Move over Tonys. Take a backseat Oscars. The Scratchies (again, not a skin disease) are back. I know it’s been an unbearably long and grueling six-month wait since we introduced the Scratchies, but fear no more, it’s time to introduce the 2011 spring semester winners. Not to be confused with ESPN’s Herbie Awards or UK’s end-of-the-year CATSPY Awards – although I must confess, many award winners will repeat the CATSPYs – the Scratchies offer no actual hardware or glitzy awards show. Instead, these honorees have earned the appreciation of a lowly blogger trying to pass the beginning weeks of a long offseason. A couple of the award names have changed, but the objective is the same – to look back at another semester of UK Athletics. Remember, these award winners only constitute the spring semester of UK Athletics action. The fall winners can be found here.Please feel free to disagree and comment on who you think should have won in the comments section below. Keep in mind, this is all for fun.Without further ado, here are the semiannual Scratchies:MVW (Most Valuable Wildcat)Brandon Knight, men’s basketball – There were a lot of candidates for this semester’s awards. There is Eric Quigley, who guided the men’s tennis team to a national quarterfinals berth and finished the season ranked No. 7 in the nation. There is Megan Yocke, the heart and soul of the record-setting softball team. And let’s not forget about Ethan Settlemires’ clutch performance in the rifle national championship. But it’s hard to ignore what Knight did in this year’s NCAA Tournament. Knight’s dramatic game winners against Princeton and Ohio State were the highlights of a Final Four run that fans will never forget. Stepping into the gargantuan shoes of John Wall and the sensational freshman class of 2009-10, Knight and the 2010-11 team proved it could play a little basketball as well. Next week, Knight is expected to be a top-five pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.Honorable mention: Megan Yocke (softball), Eric Quigley (men’s tennis), Ethan Settlemires (rifle), Victoria Dunlap (women’s basketball)The Dream Team (team of the semester)Rifle – Much like the previous award, this could have gone to a number of squads, including the men’s basketball, men’s tennis and softball teams. But the rifle team won a national championship. You know, that ultimate goal that every team sets out for at the beginning of the year that only a select few ever win.  Ethan Settlemires didn’t know it at the time, but his last shot in air rifle – the final shot of the match – would determine the national championship. Settlemires needed at least an 8.0 to capture the elusive title. The junior came through in the clutch with a 10.7, winning the program’s first national championship.Honorable mention: Men’s basketball, men’s tennis, softball

The Adolph Rupp Award (coach of the semester)Harry Mullins, rifle – As sweet as that rifle national championship was, it was even sweeter for Mullins, the longtime coach and most important figure in program history. Since 1982, Mullins and the UK rifle team have been one in the same. In his journey from a former student-athlete to a part-time coach to the symbol of the program, Mullins has taken the rifle team from its infant stages and built it into one of the nation’s top programs. Year after year, Mullins and the rifle team came agonizingly close to winning the whole thing, only to fall short with seven top-three finishes. Whether it was by a string of fate or pure coincidence, Mullins finally won that coveted national title in the same town where his late father served as a sergeant in the military and raised his family. Honorable mention: Rachel Lawson (softball), John Calipari (men’s basketball), Dennis Emery (men’s tennis)  The Josh Harrellson Award (most improved player)Josh Harrellson, men’s basketball – Harrellson’s turnaround his senior year was so significant and so inspiring that we’ve renamed the award after him. Before this year, Harrellson had played a total of 403 minutes and scored 151 points for Kentucky. By the end of his senior year, Harrellson had transformed himself into the nation’s most improved player and one of the best big men in the NCAA Tournament. Transforming his body and work ethic after the legendary tweet about his head coach, Harrellson went on to average 7.6 points and 8.7 rebounds this year, including an 11.0 scoring average in the NCAA Tournament against some of the nation’s top post players. Harrellson’s spirit and leadership were just as valuable to the team’s Final Four run as his presence in the paint and unpredictable production. Harrellson’s storybook season will be remembered decades from now. Honorable mention: Alex Musialek (men’s tennis), Meagan Aull (softball), Samantha DeMartine (softball)The Butler-VCU Award (surprise team)Women’s golf – In her first year as head coach, Golda Johansson Borst wasn’t expected to do much with the Kentucky women’s golf team. After all, the program had been to just one NCAA Tournament since 2000. But with just one senior on the team and a wealth of midseason injuries, including two to the top two players, Ashleigh Albrecht and Betsie Johnson, UK returned to the NCAA Tournament for the 16th time in school history. With most of the team returning next year, the future is bright for women’s golf. Honorable mention: softballOne Shining Moment (best moment)Annie Rowlands and Meagan Aull’s hits send softball to Supers – The Kentucky softball team went to its third straight regional appearance with bigger expectations and higher hopes. The coaches and players talked about making it to their first Super Regional in program history, but as the third-ranked team in the Ann Arbor Regional and with the second-ranked team in the nation in the same regional, the reality of advancing was pretty slim. And yet, on a sunny Sunday afternoon, with one win over No. 2 Michigan standing in the way of a historic march, Kentucky entered the bottom of the seventh trailing 1-0. With Big Ten Pitcher of the Year Jordan Taylor dealing a gem and the nation watching on ESPN, Meagan Aull belted a changeup over the fence in right field to tie the game. Five batters later, with one out and the bases loaded, senior Annie Rowlands, a sub-.150 hitter, came through with the biggest hit in program history, a game-winning single over the first baseman’s head. The RBI bloop advanced UK to its first Super Regional, which the school would go on to host.Honorable mention: Brandon Knight’s game-winning layup vs. Princeton; Knight’s game-winning shot vs. Ohio State; Ethan Settlemires’ winning shot to capture the national championship; Alex Musialek’s match-clinching win vs. Louisville; gymnast Andre Mitchell’s 39.550 score in the all-around, UK’s highest score in 15 yearsThe “Band is Out On the Field” Award (best game/match)Men’s tennis vs. Louisville in the NCAA Tournament – What happens when you combine your archrival with postseason play? You get some edge-of-your-seat theater. That’s what the Kentucky-Louisville men’s tennis match brought in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. After UK grabbed the doubles point, the singles matches went back and forth in front of a raucous crowd at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex. Every 10 minutes it looked like the match was going to go a different way. With Kentucky holding a 3-2 lead and courts No. 1 and No. 2 split in a 1-1 tie, everyone raced to the center courts to watch the decisive matches. Eric Quigley, UK’s top player, dropped his match in three thrilling sets to tie the match 3-3. Moments later, though, after dropping the first set 5-7, Alex Musialek won the third set in dominating fashion, 6-0, to clinch the match and send UK to the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive year.Honorable mention: softball’s win over Michigan in the regional finals; men’s basketball’s upset of No. 1 Ohio State

The Doug Flutie Hail Mary Award (best play)Brandon Knight’s game-winning jumper vs. Ohio State – Once again, there was plenty to choose from, but Knight gets the nod on this one given the magnitude of the situation. Against the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament and with the game tied 60-60, Knight pulled up from just inside the arc and drilled a jumper with five seconds left to send Kentucky to the Elite Eight and eventually the Final Four. For a team that failed to close during the regular season, it was an unforgettable moment in an unbelievable season.Honorable mention: Brandon Knight’s game-winning layup vs. Princeton; Ethan Settlemires’ winning shot to capture the national championship; Brittany Henderson’s game-winning layup vs. LSUThe Jimmer Fredette Award (breakthrough player)Alex Meyer, baseball – Alex Meyer’s first two years in the at UK were defined by potential and upside. In 2011, Meyer broke through with the type of year that everyone expected years earlier when Boston Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein showed up on his doorstep at the end of Meyer’s high school career with a lucrative multi-million dollar contract. Meyer, with big-league stuff, finished the year as the Southeastern Conference leader in strikeouts, complete games and complete-game shutouts. Two weeks ago, Meyer was selected by the Washington Nationals with the 23rd overall pick in the 2011 MLB Draft, UK’s highest draft pick since Joe Blanton went No. 24 in 2002.Honorable mention: Meagan Aull (softball), Greg Ferrucci (swimming and diving)All-Calipari Team (all-freshman team)Greg Ferrucci, swimming and diving – Named SEC Male Freshman Diver of the Year and advanced to the NCAA ChampionshipsTerrence Jones, men’s basketball – Tabbed SEC Freshmanof the Year after averaging 17.3 points and 8.8 rebounds in his first yearDoron Lamb, men’s basketball – Not to be overshadowed by Knight and Jones, Lamb averaged 12.3 points, hit a team-high 38 3-pointers and poured in a then-freshman record 32 points in DecemberEmily Holsopple, rifle – Appeared on the fall semester’s list, but she certainly qualifies again after earning first-team All-America accolades and winning a national championshipBernisha Pinkett, women’s basketball – On a team with talented freshmen, averaged 7.0 points in just 18.7 minutes of action    All-Up-and-Comers (non-freshmen on the rise)Jessica Stiles, women’s tennis – Led a rebuilding women’s tennis program with 11 wins  Darius Miller, men’s basketball – Came on late in the season to win SEC Tournament MVPChanda Bell, softball – UK’s all-time strikeout leader will enter her senior season as one of the top pitchers in the nationThomas McCarthy, baseball – Ranked third in the SEC with .371 batting average, including 19 doubles and 39 RBIBrittany Cervantes, softball – UK’s career home-run leader will be the centerpiece of next year’s offense   All-Wildcat Team (the Scratchies equivalent of the All-America Team)Brandon Knight, men’s basketball – Replaced No. 1 overall pick John Wall by averaging 17.3 points and leading UK to the Final Four, plus first-team Freshman All-America honorsVictoria Dunlap, women’s basketball – Program’s No. 2 all-time scorer led the team to its second straight NCAA Tournament appearance and became the highest WNBA draft pick in school historyEric Quigley, men’s tennis – The nation’s No. 7 player finished the year with a school-record-tying 45 winsMegan Yocke, softball – Heart and soul of record-setting softball team became just the second player in school history to earn All-SEC accolades all four yearsColin Boevers, track and field – Won the SEC discus title and was one of nine student-athletes to advance to NCAA Outdoor ChampionshipsAll-Rex Ryan Team (when you need a sound bite, these are your go-to guys)Josh Harrellson, men’s basketballJohn Calipari, men’s basketballMatthew Mitchell, women’s basketballHarry Mullins, rifleAmber Smith, women’s basketball

The Craig Sager Award (best/worst dressed)Stacey Eden, track and field – Depending on your taste in style, Stacey Eden of the track and field team was either the best dressed of the year or the worst. One thing is for certain: he caught people’s eyes at this year CATSPY Awards. Eden (pictured to the right) attended the annual end-of-the-year awards show with a shiny gold suit, a patterned button-up, blue bowtie and sunglasses. Top that, Craig SagerThe Streak (strangest stat or streak)Men’s basketball in the clutch – Before the NCAA Tournament, the Cats couldn’t hit a shot to save their lives. UK entered the tournament 1-6 in games decided by five points or less, which included missed last-second shots that could have won or tied the game against Florida, Arkansas and Ole Miss. But when the season was on the line and the stakes mattered most, Kentucky – particularly Knight – came through with game-winning shots against Princeton and Ohio State.She said what? (quote of the semester)Rachel Lawson, fighting back tears after losing to Cal in the Lexington Super Regional – “I feel really good about the future of the program. But I feel best about the fact that this group was – nobody thought they could win. I love (Samantha) DeMartine and (Meagan) Aull, (Megan) Yocke’s OK. I know (Annie) Rowlands, for her to be able to come up with that big hit. I wanted them to go to the World Series. So far I’m the only one who’s been there and I’m tired of having the upper hand on them.”The Best Dougie (best dance/celebration)Jarrod Polson, men’s basketball – In 2009-10, the John Wall Dance was the unofficial celebration of the Wildcats. This past year it was, without question, The Dougie, a dance made famous (or infamous) by Matthew Mitchell at Big Blue Madness. Jarrod Polson continued the craze on national TV after Kentucky defeated North Carolina and advanced to the Final Four. Check out his rendition below.