Lincoln, NE (U-WIRE) -- BASEBALL: Nebraska's Alex Gordon completed the player of the year award by receiving the Brooks Wallace Award - given to the nation's top player by the College Baseball Foundation - Thursday night in Lubbock, Texas.

Gordon, who won the Xanthus-Dick Howser Trophy and Golden Spikes Award in June, ranked among the Big 12 Conference leaders in 12 offensive categories.

Freshman pitcher Johnny Dorn was named to the Freshman All-American first team by Baseball America. In his first season as a Husker, the Grand Island native went 12-2 with a 2.16 ERA and became the first NU player to be named to the first-team Freshman All-American team since Matt Hopper in 2000.

BASKETBALL: After six weeks of trials, sophomore Aleks Maric earned a spot on the Australian U21 National Team that will compete in the FIBA U21 World Championships in August.

Maric, a 6-11, 265-pound center from Sydney, Australia, joins Baylor's Aaron Bruce on the Australian team that will begin preparation for the championships with a European tour beginning July 14.

Former NU Assistant Coach Scott Spinelli was promoted to Associate Head Coach on Tuesday, giving him full control over the Huskers' recruiting efforts. Spinelli, who in his two seasons at NU has brought in the likes of Joe McCray and Maric as well as the majority of the Huskers' 2005 recruiting class, was named one of the top 10 assistant coaches in the country by Collegeinsider.com.

GYMNASTICS: All-American Richelle Simpson was named the 2005 Big 12 Female Sportsperson of the Year by the conference for her displays of sportsmanship and community service throughout the year.

The nine-time All-American and 2003 National Champion graduated in May with a 3.822 G.P.A. and devoted her time to several community service projects, including being the multicultural representative for the NU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee this past year.

Texas' Ahmard Hall (football) was named the Male Sportsman of the Year.

TRACK & FIELD: Nebraska Assistant Rick Attig, who coached the Huskers' acclaimed pole vault and multi-event teams for five seasons, resigned from his position on Wednesday.

Attig will assume a teaching and head coaching job at Blue Valley North High School in Overland, Park, Kan.

While at Nebraska, Attig coached 16 All-Americans, 12 Big 12 champions and two National Champions.

SWIMMING & DIVING: Two-time Olympian Natalya Chikina was hired as Nebraska's new head diving coach on Wednesday.

Chikina, a native of Kazakhstan, competed in the 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympic games and was a two-time All-American at Southern California in 1997-98.

USA Swimming announced Tuesday that Omaha will play host to the 2008 U.S. Swimming Trials at the Qwest Center OMAHA.

The event, which started June 30 and goes through July 7, marks the first time that the trials will be held in a temporary pool in an indoor facility.

(C) 2004 Daily Nebraskan via U-WIRE