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DETROIT (4/19/13) -- The University of Detroit Mercy Athletics Department took an opportunity to recognize its student-athletes at the Annual Titan Academic and Athletic Honors Dinner held Thursday evening at the Hard Rock Cafe in downtown Detroit.
"The event at the Hard Rock in Detroit was great," stated UDM Interim Director of Athletics Jason Horn. "We felt we needed to mix it up a bit and the new format and venue made for a fun event, plus it is always exciting to recognize our student-athletes for their accomplishments. This was just one step in our goal to continue to improve the student athlete experience."
Senior Pat Lepera of the men's soccer team and senior Collette Hansen from women's golf were recognized with this year's top honor and received the President's Award. The prestigious President's Award is given to Detroit's top male and female most outstanding senior student-athletes.
Lepera started in all 66 games over his four-year career as a Titan. As a senior, Lepera was named a team captain and anchored the midfield. He finished second on the team in points and goals and third on the team in assists. For his senior year, he took home All-Conference first team honors. HIs academics earned him a place on the 2012 Horizon League Fall All-Academic team.
Hansen has been in the starting lineup since her freshman year and was a member of the 2010 Horizon League Championship team. During her tenure, the Titans have won 12 tournaments, she has been named All-Conference in 2012, and she has 12 top 10 finishes and 23 top 20 finishes in her career at Detroit. Her score has continually been lowered and she has provided leadership through her play and dedication.
There were a number of other award winners who were recognized Thursday.
The Titan Club Award is presented to a male and female student-athlete who has achieved academic and athletic excellence during their UDM careers. This year, the Titan Club Award was presented to
Adam Bedell from men's soccer and
Lindsey Lammers from women's golf. Lammers has been the best women's golfer in school and Horizon League history winning the individual championship as a sophomore. She also has won five tournaments and broke the school record at the Detroit Titan Invitational. She was named to the National Golf Coaches Association Women's All-American Scholar team.
Bedell had a year to remember being named the Horizon League Player of the Year, the Offensive Player of the Year and taking home All-Conference first team honors. He led the league with 11 goals and 27 points while tying for the league lead with five assists. He was named the Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week a record three weeks in a row leading the team to a No. 1 seed and the right to host the Horizon League Championships. He was named to the 2012 Spring and Fall Horizon League Academic Team.
The Reverend Nobert Heutter Award is presented to a male and female student-athlete who has demonstrated leadership, dedication, cooperation with teammates and coaches, pride in team achievements, determination to excel, and graciousness in victory or defeat. This year's recipients were
Megan Callahan from women's lacrosse and
Jamie Hebden from men's lacrosse.
Callahan brings a positive vibe to all those she interacts with and is committed to enhancing her teammates, team, and Titan athletics. As a captain, she leads vocally and by example helping to arrange community service initiatives. This past year, she was the president of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). Hebden has been a team captain the past two years and the leader of the defense that past four. He is dedicated to his teammates and is seen as a motivator, vocal leader, and exudes Detroit Titans lacrosse.
The Newcomer of the Year is presented each spring to the athletes who have competed during the previous academic year as incoming freshmen or transfer students on the basis of athletic excellence. This year's awards went to
Shareta Brown from women's basketball and
Brandon Beauregard from men's lacrosse.
Brown had a record-breaking 2012 helping guide her team to a postseason WNIT bid. She broke the school record with 611 points and led the league in points and was ranked fifth in the NCAA in field goal percentage. She was named the Horizon League Co-Newcomer of the Year and to the All-Conference first team, the first time for a freshman in school history.
Beauregard played in all 15 games as a freshman making two starts. He totaled three goals and three assists for six points attempting 20 shots. His first career point came with an assist against Ohio State and he also scored against Michigan and Manhattan. He had a career-high two points in the MAAC Championship Semifinals with a goal and an assist.
The Larry Bleach Award is presented to the top male and female student-athletes for showing dedication in the areas of strength training, fitness and conditioning. The winners for this year were
Abby McCollum from women's soccer and
Chris Shevins from men's lacrosse.
McCollum has had a revitalized offseason and can be found bright and early every morning in the weight room working to try and separate herself from the other competitors. Shevins can always be counted on to give 100% whether it is during on-field conditioning or a training session in the weight room. He does an excellent job doing the necessary things to take care of his body throughout the men's lacrosse season.
The Dad Butler Award is presented to the male and female student-athletes who show dedication to practice and also have the ability to rehabilitate an injury to his or her fullest capabilities. This year's award went to Lammers from women's golf who picked up her second award of the evening and
Nick Minnerath from men's basketball.
Minnerath suffered an ACL/MCL injury five games into his senior season last in 2012. After undergoing two surgeries to repair both ligaments, he endured nine months of rehabilitation and earned back a fifth year of eligibility and competed this past season. He would often spend 203 hours in the morning and 2-3 hours in the afternoon in the sports medicine department and turned it into an All-Conference first team selection finishing fifth in the league in scoring and leading the Titans with 5.9 rebounds per game.
Lammers suffered constant wrist pain which eventually forced her to have surgery to remove a ganglion cyst just five weeks before the Horizon League Tournament. With daily hard work, she returned in time for the tournament and captured the individual title. A month following her winning the title, she suffered more pain in the wrist and scheduled another surgery and she has worked hard all summer to return this past fall and she continues to win individual events and help the Titans as a team overall.
Each year, the team with the highest overall GPA for the past academic year is also recognized known as the Team Excellence Award. The recipients of the 2013 Team Excellence Award were women's fencing and men's tennis. Women's fencing posted a 3.52 cumulative team GPA and the men's tennis team had a GPA of 3.49.
Overall, 18 of 19 sports at UDM took home an average team GPA of 3.0 or above last semester.
The 2013 Horizon League Sportsmanship Award winner was
Evan Bruinsma from the men's basketball team. This award is given to a student-athlete who best exemplifies the true essence of sportsmanship and ethical conduct.
Also recognized on the evening were 18 athletes who were named to the Four Year Athletic Director Honor Roll.
Four Year A.D. Honor Roll
Britany Busch – Women's Lacrosse
Chris Cheung – Men's Tennis
Brandon Davenport – Men's Lacrosse
John Dwyer – Men's Lacrosse
Sarah Dzuris – Women's Soccer
Collette Hansen – Women's Golf
Taylor Hennrick – Men's Track and Field
Sheldon Keyte – Men's Golf
Alex Latosinsky – Men's Tennis
Chris Nemes – Men's Lacrosse
Katrina Oberski – Women's Cross Country/Track and Field
Simon Reyers – Men's Golf
Martin Robertson – Men's Soccer
Nick Schesnuk – Men's Lacrosse
Chris Smalley – Men's Cross Country/Track and Field
Bri Soule – Women's Track and Field
Wes Steen – Men's Lacrosse
Katie Weishaar - Women's Cross Country/Track and Field
