INDIANAPOLIS – Sixteen student-athletes, representing seven Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) institutions, have been named the 2019-20 GLVC Winter and Spring Scholar-Athletes of the Year, it was announced by the Conference office on Friday. Recipients were honored for their efforts both in the classroom and competition in the sports of baseball, men's and women's basketball, women’s bowling, men's and women's golf, men’s lacrosse and women’s lacrosse, softball, men's and women's swimming & diving, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's track & field, and wrestling.
The University of Indianapolis paced all league schools for the fifth year in a row with a record nine honorees, including
Erik Edwards (men’s golf),
Pilar Echeverria (women’s golf),
Peyton Romig (women’s lacrosse),
Payton Staman (men’s swimming & diving),
Cassie Kury (women’s swimming),
Hallie Waters (softball),
Renato Lima (men’s tennis),
Nikol Alekseeva (women’s tennis), and
Brody Conner (wrestling). McKendree University followed with two recipients each, including
Logan Kohrmann (men’s basketball) and
Taylor Bailey (women’s bowling). First-year league member, Lindenwood University, earned its inaugural laurel with
Bryce Beckmann’s (baseball) award, while Drury University’s
Hailey Diestelkamp (women’s basketball), Missouri S&T’s
Nathan Swadley (men’s track & field), Lewis University’s
Allie Heinzer (women’s track & field), and Rockhurst University’s
Zach Bodeau (men’s lacrosse) rounded out the list.
The league selects one student-athlete in each Conference sport to be designated the GLVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The award is based upon athletic accomplishments, both team and individual, and academic performance in the season upon which the award is based. Each GLVC member has the opportunity to nominate one individual from its team for the award. Nominees must have a cumulative grade point average that meets Academic All-America standards (3.30), and freshmen and first-year transfers are not eligible for the award. The voting is completed by each member institution's Faculty Athletics Representative (FAR).
Baseball: Beckmann becomes the first-ever Scholar-Athlete of the Year in any sport for Lindenwood in the school’s inaugural year of league membership. On the diamond, the senior played and started in 15 games for the fifth-ranked Lions that were 15-1 overall and 3-0 in GLVC action before the season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Statistically, outfielder led the Conference with three triples, ranked third with 10 stolen bases, and was fourth with 18 runs scored. Beckmann’s three triples were 11th nationally. He also had 17 base hits and did not commit a fielding error. In the classroom, the Germantown, Illinois, native studies accounting and holds a 3.90 cumulative GPA after a perfect 4.0 this semester. Additionally, he was named to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District Team last month and the Academic All-GLVC squad earlier this week.
Men's Basketball: Kohrmann is just the second McKendree honoree in the sport after John Steppe was selected in 2013 but became the first Bearcat voted to the All-GLVC First Team earlier this season since the school joined the league in 2012-13. The senior led the team in scoring with 20.4 points per game, which ranked third in the GLVC and 44th in NCAA Division II, while he was second on the team with 88 assists, 30 steals, and 5.4 rebounds per game. Overall, McKendree was 15-13 and 10-10 in Conference action where the transfer guard shot 51.5 percent from the field and 81.7 percent from the foul line. Additionally, Kohrmann was named GLVC Player of the Week on Feb. 3 and scored a career-high 39 points against Lindenwood on January 30, scoring double digits in all 28 games that included 13 with at least 20 points. For his efforts academically, the senior was recently inducted into the Phi Kappa Phi and Sigma Beta Delta (Business, Management, and Administration) honor societies and finished his career with a 3.925 semester GPA to accumulate a 3.882 overall mark and Academic All-GLVC honors.
Women's Basketball: In 2019-20 alone, Diestelkamp was a five-time GLVC Player of the Week, two-time national Player of the Week, unanimous All-GLVC First Team, GLVC Player of the Year and Championship Tournament Most Outstanding Player, WBCA and D2 CCA Ron Lenz Player of the Year, WBCA All-American, co-GLVC Richard F. Scharf Paragon Award winner, and Drury’s fifth GLVC Scholar-Athlete in the sport. Throughout her four-year tenure at Drury, the forward etched her name in the program’s record book by setting new game, season, and career standards in various statistical categories. Most impressively, she capped her time on campus this year by becoming the first player in team history to top 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds. She also set a Drury and GLVC single-game scoring record with 53 points on February 29 against Rockhurst. Nationally, Diestelkamp ranks 24th all-time in NCAA Division II for scoring and became just the sixth player to record more than 2,300 career points and 1,100 career rebounds and concluded her career as the D-II active career leader in scoring, field goal attempts, and field goals made while third in rebounds, second in steals (finishing only one behind teammate Daejah Bernard), and fourth in free throw attempts. For the 32-0 Lady Panthers, the senior averaged 21.6 points per game that included 40+ points three times and 25 or more points eight times with 12 double-doubles with an average of less than 30 minutes per game. Off the court, the Owensville, Missouri, product studied psychology and maintained a 3.65 GPA in her final semester to finish her career with a 3.40 mark. She was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District and All-America teams, as well as, the Academic All-GLVC team earlier this week.
Women’s Bowling: Bailey is the first-ever honoree in the sport, as 2019-20 was the inaugural season of Conference sponsorship. Voted unanimously to the All-GLVC First Team, she later earned a first-team All-America selection by the National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) and honorable mention All-America honors from the National Collegiate Bowling Coaches Association (NCBCA). Statistically, the senior was second on team in both traditional average (212.2) and Baker average (20.94 per frame), posting seven top-20 finishes in tournament play that included five top-10 efforts. She also had four top-five placements, including individual victories at the season-opening Bearcat Hammer Open hosted by McKendree and the Columbia 300 Saints Invitational hosted by Maryville. She rolled a high game of 299 at the Bearcat Hammer Open. Bailey was ranked second in the nation in traditional average and makeable spare percentage (89.4), as well as, fourth in Baker average, strike percentage (53.8), and Player Composite Performance Index at 97.74 percent. Earlier in the season, she garnered GLVC Athlete of the Week recognition three times and helped lead the Bearcats to three tournament victories to secure McKendree as the No. 1-ranked team in the nation by the NTCA All-Division and Division II/III polls. Her work in the classroom paid off, too, as she was a 4.0 student this semester as a health and wellness major and finishes her four years with a 3.706 cumulative GPA. Bailey also picked up Academic All-GLVC honors and the GLVC Council of Presidents’ Academic Excellence Award earlier this week.
Men’s Golf: UIndy gets its third-straight and 10th overall Scholar-Athlete in the sport with Edwards’ selection, following Oliver Mast last year and Graham McAree in 2017-18. The sports marketing major earned a 4.00 in his final semester to bolster his overall GPA to 3.624 and picked up his third-straight Academic All-GLVC laurel at the beginning of the week. He also is eligible for the GCAA All-America Scholar honor to be announced at a later date. In the pandemic-shortened season Edwards averaged the second-lowest single-season scoring average in program history at 71.87, compiled a .934 winning percentage, and shot par or better in 11 of 15 rounds, including a season-low 66. The senior finished 12th or better in all six events this season, including two individual wins and was named GLVC Player of the Week back in September. After all those results, he garnered All-America Honorable Mention from the GCAA, GLVC Player of the Year, his third consecutive All-Midwest Region honor and third-straight All-GLVC nod.
Women’s Golf: Echeverria becomes the eighth consecutive and 11th overall UIndy women’s golfer to earn recognition in the sport as Scholar-Athlete. She garnered the co-GLVC Richard F. Scharf Paragon Award and her second-straight WGCA Division II Player of the Year award, earning co-winner status this season. She became the first-ever four-time GLVC Player of the Year and the program’s first-ever four-time All-America First Team honoree. Echeverria finished her career as a four-time All-East Region honoree and four-time All-GLVC selection while gleaning GLVC Player of the Week three times in 2019-20, upping her Conference record to 16 for her career. On the course, the native of Guatemala City, Guatemala, compiled three wins and two-runner-up finishes in six events in the pandemic-shortened season while resetting the program’s single-season scoring record to 71.56, which lowered her own career mark to 72.96. At the region-heavy Music City Invite in October, the senior carded a nine-under 135, setting a new school record for a 36-hole tournament. Academically, she finished with a 3.375 overall GPA after a 3.771 semester clip while studying industrial & system engineering with a minor in mathematics. Echeverria was an Academic All-District First Team pick and now an Academic All-America candidate while having just been honored as an Academic All-GLVC recipient.
Men’s Lacrosse: The GLVC has sponsored men’s lacrosse for three seasons – Rockhurst has only been a member in the sport for two the last two – and Bodeau has won back-to-back Scholar-Athlete honors. He majored in criminal justice and minored in psychology while maintaining a perfect 4.0 during his four years as a Hawk. Most recently, he became a three-time All-District and All-American after being named the CoSIDA Academic All-America Division II At-Large Team Member of the Year. He also earned Dean’s List and three academic league nods earlier this week as Academic All-Conference, Brother James Gaffney, FSC Distinguished Scholar, and Council of Presidents’ Academic Excellence Award where he was further acknowledged as one of just 16 students from eight of the leagues 16 member schools to have concluded their careers with an unblemished GPA. Before the season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Bodeau led the team with a .700 faceoff winning percentage (56-of-80) and 41 ground balls with those two numbers respectively ranking first and second in the GLVC and 11th and 28th in Division II. In seven starts, the midfielder helped 16th-ranked Rockhurst to a 6-1 overall record and a win in its first GLVC contest.
Women’s Lacrosse: Romig is the first-ever Scholar-Athlete in the sport, as 2020 was the first year of league sponsorship. Unfortunately, the inaugural season never really got off the ground due to the global pandemic that suspended all spring sport seasons. Beforehand, though, in the eight games UIndy played, Romig started all of them and amassed 95 draw controls, scored 16 goals, dished two assists, grabbed 13 ground balls, and had 11 caused turnovers. Her 11.88 draw controls per game led the GLVC and all of NCAA Division II. The Greyhounds went 2-1 versus ranked opponents – including against then-No. 8 Florida Southern where she secured both draw controls in overtime and scored the game-winning goal – and finished sixth in the final IWLCA national rankings with a 7-1 record. The midfielder/draw specialist was an Inside Lacrosse All-America First Team selection and Postseason Watch List honoree, and in mid-February, she was named the GLVC Offensive Player of the Week and IWLCA National Offensive Player of the Week. Additionally, Romig was chosen as the UIndy team Mental Attitude Award winner. Earlier this week, the product of Carthage, N.Y., was named to the Academic All-GLVC squad with a 3.382 overall GPA after a 3.876 mark this semester while studying exercise science and minoring in psychology.
Softball: Waters is UIndy’s fourth selection as Scholar-Athlete in the sport, as pitching ace Morgan Foley was most recently chosen in 2016 and Jennifer DeMotte was the 2012 and 2013 choice. The junior is double majoring in biology (pre-med) and psychology and produced a 4.0 semester GPA to raise her cumulative mark to 3.989. She earned her third-straight Academic All-GLVC honor earlier this week and was recognized by CoSIDA as an Academic All-District and All-American for the second time in her career. The Boonville, Indiana, native earned the season’s first GLVC Pitcher of the Week award, which increased her career tally to four, and finished the shortened season due to the COVID-19 pandemic with a league-best eight wins and a 1.10 ERA among starters. The Greyhounds were 14-5 at the time the season was suspended, and Waters had played in 11 of those contests with 10 starts. Through three years in the circle, she is one of only seven pitchers in school history with 40-plus career wins and 350-plus career strikeouts.
Men’s Swimming and Diving: Staman becomes the second-ever UIndy honoree in the sport behind Adam Rosipal, who won the first Scholar-Athlete award for the program just last year. In February, he was named GLVC Diver of the Year for the second-straight season after winning GLVC Championship titles on both the one- and three-meter boards, setting a new meet record with an 11-dive score of 579.95 on the one-meter. His performance at the league event helped the team win its third GLVC crown in a row and qualified him for the NCAA D-II Championships on both boards where he was later named an All-American at both heights by the CSCAA. Unfortunately, the Greyhounds did not have the chance to vie for a national title, as the national championship was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During the season, the senior set school records on the one-meter board for both six- and 11-dive scores and won both diving events at the Lindenwood Invitational in October. Recently, he was voted as the 2020 GLVC Richard F. Scharf Paragon Award co-winner, as well as, named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District and All-America squads. Moreover, Staman is an eight-time Dean's List honoree, a Richard G. Lugar Academic Recognition Award winner, and eligible for CSCAA All-American Scholar honors for the fourth-straight year, while he was just announced as an Academic All-GLVC team member and recipient of the GLVC Council of Presidents' Academic Excellence Award. The mechanical engineering major also minored in mathematics, earning a 3.87 semester GPA to finish with a 3.92 overall mark to end his time as a Greyhound.
Women’s Swimming and Diving: Kury is UIndy’s first honoree in the sport since the GLVC began sponsorship in the 2013-14 season. In her junior season, she was named GLVC Diver of the Year for a record third-straight season after winning event titles in both the one- and three-meter boards, setting the Conference meet record with an 11-dive score of 485.05 on the one-meter. That helped the Greyhounds to a GLVC runner-up finish and subsequently qualified her for the NCAA D-II Championships on both boards and earned the top seed in the prequalification at Nationals on the one-meter before the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled the rest of the postseason event. The Eastpointe, Mich., native later was named an All-American at both heights by the CSCAA and broke three of the school’s four diving records, including both the six- and 11-dive totals on the one-meter and the 11-dive score on the three-meter. Academically, she majors in kinesiology (pre-athletics training) and minors in psychology with a 3.76 cumulative GPA after accruing a 3.83 clip this past semester. Earlier in the week, she was named to the Academic All-GLVC team for the third year in a row and is eligible for her third CSCAA All-American Scholar award, to be announced June 30.
Men's Tennis: Lima earns UIndy’s second Scholar-Athlete nod in the sport in three years, as Nils Hoffacker was chosen in 2018, and is the fourth overall selection for the program. The junior, who double majors in business administration and finance, earned a 4.0 GPA this semester to improve his cumulative mark to 3.898, was on the Dean's list in both the fall and spring, and also helped his team to the second-best GPA of all 21 UIndy Athletics programs. Earlier in the week, he was also garnered his third consecutive recognition as Academic All-GLVC. On the court, the No. 2 singles and No. 1 doubles player won the ITA Super Bowl doubles and the Fall ITA Cup Division II Doubles event. Lima was ranked No. 1 nationally and regionally in doubles, as well as, 12th nationally and third regionally in singles. He was named an ITA Doubles All-American, and collected a GLVC Player of the Week award in February. Additionally, he was chosen as UIndy’s men’s tennis GLVC Spalding Sportsmanship honoree. Before the COVID-19 pandemic suspended the remainder of the season, the Sao Paulo, Brazil, product had an 8-2 singles record and was undefeated in doubles at 9-0, which helped the team to a 6-0 mark.
Women's Tennis: Alekseeva is the fifth UIndy honoree in the sport and repeats for the Greyhounds after Volikova was the 2019 choice. Just a sophomore, she was playing in the No. 1 slot at both singles and doubles where she was named an ITA All-American in both categories while ranked No. 3 nationally and No. 1 regionally in doubles, as well as, No 2 nationally and No. 11 regionally on the singles court. In the fall, she was the ITA Regional Singles Champion and ITA Cup Finalist, finishing as runner-up. The Moscow, Russia, native had only two losses in the pandemic-shortened season with a 10-1 singles clip and 12-1 at doubles, while the team similarly was 9-1. In addition, she earned GLVC Player of the Week Feb. 18. and was chosen as the UIndy women’s tennis GLVC Spalding Sportsmanship honoree. In two years, Alekseeva has recorded a cumulative GPA of 3.863 that was improved by her a near-perfect semester mark of 3.94 while majoring in both business administration and marketing. That semester stat helped the squad to the highest team GPA of all 21 UIndy Athletics programs. She was named to the Greyhounds’ Dean’s List both semesters this season and became a two-time Academic All-GLVC pick earlier in the week.
Men's Track and Field: For the fourth time, Missouri S&T earns scholar-athlete recognition in the sport with Swadley’s honor. The last Miner chosen was Adriel Hawkins in 2014 and GLVC Hall of Famer Jordan Henry won back-to-back in 2008 and 2009. He’s only a sophomore but finished as the runner-up in the shot put (53-61/2) at the 2020 GLVC Indoor Track & Field Championships, which earned him All-GLVC laurels, and he also was fifth in the weight throw (57-111/4). Both of those efforts helped score points for the team, which eventually went on to win its second league title but first in 11 years. Swadley reached the NCAA Division II provisional qualifying standard in the shot put and was a mere 0.02 meters away from doing so in the weight throw but never got the opportunity to compete in the NCAA event due to the COVID-19 pandemic cancelling all remaining competition. His weight throw at the postseason event was a season-best mark, while he threw a 54-8 in the shot put earlier in the season for his best heave in that event. The Willard, Missouri, product reached the 16-meter mark in the shot put in every meet during the season and finished among the top four individually in four meets, including a win in the shot put competition at the Missouri Collegiate Challenge in February. With a 4.0 semester mark, Swadley increased his overall GPA to 3.96 while studying mechanical engineering. Earlier in the semester, he was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District team, is a member of the Dean's List, and earlier in the week became a two-time recipient of Academic All-GLVC honors.
Women's Track and Field: Beth Bayser was Lewis’ first Scholar-Athlete in the sport in 1999, then it wasn’t until 2015 and 2016 when Rebecca Preisler and Amber Cook respectively earned back-to-back honors, which makes Heinzer the fourth Flyer to be honored. The USTFCCCA awarded her All-Midwest Region and All-America status in the 200-meter, 400-meter and 4x400 relay after she became GLVC Champion in the 200 and 4x400 and was runner-up in the 400. Her times qualified for the 2020 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships but the COVID-19 pandemic prevented competition at that event and the remainder of the outdoor season. Earlier in the season, she ran a personal best in the 300-meter at the Jimmy Grant Invite with a time of 39.39 seconds, while the 4x400 relay team set a school record in the event at the Tom Hathaway Distance Classic where she ran the third leg. As a special/elementary education major, the senior finished the year with a 3.75 cumulative GPA thanks to a 3.91 semester mark. Her efforts in the classroom garnered her an Academic All-GLVC nod while she was also the recipient of the Brother David Delahanty award, which is given to Lewis student-athletes for academic excellence.
Wrestling: Conner is UIndy’s first-ever Scholar-Athlete in the sport since the GLVC began sponsorship of it in 2016-17. He was a 4.0 student this semester as a graduate, which bumped his overall GPA to 3.95. Thanks to that, he was named CoSIDA Academic All-District and All-American for the second time, as well as, a four-time NWCA All-Academic Scholar and four-time Academic All-GLVC honoree. He also earned two other honors from the league this week with the GLVC Brother James Gaffney Distinguished Scholar and GLVC Council of President’s Academic Excellence award. Additionally, Conner won the UIndy Wrestling highest GPA award while being named to the Dean's List every semester as a Greyhound. On the mat, the product of Paw Paw, Michigan, was voted to the All-GLVC Second Team at 184 for the third season and qualified for his third NCAA Division II Championships in the same weight class. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled the National event, but during the regular season, he led UIndy in wins (27-7) and win percentage (.790), finished sixth at the annual Midwest Classic, was the Findlay Open champion, and had 11 bonus point wins with six falls, four major decisions, and 49 takedowns, finishing his career 19th all-time in program history with 92 wins.
2019-20 GLVC WINTER AND SPRING SCHOLAR-ATHLETES
Baseball: Bryce Beckmann, Lindenwood
Men’s Basketball: Logan Kohrmann, McKendree
Women’s Basketball: Hailey Diestelkamp, Drury
Women’s Bowling: Taylor Bailey, McKendree
Men’s Golf: Erik Edwards, Indianapolis
Women’s Golf: Pilar Echeverria, Indianapolis
Men’s Lacrosse: Zach Bodeau, Rockhurst
Women’s Lacrosse: Peyton Romig, Indianapolis
Softball: Hallie Waters, Indianapolis
Men’s Swimming and Diving: Payton Stama, Indianapolis
Women’s Swimming and Diving: Cassie Kury, Indianapolis
Men's Tennis: Renato Lima, Indianapolis
Women's Tennis: Nikol Alekseeva, Indianapolis
Men's Track and Field: Nathan Swadley, Missouri S&T
Women's Track and Field: Allie Heinzer, Lewis
Wrestling: Brody Conner, Indianapolis