INDIANAPOLIS – Six fall sport student-athletes, including a pair from Bellarmine University, have been named the 2014-15 Great Lakes Valley Conference Fall Scholar-Athletes of the Year, it was announced by the conference office Tuesday. Bellarmine women’s cross country runner
Emily Frith and soccer player
Taylor Gamm join University of Indianapolis football standout
Koby Orris, Quincy University soccer star
Chris Garavaglia, University of Southern Indiana cross country champion
Johnnie Guy, and Truman State University volleyball player
Ali Patterson as the conference’s academic honorees for the fall season.
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 (GPA) 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).
Women's Cross Country:
Frith earns back-to-back GLVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors in women’s cross country as she once again turned in a perfect 4.0 semester GPA after an impressive senior season on the course. She claimed the GLVC Championship and GLVC Runner of the Year honors for the second straight season en route to a runner-up finish at the NCAA Midwest Regional and a fourth-place result at the NCAA Championships. An exercise science major from Crab Orchard, Kentucky, Frith also made headlines last fall by rewriting the school records book with new 5,000- (17:17) and 6,000-meter (20:54) marks. The All-American runner currently maintains a cumulative GPA of 3.99.
Women's Soccer: Gamm managed a 3.3 GPA in economics this past semester while helping her Knights to a 14-4-3 record overall, including an 11-1-3 mark in GLVC action, as well as their third NCAA Tournament appearance in four years. The Capital One Academic All-America second-team honoree was also lauded for her efforts on the pitch, securing All-GLVC and All-Region accolades by both Daktronics and NSCAA. The center back from Union, Kentucky, anchored a unit that finished as one of the top 10 goal-stopping units in program history. Gamm currently boasts a cumulative GPA of 3.82.
Football:
Orris, an exercise science major with a 3.71 fall semester GPA and a 3.86 overall GPA, was one of only three student-athletes in the fall to repeat as a Capital One Academic All-America first-team honoree. The Fishers, Indiana, native was a key member of the Greyhound unit that ranked third in Division II in pass defense, 11th in total defense, and 13th in scoring defense during UIndy’s 9-2 season, that included a 7-1 mark in conference play to give the Hounds their third consecutive outright GLVC Championship. The first-team All-GLVC selection led the Hounds with three interceptions and ranked fourth with 57 tackles, and shined brightly in UIndy’s four-overtime win against Saint Joseph’s on national television when he posted a career-high 15 tackles in the victory.
Men's Soccer:
Garavaglia compiled a 3.63 GPA working on his master's degree in business administration, while earning GLVC Defensive Player of the Year and Daktronics first-team All-America honors this past season. The Quincy defender was also a third-team All-America selection by the NSCAA, helping his Hawks to the GLVC regular season title and a trip to the NCAA Championship national semifinals with a 21-2-2 record. After anchoring a backline that posted 15 shutouts on the year, the St. Louis, Missouri, native was recognized for his work in the classroom as well, earning Capital One Academic All-America second team honors and second-team NSCAA Scholar All-America accolades.
Men's Cross Country:
Guy compiled a perfect 4.0 GPA in engineering this past fall while running away with a number of honors on the cross country course. The GLVC Champion and GLVC Runner of the Year earned All-Region and All-America accolades after finishing fifth at the NCAA Midwest Regional and eighth at the NCAA Championships. He had six top-five finishes this past season and turned in top-10 results in all seven meets in which he ran. His efforts helped USI to its league-record 10th consecutive GLVC title, a third-place NCAA Regional finish, and a seventh-place result at the NCAA Championships. The Palmyra, Indiana, native holds a 3.571 cumulative GPA through five semesters.
Volleyball: Patterson helped Truman State to its first-ever GLVC Volleyball Championship this past fall while earning a perfect 4.0 GPA in the field of mathematics. The Bulldogs’ middle hitter/blocker repeated as both an AVCA All-Region and All-America selection in 2014, as her 1.37 blocks per set ranked third in NCAA Division II. The Lee’s Summit, Missouri, native was tabbed a Capital One Academic All-District honoree after boosting her cumulative GPA to 3.84 through five semesters. Patterson’s honor marks Truman’s first-ever GLVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year award in any sport.
The recipients of the GLVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year in the remaining winter and spring sports will be announced in June. In all, 18 student-athletes are awarded the honor by the league annually.
2014 GLVC FALL SCHOLAR-ATHLETES
Men's Cross Country: Johnnie Guy, Southern Indiana
Women's Cross Country: Emily Frith, Bellarmine
Football: Koby Orris, Indianapolis
Men's Soccer: Chris Garavaglia, Quincy
Women's Soccer: Taylor Gamm, Bellarmine
Volleyball: Ali Patterson, Truman State