ERIE, Pa. - Gannon Director of Athletics
Lisa Goddard McGuirk announced the 2014-15 Senior Female and Male Student-Athletes of the Year at the Sixth Annual Student-Athlete Banquet hosted last week in the Yehl Ballroom of the Waldron Center.
Nettie Blake (Jersey City, N.J./Marist) was named Female Student-Athlete of the Year while
Robbie Bennett (Durban, South Africa/St. Benedict School) and
Adam Blazek (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) took home the Co-Male Student-Athlete of the Year awards.
Finalists for the awards included softball student-athlete
Jess Rectenwald (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills), women's volleyball student-athlete
Megan Wendel (Aurora, Ohio/Kenston), football student-athlete
Justin Caliste (Roseville, Calif./Oakmont), football student-athlete
Luke Rankie (Lockport, N.Y./Lockport), wrestling student-athlete
Matt Turek (Madison, Ohio/Madison) and men's water polo student-athlete
Raz Yuval (Kibbutz Yagur, Israel/Carmel Zvulun).
A four-year starter at Gannon, Blake concluded her collegiate career as one of the best to ever don a Gannon women's basketball jersey. The six-foot-one center was a three-time All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) selection, including back-to-back first-team honors as a junior and senior. She was a two-time all-region selection and named Most Valuable Player at the 2013 NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional, helping the Lady Knights advance to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight.
Blake concluded her career third all-time at Gannon in rebounds (1.029), third in free throws made (372), sixth in points (1,536), seventh in field goals (582), ninth in blocked shots (88) and 10th in field goal percentage (.509). Her 126 games played as a Lady Knight also ranks third all-time at Gannon while her career 8.2 rebounds per game rank fifth. Blake's 311 rebounds this season equaled the third-highest single-season total in school history.
The Jersey City, N.J., native averaged 13.4 points, 10.7 rebounds, 0.6 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.9 blocks in 29 games this season. She connected at a rate of 49.8 percent (142-285) from the field and 70.7 percent (106-150) from the foul line. The senior forward registered a career-best 12 double-doubles, bringing her career total to 31. She led the PSAC in total rebounds per game and offensive rebounds per game.
This season, Blake garnered four All-PSAC Western Division Athlete of the Week honors and two Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division II Player of the Week selections. Beyond the conference level, she was named the U.S. Basketball Writers Association Division II National Player of the Week and landed on the Daktronics/Division II Conference Commissioners Association All-Atlantic Region Second Team.
One of only 29 student-athletes to be chosen among male fall sports at any level of the NCAA as a 2014-15 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Postgraduate Scholarship recipient, Bennett solidified himself as one of Gannon's all-time soccer standouts.
Bennett became a three-time PSAC Fall Top 10 recipient this year. The senior forward is also a three-time Capital One Academic All-American, seven-time all-region selection and four-time All-PSAC first-team selection.
One year after becoming the first Gannon men's soccer student-athlete in school history to become an Academic All-America first-team member, Bennett landed on the first team again this season with a 3.95 cumulative grade point average as a Sport and Exercise Science major. He landed a spot on the third team as a sophomore. In addition, Bennett has been named a PSAC Scholar-Athlete and received the NCAA Division II Athletics Directors Association Academic Achievement Award every year during his collegiate career.
The Durban, South Africa, native led Gannon in goals, assists, points and game-winning goals this season. Bennett ranked third among PSAC student-athletes in goals per match and fourth in points per match. He was 35th among all NCAA Division II players in goals per match and 38th in points per match.
Bennett is a two-time All-American on the field, earning Daktronics honorable-mention accolades last season and National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) third-team honors as a sophomore. Bennett is a seven-time all-region first-team selection, securing Daktronics honors during all four years of his collegiate career and NSCAA accolades the last three seasons. A four-time All-PSAC first-team selection and 2014 All-ECAC first-team honoree, Bennett concluded his career sixth all-time at Gannon in career points (111) and career goals (47).
A two-time PSAC Winter Top 10 selection and National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Honors Court member, Blazek set a high standard on and off the court. In addition to back-to-back Capital One Academic All-District first-team selections, he has been named a PSAC Scholar-Athlete and received the NCAA Division II Athletics Directors Association Academic Achievement Award every season.
The three-time All-American was named to the Division II Bulletin honorable-mention team the last two seasons and the NABC first team as a junior. Blazek is a four-time all-region selection, being named to the NABC and Daktronics All-Atlantic Region first teams as a junior and senior. He earned All-PSAC honors three times in his career, including back-to-back first-team selections. His resume also includes an All-ECAC second-team honor.
Blazek averaged 14.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.3 steals in 32 games this season. He ranked No. 1 among PSAC players in steals per game (2.3), second in minutes per game (37:41), seventh in free throw percentage (82.9), seventh in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.9) and eighth in assists per game.
The four-year starter was named PSAC Western Division Player of the Year as a junior and PSAC Western Division Freshman of the Year in 2012. In addition to being Gannon's all-time steals leader with 243, Blazek ranks fourth all-time at Gannon in three-pointers (190), seventh in assists (373) and seventh in points (1,550).
Blazek captured a pair of distinguished preseason awards in 2014-15, being named to the Sporting News Preseason All-America honorable-mention and Preseason All-PSAC Western Division teams.
The banquet also recognized student-athletes with 4.0 grade point averages, teams with the highest grade point averages, coaching milestones, teams that qualified for the NCAA postseason, student-athlete athletic awards and the Doc Beyer Award winners.
Gannon Senior Student-Athletes of the Year- 2014-15
- 2013-14
- Female - Jen Papich (Women's Basketball)
- Male - Jansen Jones (Football)
- 2012-13
- Female - Lauren Sazama (Women's Volleyball)
- Male - Darrell Blanton (Men's Basketball) and Shayne Herold (Baseball)
- 2011-12
- Female - Amanda Sharbaugh (Women's Soccer)
- Male - Ethan Swope (Wrestling)
- 2010-11
- Female - Mary Eshenour (Women's Lacrosse)
- Male - Afrim Latifi (Men's Soccer) and Zack McKendree (Wrestling)
- 2009-10
- Female - Kristina Freeman (Women's Basketball)
- Male - Jon Richardson (Football) and Corey Bowers (Wrestling)
2014-15 Gannon Play of the Year- Girbran Smith's three-pointer with two seconds left to win the PSAC Championship against No. 20 and eventual national runner-up Indiana (Pa.) 69-66.
2014-15 Play of the Year Runner-Up- Meghan Cunha's walk-off single through the left side to defeat No. 18 California (Pa.) 5-4 in nine innings.
Play of the Year History - Past Winners- 2013-14
- 2012-13
- Nico Baldelli's two-out RBI double into the left center gap to give the baseball team a 1-0 victory against IUP in 14 innings.
- 2011-12
- Caitlyn Lowe's three-pointer with one second left to give the women's basketball team a 66-64 victory at West Chester.
Student-Athletes with 4.0 GPAs during the 2014 Fall SemesterPSAC Champion ScholarsPSAC Top 10 Award Winners (As of May 5, 2015)2014-15 Academic All-District (As of May 5, 2015)2014-15 Academic All-Americans (As of May 5, 2015)2014-15 Team Academic Rankings (As of May 5, 2015)- Men's Cross Country | Fourth-Highest Team GPA in NCAA Division II
- Women's Cross Country | Fourth-Highest Team GPA in NCAA Division II
- Men's Swimming | 19th-Highest Team GPA in NCAA Division II
- Women's Swimming | 25th-Highest Team GPA in NCAA Division II
2014-15 Coaching Milestones- Colin Petersen (Women's Soccer) - 100th Career Victory
- John T. Reilly (Men's Basketball) - Became Men's Basketball Program's All-Time Winningest Coach with 180th victory at Gannon and recorded 400th Career Victory
- Nathan Walters (Women's Swimming) - 50th Career Victory
- Chevonne White (Acrobatics & Tumbling) - Recorded 1st Career Victory
2014-15 Teams to Qualify for NCAA Postseasons (As of May 5, 2015)- Men's Basketball - Second Consecutive Appearance and 24th All-Time Appearance
- Women's Basketball - Seventh Appearance in Last Nine Years
- Men's Cross Country
- Women's Cross Country
- Men's Golf - Third Consecutive Appearance
- Softball - First Appearance since 2007
- Women's Volleyball - Sixth Straight Appearance
- Wrestling
2014-15 National Tournament Teams in Non-NCAA Sanctioned Sports (As of May 5, 2015)- Acrobatics & Tumbling qualified for individual national championships
- Competitive Cheer – Finished Sixth Nationally
2014-15 PSAC Tournament Teams (As of May 5, 2015)- Men's Basketball
- Women's Basketball
- Men's Cross Country
- Women's Cross Country
- Men's Golf
- Women's Golf
- Women's Soccer
- Softball
- Men's Swimming
- Women's Swimming
- Women's Volleyball
- Wrestling
2014-15 Champions (As of May 5, 2015)- Matt Barto – 2014 PSAC Men's Golf Individual Champion
- Men's Basketball – 2015 PSAC Tournament Champion; 2014-15 Western Division Champion
- Football – 2014 PSAC Western Division Champion
- Men's Water Polo – CWPA Division II Champions
Gannon Teams Ranked Nationally in Final Polls (As of May 5, 2015)- Women's Basketball – Among others receiving votes in USA Today Sports Top 25 Poll
Gannon Teams Ranked Regionally At Some Point of the Season- Baseball (Received Votes)
- Men's Basketball
- Women's Basketball
- Football (Lambert Meadowlands Poll)
- Men's Golf
- Softball
- Women's Volleyball
- Wrestling
Gannon Teams Ranked Nationally At Some Point of the Season- Acrobatics & Tumbling
- Men's Basketball (Received Votes)
- Women's Basketball
- Women's Soccer
- Women's Volleyball (Received Votes)
- Wrestling (Received Votes)
2014-15 Conference Players of the Week (As of May 5, 2015)- Matt Barto (Men's Golf) - ECAC Golfer of the Month | ECAC Rookie of the Month (*ECAC only recognizes Golfers of the Month, not Golfers of the Week)
- Alyssa Bates (Softball) - PSAC Player of the Week
- Robbie Bennett (Men's Soccer) - PSAC Player of the Week | ECAC Player of the Week
- Nettie Blake (Women's Basketball) - PSAC Player of the Week three times | ECAC Player of the Week twice
- Adam Blazek (Men's Basketball) - PSAC Player of the Week three times
- Nick Budd (Wrestling) - PSAC Wrestler of the Week
- Justin Caliste (Football) - PSAC Offensive Player of the Week | ECAC Offensive Player of the Week | ECAC Special Teams Player of the Week
- Alison Cooney (Women's Water Polo) - WWPA Player of the Week twice
- Aaron Cox (Baseball) - PSAC Pitcher of the Week
- David Cricks (Baseball) - ECAC Rookie of the Week
- Bobby Danielson (Men's Cross Country) - ECAC Runner of the Week
- Mark DeVita (Baseball) - ECAC Player of the Week
- Denys Fedorchenko (Men's Swimming) - PSAC Swimmer of the Week twice | ECAC Swimmer of the Week twice
- Michelle Franzen (Women's Swimming) - PSAC Swimmer of the Week
- Lynne Hibbard (Women's Volleyball) - PSAC Player of the Week | ECAC Player of the Week
- Brock Jones (Football) - PSAC Offensive Player of the Week twice | ECAC Offensive Player of the Week
- Leilani King (Women's Lacrosse) - ECAC Rookie of the Week twice
- Amanda Knapp (Women's Swimming) - PSAC Swimmer of the Week
- Morgan Lydic (Women's Swimming) - PSAC Swimmer of the Week | ECAC Swimmer of the Week twice
- Ted Martin (Men's Soccer) - PSAC Player of the Week
- Matthew McVey (Football) - ECAC Rookie of the Week
- Nico Mendieta (Football) - ECAC Rookie of the Week
- Jen Moran (Softball) - PSAC Player of the Week
- Luke Rankie (Football) - PSAC Defensive Player of the Week
- Jess Rectenwald (Softball) - ECAC Player of the Week
- Emily Rodriguez (Women's Water Polo) - WWPA Player of the Week
- Eva Schonander (Women's Golf) - PSAC Player of the Week
- McKenna Shives (Women's Basketball) - PSAC Rookie of the Week twice
- Jordyn Thiery (Women's Volleyball) - PSAC Player of the Week
- Matt Turek (Wrestling) - PSAC Wrestler of the Week
- Megan Wendel (Women's Volleyball) - PSAC Player of Week | ECAC Player of the Week
- Mike Zanders (Football) - PSAC Defensive Player of the Week
Regional Players of the Week (As of May 5, 2015)- Aaron Cox (Baseball) - NCBWA Atlantic Region Pitcher of the Week twice
National Players of the Week (As of May 5, 2015)- Nettie Blake (Women's Basketball) - U.S. Basketball Writers Association Division II Player of the Week
- Aaron Cox (Baseball) - NCBWA Division II Pitcher of the Week (February 24)
- Matt Turek (Wrestling) - D2Wrestle.com Division II Wrestler of the Week
2014-15 All-Conference Selections (As of May 5, 2015)2014-15 All-Region Selections (As of May 5, 2015)- Robbie Bennett (Men's Soccer) -Â Daktronics First Team | NSCAA First Team
- Nettie Blake (Women's Basketball) - Daktronics Second Team
- Adam Blazek (Men's Basketball) - Daktronics First Team | NABC First Team
- Mani Brueckner (Women's Soccer) - Daktronics First Team | NSCAA Second Team
- Justin Caliste (Football) - BSN Honorable-Mention | Football Gazette Third Team
- Aaron Cox (Baseball) - NCBWA Preseason Second Team
- Alex Davis (Football) - Daktronics Second Team | BSN First Team | Football Gazette First Team
- Brock Jones (Football) - Daktronics Second Team | BSN First Team | Football Gazette First Team
- Hannah Kren (Women's Volleyball) - Daktronics First Team | AVCA First Team
- Liam Nadler (Football) - BSN Honorable-Mention | Football Gazette Third Team
- Kelson Patterson (Football) - BSN Second Team | Football Gazette Third Team
- Luke Rankie (Football) - BSN Third Team | Football Gazette Honorable-Mention
- Justine Rodrigues (Women's Soccer) - NSCAA Third Team
- Girbran Smith (Men's Basketball) - NABC Second Team
- Mike Zanders (Football) - Football Gazette Second Team
2014-15 All-America Selections (As of May 5, 2015)- Adam Blazek (Men's Basketball) - Sporting News Preseason Honorable-Mention | Division II Bulletin Honorable-Mention
- Alex Davis (Football) - BSN Second Team | Football Gazette Second Team
- Brock Jones (Football) - BSN Second Team | Football Gazette Second Team
- Hannah Kren (Women's Volleyball) - AVCA Honorable-Mention
2014-15 National Championship Qualifiers (As of May 5, 2015)2014-15 Major Awards (As of May 5, 2015)- Brock Jones (Football) - PSAC Western Division Offensive Player of the Year
- Gilberto Millan (Men's Water Polo) - CWPA Division II Championship Most Valuable Player | CWPA Division II Rookie of the Year
- A'Darius Porter (Men's Basketball) - PSAC Western Division Defensive Player of the Week
- Jess Rectenwald (Softball) - PSAC Western Division Player of the Year
- John T. Reilly (Men's Basketball) - NABC Atlantic Region Coach of the Year
- Don Sherman (Men's Water Polo) - CWPA Division II Coach of the Year
2014-15 Miscellanous Awards (As of May 5, 2015)- Robbie Bennett (Men's Soccer) - Received NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship
- Adam Blazek (Men's Basketball) - Selected to play in NCAA Division II All-Star Game
- Hannah Kren (Women's Volleyball) - NCAA Atlantic Regional All-Tournament Team
- Shanen Lazenby (Women's Water Polo) - WWPA All-Tournament Second Team
- Marko Sadikovic (Men's Water Polo) - CWPA Division II All-Tournament Team
- Raz Yuval (Men's Water Polo) - CWPA Division II All-Tournament Team
Doc Beyer Award Winners- 2014-15
- 2013-14
- 2012-13
- Female - Samantha Scott (Softball)
- Male - Will Giles (Football)
- 2011-12
- Female - Amanda Sharbaugh (Women's Soccer/Lacrosse)
- Male - Ethan Swope (Wrestling)
- 2010-11
- Female - Julie Kleber (Women's Basketball)
- Male - Mitchel Meighen (Men's Swimming)
Professional Athletes- Jabs Newby (men's basketball) was picked second overall in National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada) Draft
Knight Cup Champions- 2014-15 | Competitive Cheer Team
- 2013-14 | Football Team
- 2012-13 | Cheerleading Team
- 2011-12 | Women's Basketball Team
- 2010-11 | Football Team
- 2009-10 | Women's Basketball Team
Gannon Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) Faculty Appreciation Award2014-15 | Anne O'Neill and Kory Stauffer
2013-14 | Melanie and Steve Ropski
