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SOMERS, Wis. (May 12, 2014)-- The University of Wisconsin-Parkside athletic department honored several student-athletes on Monday night, hosting its annual Awards Banquet at the Student Center Ballroom.
 
The awards presented were the Academic Athlete of the Year, Ranger Award, Newcomer of the Year, Athlete 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.
 
Baseball player Eric DuCharme and women's soccer player Michelle Girard claim the Academic Athlete of the Year Awards. The honor goes to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade point average who has completed four years of eligibility or will be graduating this spring.
 
DuCharme played and started every game over the past two seasons since transferring from Madison Area Technical College. The left-handed outfielder led the Rangers at the plate in each of the last two seasons, hitting .306 with 12 RBIs in 2013 before hitting .335 with 17 RBIs and seven extra base hits this season. DuCharme belted a walkoff single on April 23, giving UW-Parkside a 4-3 win over Lewis University to earn a doubleheader sweep. DuCharme plans on graduating with a degree in business management.
 
Girard wins the award after making 24 appearances and logging 1,680 minutes in goal for the Rangers over the past three seasons. The goalkeeper tallied 58 saves in her career, earning 13 victories and posting eight shutouts. Girard started all 20 games during the 2012 season, helping UW-Parkside advance to the NCAA Sweet 16. She plans on graduating with a degree in health science.
 
Basketball players Colt Grandstaff and Danielle Slivka win the Ranger Award, given to the student-athletes that best exemplify the positive attributes of intercollegiate athletics while at the University.
 
Grandstaff was a leader on and off the court for the Rangers, putting the team before his own personal goals and was a major factor in Parkside winning back-to-back Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division titles. The guard was a two-time All-GLVC selection and a member of the GLVC All-Defensive Team while never missing a game due to injury.
 
"For the past three years Colt has brought an incredible amount of toughness to our program.  But this year, in addition to his toughness, he provided outstanding senior leadership," said head coach Luke Reigel. "Colt made individual sacrifices so that the team could be more successful.  Every day in practice he brought maximum effort and was a great example to young players on how to go about the day-to-day grind that is a college basketball season. His fire and intensity will not be easily replaced."
 
Slivka wins the Ranger Award after an outstanding career with the Rangers, making the NCAA Tournament three times, including two trips to the Sweet 16. The senior forward was a leader on and off the court for the Rangers and has made an impact all over campus, participating on search committees and discussion groups with both the athletic department and on the academic side with the health, exercise and sport management (HESM) department. Slivka finished her career with a 79-39 overall record and was an All-GLVC and All-Defensive Team selection in 2012-2013.
 
"I do not think you can talk about Parkside athletics anywhere in our conference or campus without Danielle being brought up in the conversation," said head coach Jacob Yorg.
 
"Danielle lives and breathes Parkside athletics. As a team captain, she led this team through a lot of adversity with both the coaching change and the graduation of so many players. Her determination to never let anything get in her way of wanting this team to succeed was extraordinary. If she was hurt, had a big test to study for, or life situations happened, you never could tell because she never wanted to let her teammates down. She was able to maintain high academic standards, while helping develop the women's basketball program into one of the best around."
 
Making immediate impacts for their programs upon arriving on campus, men's basketball player Jimmy Gavin and women's soccer player Mallory Geurts claim Newcomer of the Year honors.
 
A sophomore transfer from Bradley University, Gavin wins Newcomer of the Year after a phenomenal debut season with the Rangers, helping UW-Parkside win the GLVC East Division and qualify for the NCAA Tournament. The All-GLVC Second Team selection was a spark off the bench for the Rangers, averaging 16.0 points per game and 2.4 rebounds per game in addition to dishing out 94 assists and grabbing 31 steals. Gavin was the GLVC Player of the Week on Jan. 27, averaging 22.7 ppg in a trio of wins over nationally-ranked teams, including a career-high 30 points against Bellarmine University on Jan. 23. Gavin finished in double figures on 26 occasions, including 15 GLVC contests.
 
Geurts wins Newcomer of the Year after landing Third Team All-GLVC honors as a goalkeeper, helping the Rangers advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The freshman goalie started all 22 games for the Rangers, making 78 saves and posting 11 shutouts. Geurts was a three-time GLVC Defensive Player of the Week selection, winning the award on Sept. 9, Oct. 7, and Nov. 4 while earning Disney Soccer/National Soccer Coaches Association of America Division II Player of the Week honors on Oct. 8 after collecting a pair of road shutouts. The netminder boasts a save percentage of .830 while sporting a goals against average of 0.71 after logging 2,025 minutes between the posts.
 
Men's Basketball's Zygimantas Riauka was named Male Athlete of the Year while women's soccer student-athlete Jasmine Espino claimed Female Athlete of the Year honors.
 
Riauka secures Athlete of the Year after earning a selection to the All-GLVC First Team in addition to claiming Second Team All-Midwest District honors by the National Association of Basketball Coaches and Second Team Daktronics All-Region accolades.
 
The junior forward led the Rangers in scoring (16.7 points per game), rebounding (9.3 per game), blocks (59) and field goal percentage (63.6 percent). Riauka ranked second in the GLVC in both rebounding and blocks while sitting fourth in field goal percentage and 10th in scoring. The forward led the team in scoring on nine occasions in 2013-2014 while leading the Rangers in rebounding in 28 of the 30 games this season.
 
Espino lands Athlete of the Year accolades after earning Second Team All-GLVC and Third Team All-Midwest Region honors this fall.

The senior midfielder started all 22 games for the Rangers in 2013, scoring four goals and notching six assists. Three of Espino's four goals were game-winners, netting the decisive score against Ferris State University on Sept. 5, against Michigan Tech University on Sept. 7 and against William Jewell College on Oct. 18.

Espino finished her stellar career with 10 goals and 12 assists, including five game-winning goals. The Chicago native suited up in 68 games for the Rangers during her career (2009, 2011-2013) and helped the squad advance to the NCAA Tournament the past three seasons, including a Sweet 16 appearance in 2012.
 
Golfer Jake Wisniewski and women's cross country and track athlete Jessica Watychowicz claim the male and female Career Achievement Awards.
 
Wisniewski was a two-time Super Regional qualifier and a 2014 All-GLVC selection for the Rangers. The senior finished 35th overall at the 2013 NCAA Super Regional helping host UW-Parkside to a 15th place finish. He additionally claimed top individual honors at the Maryville Fall Invitational the previous fall, helping the Rangers win the nine-team event.
 
This season, Wisniewski qualified as an individual for the Super Regional, placing 21st overall. A model of consistency throughout 2013-2014, the Hartland, Wisconsin, native placed in the top 25 in 10 of the 12 events he competed in, including seven top 10 finishes. Wisniewski finished eighth at the 2014 GLVC Championships while recording his first career hole-in-one at the Jewell Invitational in Batavia, Ohio on April 5.  
 
Watychowicz wins the female Career Achievement Award after leaving behind a considerable legacy in both cross country and track & field. In cross country, Watychowicz was an All-American in 2012 while securing All-GLVC and All-Region accolades in both 2011 and 2012. She owns the school record at the 5,000-meter distance in cross country while earning NCAA All-Academic accolades in 2012.
 
On the track, the distance runner was a national qualifier during the 2013 indoor season in the mile, 3,000-meters and 5,000-meters while provisionally qualifying in the distance medley relay. Watychowicz won the 3,000-meter title at the 2013 GLVC Indoor Championships, shattering a meet record in the event and was an All-Region selection in 2013 in the mile, 3K and 5K.
 
During outdoors, she was a two-time GLVC Champion, winning the 5,000-meters in 2012 before claiming the 10,000-meters at the 2014 GLVC Championships, establishing a new meet record in the event. She owns the school record in the 5K and was an All-Region selection in 2012. Watychowicz has additionally been named the GLVC Athlete of the Week on six different occasions.