INDIANAPOLIS – Ten student-athletes representing eight Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) institutions have been named as 2011-12 GLVC Winter & 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 men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s track and field, baseball and softball.
Bellarmine University and the University of Indianapolis both registered multiple winners as the Knights were led by Braydon Hobbs (men’s basketball) and Robert Sandlin, Jr. (men’s track and field), while the Greyhounds were paced by Aaron Monson (men’s golf) and Jennifer DeMotte (softball). Additional honorees included Drury University’s Katrina Choate (women’s golf), Kentucky Wesleyan College’s Jordan White (baseball), Lewis University’s Zsofia Lanstiak (women’s tennis), Missouri S&T’s Julie Meyer (women’s basketball), Rockhurst University’s John Lazenby (men’s tennis), and University of Wisconsin-Parkside's Hope Christie (women’s track and field).
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).
Men’s Basketball: Hobbs finished his career at Bellarmine having earned several accolades on the court and in the classroom. The 2012 National and GLVC Player of the Year also received the conference’s coveted Richard F. Scharf Paragon Award as the league’s Male Athlete of the Year. A criminal justice studies major that earned a 3.67 GPA last semester and ended his career with a 3.53, Hobbs was named this spring as a Capital One Academic All-American and the recipient of the Bellarmine Faculty Merit Award. Hobbs averaged 12.2 points, 5.7 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game while leading the Knights to their second straight NCAA National Semifinal appearance and a 29-4 record overall, which included a 16-2 mark and a GLVC East Division title.
Women’s Basketball: Meyer finished the 2011-12 campaign at Missouri S&T averaging 11.4 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, while totaling a perfect 4.0 GPA this past semester. She was named a first-team All-GLVC selection and a member of the GLVC’s All-Defensive squad, helping S&T to an 18-9 record overall including a 12-6 mark in conference play. The senior forward started all 27 games this past year and led the team with 92 assists and 52 steals. In the classroom, the Marthasville, Mo., native and history major earned a cumulative GPA of 3.85 during her time in Rolla.
Men’s Golf: Monson played an integral role in helping the Greyhounds to an 11th-place finish at the NCAA Championships this past spring, placing 25th individually after an impressive conference season. The sports management major earned a 3.79 GPA in the classroom en route to a pair of wins, a season stroke average of 74.0, and GLVC Player of the Year honors on the links. Monson, an Indianapolis, Ind., native, finished his career at UIndy with a 3.39 cumulative GPA.
Women’s Golf: Choate earns her second consecutive Scholar Athlete of the Year honor having captured the accolade last season as a junior. The secondary education major completed another semester with a perfect 4.0 GPA, which improved her cumulative total to 3.91. The recipient of the Dr. Edsel Matthews Award, the most prestigious honor given to a Drury student-athlete, Choate graduated in December before earning her fourth NGCA Scholar Academic All-America accolade. On the course, she was a second-team All-American and a first-team All-GLVC selection, finishing the year with a win and six top-three results along with a 76.3 stroke average.
Men’s Tennis: Lazenby finished his season at Rockhurst with an impressive 3.97 GPA as a biology major with a focus on pre-veterinary medicine. He also earned All-Conference honors as the Hawks’ No. 1 singles and doubles player, finishing with 11-7 and 13-3 records, respectively. The junior from Joplin, Mo., guided Rockhurst to a 9-4 mark on the season, while earning Academic All-Conference and All-District honors as well.
Women’s Tennis: Lanstiak excelled both on the court and in the classroom this past year. The GLVC Player of the Year and three-time GLVC Player of the Week honoree boasted a 3.80 GPA in the spring and was awarded the Br. David Delahanty Award, which is given to Lewis student-athletes for academic excellence. She was named a Capital One Academic All-District honoree and has maintained a 3.78 GPA as a psychology major. The Budapest, Hungary, native concluded her sophomore year by helping the Flyers win their first-ever GLVC Women's Tennis Championship and advance to the Round of 16 of the NCAA Division II Women's Tennis Championship. She finished the season with a singles record of 36-2 and a combined doubles mark of 36-3, as the Flyers finished the campaign with a record of 24-3.
Men’s Track and Field: Sandlin, Jr., was another sophomore to claim Scholar Athlete of the Year honors this season, having turned in a perfect 4.0 GPA to improve his cumulative total to 3.92. The exercise science major earned a spot on both the Dean’s List and President’s List, and took home All-GLVC honors on the track. He was a first-team honoree in the indoor season and a second-team outdoor selection. Sandlin set a school record with a time of 3:49.44 in 1,500 meters this past year and was a member of the Knight’s distance medley relay squad that set a new conference record at the GLVC Championship.
Women’s Track and Field: Christie adds yet another conference accolade to her resume as she was recently named the Richard F. Scharf Paragon Award winner as the GLVC’s Female Athlete of the Year. The nursing major, who also carried minors in Spanish and sociology, recently completed her collegiate career at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, placing 12th overall in the 1,500 meters. She also earned a 10th-place finish in the 5,000 meters earlier in the year at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Christie turned in a 3.75 GPA for the semester and finished her career at UW-Parkside with a 3.84 cumulative mark.
Baseball: A senior centerfielder from Leitchfield, Ky., White recently made history as Kentucky Wesleyan’s first baseball All-American by receiving second-team honors from Rawlings and the American Baseball Coaches Association. The GLVC’s Player of the Year led the conference in batting average (.403), hits (75), doubles (19) and total bases (116), while topping the Panthers in home runs (6), RBIs (35), slugging percentage (.624), on-base percentage (.420), runs scored (33) and at bats (186) in starting all 49 games. The accounting major registered a 3.40 GPA this past spring and finished with a 3.78 GPA during his time in Owensboro.
Softball: DeMotte concludes her junior season at UIndy with one more major conference award, earning Scholar Athlete of the Year following a 3.69 GPA studying entrepreneurship. The GLVC’s Pitcher of the Year was tabbed a first-team All-American by both Daktronics and the NFCA after guiding the Greyhounds to the conference title and a 50-9 record overall. On the mound, DeMotte threw two perfect games and another no-hitter, shattered UIndy career records for wins and shutouts, broke UIndy single-season records for wins, shutouts, innings pitched and strikeouts, and earned weekly honors from the conference office on four occasions. The Indianapolis, Ind., native, who is currently serving a summer internship in the GLVC office, earned Capital One Academic All-America first-team honors as well, and will carry a 3.81 cumulative GPA into her senior season next year.