Nov. 13, 2000
Junior defensive end Akin Ayodele and sophomore golfer Kari Damron have been named the Purdue Athletes of the Month for October. The award is presented by WLFI-TV, Twin-City-Dodge-Chrysler-Plymouth and the Gimlet Leadership Honorary.
Ayodele, a defensive end for the football team, has started all nine games and been a key component to the Boilermakers' success on defense this season. Ayodele started the first five games at linebacker, where he had 24 tackles and two sacks, helping the Boilermakers to a 3-2 record. Since being moved back to defensive end against Michigan, the Boilermakers have gone 4-0 with Ayodele picking up 28 tackles and six sacks. Ayodele registered three sacks in a 30-24 overtime win at Wisconsin on Oct. 21, followed by two sacks in Purdue's 31-27 win over Ohio State on Oct. 28. Ayodele was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the week for his performance against Ohio State.
Damron, who was selected as the 2000 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, has picked up where she left off last season. She helped lead the Boilermakers to a second-place finish at the Lady Northern Intercollegiate in Minneapolis, Minn (Sept. 30-Oct. 1), finishing sixth overall with a final score of 226 (77-75-74). She captured first place at The Legends in Franklin, Ind. (Oct. 8-10) with a three-round total of 212 (71-73-68). Damron also finished strong with a four-under par 68 in the third round, which was two strokes shy of the course record set earlier that day. Damron also tied for 19th place at the Mercedes Benz Collegiate Championships held in Knoxville, Tenn. (Oct. 13-15), shooting a 230 (75-79-76) and helping the Boilermakers to a fourth-place finish.