Jordan Hardrick, Brynn Serbin named Polar Bear of the Month winners for February

By Wes Mayberry

ADA — Fifth-year senior wrestler Jordan Hardrick (Dayton/Wayne) and senior basketball player Brynn Serbin (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) have been selected as the Ohio Northern athletic department's Polar Bear of the Month award winners for February.

Hardrick has qualified for this weekend's NCAA Division III Championships after winning the 165-pound championship at the Central Regional Championships on Feb. 26. Hardrick posted a 4-0 record at regionals, winning by decision three times before reaching the finals and earning a victory via medial forfeit.

Named First Team All-Ohio Athletic Conference and ranked No. 8 nationally at 165 pounds, Hardrick is 41-5 on the season with two pins, eight major decisions and a team-best nine technical falls.

A four-year starter at 165 pounds, Hardrick is now a three-time All-OAC honoree after being named to the Second Team during his sophomore and senior seasons. He is also a two-time NWCA Scholar All-American.

In five seasons at ONU, Hardrick boasts a 116-42 record with 10 pins, 18 technical falls and 19 major decisions. He is tied for seventh all-time at ONU in career victories.

Serbin, a guard, was named OAC Player of the Week on Feb. 6, giving her three such honors this season. The latest accolade came after she averaged 20 points, 4.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 3.5 steals per game in wins over Otterbein and Capital.

Following the regular season, Serbin was named the Helen Ludwig Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in the OAC as a member of the All-OAC First Team.

The 2019-20 OAC Freshman of the Year is now a four-time All-OAC selection after earning Honorable Mention honors as a freshman and sophomore and being named to the Second Team as a junior.

Serbin was also named the 2023 OAC Tournament MVP after averaging 15 points, 8.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.0 steals in wins over Otterbein and Marietta.

Serbin ranks second in the OAC with a scoring average of 14.7 points per game this season and has a conference-leading 132 assists and 80 steals, both of which are program records for a single season. She also ranks second on the team with 6.3 rebounds per game while averaging 4.6 assists and 2.8 steals per game.

Serbin is ONU's all-time leader in career steals with 222 and ranks third in program history with 293 career assists. She ranks fifth all-time with 131 made 3-pointers in her career and has 910 career points, which is 16 shy of breaking into the top 20 on the program's all-time list.

Ranked No. 16 nationally, the Polar Bears (25-4 overall) won the OAC Regular Season and OAC Tournament championships this season and defeated No. 25 Berea (Ky.) and Wisconsin-Oshkosh in the NCAA Division III Tournament to advance to Friday's Sweet 16 game at No. 2 Transylvania (Ky.) at 7 p.m.

2022-23 Polar Bear of the Month Honorees