FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mark Albanese, Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Media Relations
SOMERS, Wis. (May 14, 2013)-- The University of Wisconsin-Parkside athletic department capped off the academic year on Monday night, handing out accolades to several student-athletes at the annual awards banquet inside the Student Center.
The awards presented were the Academic Athlete of the Year, Ranger Award, Athlete of the Year, Newcomer of the Year and Career Achievement Award. Each award was presented to both a male and female student-athlete while the Provost Award was given to the women's basketball squad for achieving the highest grade point average among the department's 15 sports.
Wrestler Arik Yde and women's basketball player Sierra West claimed the Academic Athlete of the Year Awards. The honor goes to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade points average after completing four years of eligibility.
Yde was a 2012 National Wrestling Coaches Association Scholar All-American. The 141-pounder collected 15 wins on the mat for the Rangers this season, earning three pins and scoring 52 points for the squad. Yde plans on graduating this week with a degree in business management.
West claims the award as a four-time Academic All-Great Lakes Valley Conference selection. The senior guard was a 2013 GLVC All-Defensive Team selection, leading the Rangers in minutes played. She led the GLVC and ranked sixth in the nation in assists per game and helped UW-Parkside advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season. West plans on graduating later this week with her master's degree in business before moving to Seattle where she accepted a position at Microsoft.
Winning the Ranger Award was wrestler Matt Gille and women's basketball player Cheryl Leyns. The Ranger Award is given to the person who best exemplifies the positive attributes of intercollegiate athletics while at UW-Parkside.
Gille was a leader on and off the mat for the Rangers. A three-time All-American, Academic All-American and team captain, the senior led by example. Battling various injuries during his career, the 184-pounder was a member of the Student Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) and was willing to go the extra mile while making sure fellow wrestlers conducted themselves to the high standards set by the program and athletic department.
Leyns started every game as a junior for the Rangers before tearing her ACL for the second time in August of 2012. The resilient forward was back on the court just six months later, helping the Rangers make the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in her career. Majoring in molecular biology and bioinformatics with a minor in chemistry, the four-time Academic All-GLVC selection will be attending graduate school in the fall at Washington University in Saint Louis, one of the top schools in the nation. Described by head coach Jenny Knight-Kenesie as “one of the most determined student-athletes she has been around and a great role model,” she never allowed injuries to set her back. She was actively engaged in community service projects and was a member of SAAC.
Men's basketball's Jeremy Saffold was named the Male Athlete of the Year while women's cross country and track athlete Jessica Watychowicz earned Female Athlete of the Year.
Saffold was the 2013 GLVC Player of the Year, leading the Rangers in scoring and to their first GLVC East Division title in program history. The forward was a unanimous First Team All-GLVC selection while also claiming First Team All-Midwest Region honors from both Daktronics and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). Finishing second in the GLVC in scoring (18.4 points per game) and 15th in rebounding (5.4 rpg), Saffold was instrumental in guiding the Rangers to the NCAA Tournament for just the second time in school history. He capped off his career in March, traveling to Louisville, Ky., where he participated in the NABC Division II All-Star Game.
Watychowicz secured All-American honors in the fall in cross country, placing 32nd at the National Championships while also claiming All-Conference and All-Region accolades. The senior was the GLVC Runner of the Week on Oct. 9 and established a school record for the 5,000-meter distance in cross country. On the track, she qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships in the mile, 3,000- and 5,000-meters before winning the 3K at the GLVC Championships, establishing a meet record in the event. She placed 10th in the 5K at the indoor championships before placing 15th in the 3K just a day later.
With stellar debut seasons this winter, basketball players Andy Mazurczak and Tara Knapstein won the Newcomer of the Year Award.
Mazurczak was named the GLVC Co-Freshman of the Year this season, finishing second in the GLVC and 31st in the nation in assist to turnover ratio (2.17). The guard was 11th in the league in assists per game (3.1) while leading the Rangers in field goal percentage, assists and steals as the team won their first ever divisional crown and made a return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2007.
Knapstein claims the honor after starting in 18 games for UW-Parkside as the squad advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive season. The freshman guard averaged 22 minutes a game and was among the top five freshmen in the league in points, rebounds and steals. She led the team in scoring on four occasions while leading the Rangers in rebounding eight times and was the leader in steals on 10 occasions.
Claiming the Career Achievement Award was wrestler Dillon Bera and women's soccer player Lauki'I Cheng.
Bera became the first four-time NCAA Division II All-American in UW-Parkside history this winter, placing seventh at the 2013 Championships at the 157-pound weight class. Bera closes his career a two-time Academic All-American and a two-time captain, earning regional titles on three occasions. Bera tallied 22 wins in 2012-2013, including 13 wins by tech fall and two victories by pin.
Cheng is the women's soccer program's only two-time National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-American, claiming the honor in 2008 and 2012. She was the 2008 GLVC Defender of the Year while earning All-GLVC and All-Midwest Region honors all four years. She guided the Rangers to four NCAA Tournament appearances, including a run to the NCAA Sweet 16 this fall and leaves UW-Parkside with a career record of 61-13-7.
