 7.79 yards per carry.

Most importantly, Gordon helped give the Badgers the fifth 11-win season in school history before departing for the NFL as a first-round draft pick of the San Diego Chargers.