University of Massachusets Athletics
UMass Baseball Names Team MVPs
May 22, 2001 | Baseball
May 22, 2001
AMHERST, Mass. -- The University of Massachusetts baseball team has selected its Most Valuable Players for the 2001 season, in voting by the student athletes. Senior outfielder Nick Gorneault (Springfield, Mass.) and sophomore catcher Tom Ellerbrook (Northampton, Mass.) have been chosen as this year's co-MVPs. In addition, junior third baseman Aaron Senez (Springfield, Mass.) has been selected as team captain for the 2002 season.
Gorneault led the team with a .369 batting average this season, and was named first team All-Atlantic 10 Conference. He tied for the team lead in home runs with 12, while ranking second on the squad with 41 runs batted in. Gorneault also stole nine bases, and finished the year with a .673 slugging percentage and a .432 on-base percentage. For his career, Gorneault ranks fifth all-time at UMass with 26 home runs.
Ellerbrook started every game for the Minutemen at catcher in 2001, and caught 360 out of a possible 372 innings on the season. He finished the season with a .301 average, to go along with eight doubles, one home run and 29 runs batted in. Ellerbrook also led the team with five sacrifice flies, and recorded seven sacrifice bunts. Defensively, Ellerbrook had a .981 fielding percentage and threw out 21 base runners attempting to steal.
Senez finished the 2001 season batting .275 with two home runs and 27 runs batted in. He tied for the team lead in doubles with 13, and ranked second on the squad in sacrifice bunts with nine. Senez owns a .313 batting average over the course of his career with the Minutemen, and ranks eighth all-time at UMass with 32 career doubles.
UMass finished the 2001 season with an overall record of 27-19. The Minutemen posted a 16-6 record in Atlantic 10 Conference games, and won the league regular season title.