INDIANAPOLIS – Five fall-sport student-athletes have been selected as 2010-11 Great Lakes Valley Conference Scholar-Athletes of the Year. Drury senior Jaime Villa Zapatero, Southern Indiana junior Jackie Henderson, Quincy senior Jack Wedemeier, Wisconsin-Parkside junior Shannon Becker and Lewis senior Rachel Ruedi have been honored for their academic and athletic achievements.
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 conference member has the opportunity to nominate one individual from its team for the award. Nominees must have a cumulative grade point average which 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 Athletic Representative (FAR).
Zapatero, a men’s cross country runner at Drury, has been named GLVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the third consecutive season. He has maintained a 3.71 cumulative GPA at Drury and posted a 3.88 semester GPA in his major of Management, Marketing and Finance. He earned All-America status at the 2010 NCAA Division II National Championships and led the Panthers to a 14th-place finish in their first appearance at the national meet. Zapatero became just the third runner in GLVC history to claim three individual titles as he earned GLVC Runner of the Year honors as the medalist at the GLVC Championships in Kenosha, Wis. He paced Drury to a second-place finish in the team standings at the league meet and followed that with a third-place individual finish at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championship. In addition to having earned a spot on the Dean’s List, Zapatero is on the Drury University Mortar Board, is a Drury Ambassador and is on the DSIFE Incubator team.
Henderson, a women’s cross country runner at Southern Indiana, excelled athletically and academically in the fall. She earned All-America honors at the NCAA Division II National Championships by placing 40th individually at the meet held in Louisville, Ky. She earned the right to compete as an individual at the national meet by posting a sixth-place finish at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships. Henderson guided the Eagles to a second-place team finish at the GLVC Championships by taking runner-up honors individually. She earned All-GLVC accolades by virtue of the strong finish and was also tabbed as an All-Region performer based on the regional meet effort. Henderson is a Mathematics (Actuarial) major and maintained a 3.50 GPA during the fall semester. She boasts a 3.727 cumulative GPA at Southern Indiana.
Wedemeier, a forward for the Quincy men’s soccer team, helped guide the Hawks to just their second-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 2010. Quincy posted an 11-7-2 overall record and tied for fourth in the GLVC team standings with an 8-4-2 league mark. Wedemeier garnered several athletic accolades during the year, which included being named Second Team All-GLVC, Daktronics Second Team All-Region and Third Team All-Region by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). He accumulated 24 total points with nine goals and six assists and also tallied three game-winning goals on the season. Wedemeier ranked fifth in the league in points, eighth in goals scored and tied for fourth in assists. In addition, the Biological Sciences/Chemistry major has maintained a 3.69 cumulative GPA while a standout soccer player at Quincy.
Becker, a junior forward for the UW-Parkside women’s soccer team, was named the GLVC Offensive Player of the Year and the Daktronics Midwest Region Player of the Year after guiding the Rangers to the GLVC Championship and to the championship match of the NCAA Midwest Regional Tournament. Becker was second in the GLVC with 16 goals on the season and led the league in assists with 12. Her efforts helped the Rangers post a 16-3-2 overall record and 12-1-1 mark in the GLVC. She was named a Daktronics Second Team All-American and was tabbed as a Third Team All-American by the NSCAA. Becker is a business major who, while excelling on the pitch in the fall, also sported a 3.501 semester GPA. She has maintained a 3.487 cumulative GPA while at UW-Parkside and was named to the 2010 NSCAA Women’s College Scholar All-America Second Team.
Ruedi, a senior setter for the Lewis volleyball team, has a 3.50 cumulative GPA in Music Merchandise and posted a 3.60 semester GPA in the fall while leading the Flyers to their fourth GLVC Championship in the past five seasons. Ruedi was tabbed as the GLVC Player of the Year and was named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-America Second Team, the AVCA All-Midwest Region First Team and the Daktronics All-Midwest Region First Team after averaging a league-best 10.69 assists per set. She finished the season with 1,144 assists, 140 kills, 253 digs, 65 blocks and 18 service aces in helping the Flyers to a 27-5 overall record and 13-1 mark in the GLVC. Lewis advanced to the second round of the NCAA Midwest Regional Tournament and Ruedi, who notched a spot on the Dean’s List during the semester, finished 22nd in the country in assists per game.
The recipients of the GLVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year in the remaining league sports will be announced in June. In all, 15 student-athletes are awarded the honor by the league annually.