Grand Canyon University Athletics
Photo by: Katie Severns
Lopey Awards highlight year's best
4/15/2019 9:15:00 PM | General, Paul Coro
Men's track and field takes top GCU team honors
Grand Canyon student-athletes' days and nights are layered in sweat and dirt, building up to an evening when all of them gather with glammed-up looks under purple stage lights.
The annual Lopey Awards honor the finest Lopes athletic achievements of the past year, reminding 500 attendees of how each GCU athlete, coach and employee helped advance the athletic program.
"When we say our goal is to have every single one of our programs in the top 25 in the country, that's absolutely where we're going," GCU President Brian Mueller said after praising the athletes' academics and community work. "Thank you for helping us get there."
The following teams and student-athletes were honored Monday night with their peers presenting the awards:
Team of the Year: men's track and field
It would be hard to pick which WAC championship was more impressive. Men's track and field head Tom Flood's squad won the 2018 conference outdoor title by 92 points and followed by four-peating as WAC indoor champions with a 48-point margin in February.
The outdoor championships included 14 individual titles and that men's team qualified 10 athletes for the NCAA West Preliminary Round. Three Lopes advanced to the NCAA Championships, where then-sophomore Jesse Newman made All-Amercia second team for finishing ninth in the javelin. It was the highest national finish of any GCU student-athlete for the 2017-18 school year.
Female Athlete of the Year: softball's Sierra Smith
Senior third baseman Sierra Smith ranked third in the conference last year with a .392 batting average and surpassed 200 starts and 200 hits for her career this season. She broke or tied four WAC Tournament records in 2018, including total hits (12). The 2018 All-West Region second-team pick and her twin, Shea, have helped usher the softball program into the Division I era, including the Lopes' 2017 regular season co-championship.
Male Athlete of the Year: swimming's Mark Nikolaev
Senior Mark Nikolaev became GCU's first male All-American at the Division I level by finishing third in the 100-yard backstroke at this year's NCAA Championships. He is a three-time WAC Men's Swimmer of the Year who put the Lopes program on the national map as by posting the second-fastest regular-season time in the 100 backstroke for two consecutive years. He finished 10th in the nation last season. Nikolaev came to GCU from Russia when GCU head coach Steve Schaffer was the only DI coach to offer him a scholarship.
Game of the Year: 2018 WAC Women's Golf Championship
New Mexico State claimed four consecutive WAC Women's Golf Championship titles until the Lopes became the new conference queens in dramatic fashion last year. In a 54-hole tournament with five player scores counting from each team, the champion was not decided until the final putt on the last hole. GCU then-freshman Siripatsorn Patchana, who won the individual championship, made the winning putt but it took every stroke from teammates Alexis Linam, Deanna Salvatori, Carolina Sandstrom and Courtney Vogel to rally the team from third place after two rounds and claim the title.
Comeback Athlete of the Year: volleyball's Kaira Moss
Redshirt freshman Kaira Moss came to GCU from Boyden, Iowa, in 2016 and played only four matches that year before a rotator cuff injury sidelined her for the rest of that season and all of the 2017 season. Moss, a 6-foot-2 middle blocker, returned in 2018 to start all 28 matches, make three all-tournament teams and lead the Lopes in kills (243) and blocks (95) while being honored on the WAC All-Freshman Team.
Most Inspirational Athlete of the Year: basketball's Gerard Martin
Senior basketball player Gerard Martin already might have been the most popular athlete on campus for his hustling play, dedicated defense and amiable personality. Knowing what Martin overcame made him appreciated all the more. Martin lost his father when he was a boy, moved from Australia for college, did not play his first year at GCU because of a knee injury and had his senior season cut short in February by another knee injury. Considered "the heart and soul" of the team by head coach Dan Majerle, Martin still was voted to the All-WAC Defensive Team by conference coaches.
Breakthrough Athlete of the Year: baseball's Quin Cotton
Outfielder Quin Cotton went from starting 19 of 54 games and hitting .274 as a freshman to winning WAC Player of the Year as a sophomore last year, when he hit .390 to rank 14th in the nation. He recorded the most hits in a season (92) by a Lopes player since 1992. More than two-fifths of his hits went for extra bases, including the first five home runs of his career. Before his junior year, he was invited to play in the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League last summer and was named an All-Star there.
Newcomer Athlete of the Year: track and field's Alyson Schwartz
Sophomore Alyson Schwartz won the WAC outdoor pole vault title as a freshman last year by setting a school record of 13 feet, 3 ½ inches, becoming one of four GCU females to qualify for the NCAA West Preliminary Round. She finished second among freshmen when she took 31st place at that regional meet. The Phoenix native also captured the WAC indoor pole vault title in February.
Kevin and Greta Warren Postgraduate Athletic Scholarship: softball's Taylor Kaye and track and field/cross country's Francisco Rodriguez
Roland L. Beck Senior Scholar-Athlete Awards: track and field's William Winfield IV and softball's Taylor Kaye
Highest team grade point averages: beach volleyball (3.80) and men's tennis (3.75)
L.O.P.E.S. (Leadership, ownership, purpose, excellence, service) Cup: softball for a second consecutive year
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
The annual Lopey Awards honor the finest Lopes athletic achievements of the past year, reminding 500 attendees of how each GCU athlete, coach and employee helped advance the athletic program.
"When we say our goal is to have every single one of our programs in the top 25 in the country, that's absolutely where we're going," GCU President Brian Mueller said after praising the athletes' academics and community work. "Thank you for helping us get there."
The following teams and student-athletes were honored Monday night with their peers presenting the awards:
Team of the Year: men's track and field
It would be hard to pick which WAC championship was more impressive. Men's track and field head Tom Flood's squad won the 2018 conference outdoor title by 92 points and followed by four-peating as WAC indoor champions with a 48-point margin in February.
The outdoor championships included 14 individual titles and that men's team qualified 10 athletes for the NCAA West Preliminary Round. Three Lopes advanced to the NCAA Championships, where then-sophomore Jesse Newman made All-Amercia second team for finishing ninth in the javelin. It was the highest national finish of any GCU student-athlete for the 2017-18 school year.
Female Athlete of the Year: softball's Sierra Smith
Senior third baseman Sierra Smith ranked third in the conference last year with a .392 batting average and surpassed 200 starts and 200 hits for her career this season. She broke or tied four WAC Tournament records in 2018, including total hits (12). The 2018 All-West Region second-team pick and her twin, Shea, have helped usher the softball program into the Division I era, including the Lopes' 2017 regular season co-championship.
Male Athlete of the Year: swimming's Mark Nikolaev
Senior Mark Nikolaev became GCU's first male All-American at the Division I level by finishing third in the 100-yard backstroke at this year's NCAA Championships. He is a three-time WAC Men's Swimmer of the Year who put the Lopes program on the national map as by posting the second-fastest regular-season time in the 100 backstroke for two consecutive years. He finished 10th in the nation last season. Nikolaev came to GCU from Russia when GCU head coach Steve Schaffer was the only DI coach to offer him a scholarship.
Game of the Year: 2018 WAC Women's Golf Championship
New Mexico State claimed four consecutive WAC Women's Golf Championship titles until the Lopes became the new conference queens in dramatic fashion last year. In a 54-hole tournament with five player scores counting from each team, the champion was not decided until the final putt on the last hole. GCU then-freshman Siripatsorn Patchana, who won the individual championship, made the winning putt but it took every stroke from teammates Alexis Linam, Deanna Salvatori, Carolina Sandstrom and Courtney Vogel to rally the team from third place after two rounds and claim the title.
Comeback Athlete of the Year: volleyball's Kaira Moss
Redshirt freshman Kaira Moss came to GCU from Boyden, Iowa, in 2016 and played only four matches that year before a rotator cuff injury sidelined her for the rest of that season and all of the 2017 season. Moss, a 6-foot-2 middle blocker, returned in 2018 to start all 28 matches, make three all-tournament teams and lead the Lopes in kills (243) and blocks (95) while being honored on the WAC All-Freshman Team.
Most Inspirational Athlete of the Year: basketball's Gerard Martin
Senior basketball player Gerard Martin already might have been the most popular athlete on campus for his hustling play, dedicated defense and amiable personality. Knowing what Martin overcame made him appreciated all the more. Martin lost his father when he was a boy, moved from Australia for college, did not play his first year at GCU because of a knee injury and had his senior season cut short in February by another knee injury. Considered "the heart and soul" of the team by head coach Dan Majerle, Martin still was voted to the All-WAC Defensive Team by conference coaches.
Breakthrough Athlete of the Year: baseball's Quin Cotton
Outfielder Quin Cotton went from starting 19 of 54 games and hitting .274 as a freshman to winning WAC Player of the Year as a sophomore last year, when he hit .390 to rank 14th in the nation. He recorded the most hits in a season (92) by a Lopes player since 1992. More than two-fifths of his hits went for extra bases, including the first five home runs of his career. Before his junior year, he was invited to play in the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League last summer and was named an All-Star there.
Newcomer Athlete of the Year: track and field's Alyson Schwartz
Sophomore Alyson Schwartz won the WAC outdoor pole vault title as a freshman last year by setting a school record of 13 feet, 3 ½ inches, becoming one of four GCU females to qualify for the NCAA West Preliminary Round. She finished second among freshmen when she took 31st place at that regional meet. The Phoenix native also captured the WAC indoor pole vault title in February.
Kevin and Greta Warren Postgraduate Athletic Scholarship: softball's Taylor Kaye and track and field/cross country's Francisco Rodriguez
Roland L. Beck Senior Scholar-Athlete Awards: track and field's William Winfield IV and softball's Taylor Kaye
Highest team grade point averages: beach volleyball (3.80) and men's tennis (3.75)
L.O.P.E.S. (Leadership, ownership, purpose, excellence, service) Cup: softball for a second consecutive year
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
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