All-Time Eddleman Athletes of the Year | Male Finalists | Follow @IlliniAthletics

Meet the six finalists for the 2016 University of Illinois Dike Eddleman Female Athlete of the Year Award. The group was honored at the annual All-Sports Celebration on April 25 at the Wyndham Garden Hotel in Urbana.

The Illinois Athlete of the Year Award is given annually by the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics (DIA) to the female and male student-athletes who have distinguished themselves in athletic achievement. In 1993, the award was named after Dwight "Dike" Eddleman, who is generally considered the greatest athlete in the history of Illinois athletics. Eddleman participated in basketball, football and track & field in 1943 and 1946-49, earning a combined 11 varsity letters in his career.

The winner will be voted on by Fighting Illini head coaches and a DIA awards committee and announced on Thursday, June 16, along with this year's male athlete of the year. The Illinois male and female Newcomer of the Year Award winners will be announced on Wednesday, June 15.

Dike Eddleman Female Athlete of the Year Finalists 

Senior Alyssa Schneider (Bartlett, Ill.), Cross Country
Senior Sunny Kato (Chino Hills, Calif.), Gymnastics
Senior Jannelle Flaws (Glenview, Ill.), Soccer
Junior Nicole Evans (Glen Ellyn, Ill.), Softball
Sophomore Pedrya Seymour (Nassau, Bahamas), Track & Field
Senior Jocelynn Birks (Willow Springs, Ill.), Volleyball

Finalist Bios

ALYSSA SCHNEIDER | Cross Country • All-American, the program's first since 2009 • Finished 17th at the NCAA Championships with a time of 20:09.4 • First-team All-Big Ten selection • Placed third overall at the Big Ten Championships • Her time of 19:58.7 at Big Tens ranks second on Illinois' all-time 6K performers list. • Qualified for nationals by finishing runner-up at the NCAA Midwest Regional in a time of 20:12.8 • Named Big Ten Athlete of the Week after finishing fourth at Roy Griak Invitational • Finished first on the team in all but one meet in which she competed • USTFCCCA All-Academic  • Academic All-Big Ten

SUNNY KATO | Gymnastics • First-team All-American on balance beam, her third career All-America honor • Named first-team All-Big Ten for the third consecutive season • All-Big Ten Championship selection • Finished season ranked 4th in the nation on balance beam • Tied her own balance beam school record during the season with 9.950 • Placed third on balance beam at both the Big Ten and NCAA Regional Championships with scores of 9.850 at both competitions • Posted the top uneven bars score for the Illini (9.900) • 8 event titles on the season (5 on balance beam, 3 on uneven bars)  • 31 career event titles, 10th-most in Illinois history • Three-time NACGC/W Scholastic All-American

NICOLE EVANS | Softball • NFCA first-team All-Midwest Region selection, the program's first since 2011 • Second-team All-Big Ten • Led the team in every offensive category, including batting average (.337), hits (62), doubles (18), home runs (12), RBI (53), total bases (122) and slugging percentage (.663) • Helped lead the Fighting Illini to their first NCAA Regional appearance since 2010 • Ranked in the top 10 in program history in a total of six single-season offensive records, highlighted by the second-most doubles and fifth-most RBIs • Finished the season ranked among Big Ten leaders in multiple categories, including third in doubles and total bases, sixth in triples and home runs, seventh in RBI and eighth in slugging percentage • Led the Illini with 15 multiple RBI games, including knocking her first two career grand slams in games against San Jose State and Nebraska • Went 5-for-10 at the NCAA Lexington Regional, including two doubles, three RBI and a run in three games • Finished the season ranked 53rd in the NCAA in doubles per game and 108th in RBIs per game • Academic All-Big Ten

JANNELLE FLAWS | Soccer • Overcame two significant knee surgeries to become Illinois' all-time career leader in several categories • Broke Illinois' all-time career goals record and graduates as the all-time leader with 54 goals • Illinois' all-time career leader in points (122), shots (349) and shots on goal (169) • Posted a hat trick against Saint Louis to break the career goals record, and scored all three goals in a span of nine minutes to mark the second fastest hat trick in school history • Scored all three of those goals in one half of the game, matching the school record for goals scored in a half • Second-team All-Big Ten • Led the team with 11 goals, six assists and 28 points on the season. • Scored a team-leading five game-winning goals on the season, ranking third in Illini history • Two-time Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week • TopDrawer Soccer Player of the Week

PEDRYA SEYMOUR | Track & Field • Qualified for Bahamian Rio Olympic Team and ranks 32nd in the world in the 100m hurdles  • Advanced to final in the 100m hurdles at the NCAA Championships • Finished first in the 100m hurdles at NCAA West Prelims with time of 12.96, the fourth-fastest time in West Regional history • Big Ten 100m hurdle runner-up • Set PR in 100m hurdles of 12.92 at the Big Ten Championships, ranking 10th in NCAA Division I and fourth on the Illinois all-time list • Clocked the seventh-fastest 60m hurdle time in Illinois history this season (8.15) • Ran that personal-best time of 8.15 in the 60m hurdles at the IAAF Indoor World Championships, representing the Bahamas • Competed in the 60m hurdles at the Indoor NCAA Championships, placing 13th (8.19) • Placed third in the 60m hurdles at Indoor Big Ten Championships with a time of 8.16 • Won the 60m hurdles at all three home meets

JOCELYNN BIRKS | Volleyball • Three-time AVCA All-American after earning honorable mention accolades as a senior • First-team All-Big Ten for third-straight season • AVCA All-Northeast Region honors for third-straight season • Became the program's all-time kills and attacks leader during her senior campaign and finished her career with 1,972 kills and 5,656 attacks. • Led the Illini to their third-straight NCAA Regionals appearance • Season-high 26 kills with a .426 hitting percentage in NCAA Tournament second-round victory over Louisville. • Finished seventh in program history with 1,159 career digs. • Led the Illini and ranked fourth in the Big Ten with 435 kills and ranked third in the conference with 3.95 kills per set • Ranked second on the team with 283 digs on the season      • All-Tournament Team selection at the Illini Classic, the B1G/Pac-12 Challenge and the Shocker Classic