In an evening that celebrates the accomplishments of the University of Southern Indiana student athletes, senior Dustin Emerick (men’s cross country/track & field), senior Danielle LaGrange (volleyball), senior Brendan Devine (men’s cross country/track & field), and junior Susan Ellsperman (women’s soccer) were recognized as the top student athletes at the 10th annual USI All-Sports Banquet sponsored by Old National Bank on April 25.
The ONB/USI Male Student Athlete of the Year, Emerick is a three-time All-American earning his first title in track last spring. The history major earned All-Great Lakes Valley Conference honors for the fourth-straight year this past fall in cross country and was All-Region for the third time. He was named the Midwest Region Athlete of the Year in outdoor track last spring and captured two GLVC championships during the indoor season this past February.
The ONB/USI Female Student Athlete of the Year for the second-straight year, LaGrange earned second-team All-America honors, first-team All-Region honors, and was the GLVC Player of the Year in 2011. She led her team to the NCAA Division II Tournament for the second straight year and was the AVCA National Player of the Week during the regular season.
Devine and Ellsperman were named the male and female recipients of the ONB/USI Screaming Eagles Pride Award. The award winners are selected in a vote by the Athletic Department staff.
Devine won the GLVC individual championship in helping lead USI to the conference championship on the USI cross country course last fall. The senior history major also helped the Eagles to a seventh-place finish at the NCAA II Cross Country Championships in November. Overall, Devine finishes his cross country career with two All-America and four All-GLVC honors.
The student representative to the USI Board of Trustees, Ellsperman is pursuing a degree in biology/pre-medical program. On the field, Ellsperman was named second-team All-Midwest Region and second-team All-GLVC after leading USI in scoring with 14 points on five goals and four assists. She also earned first-team Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-America and Academic All-District IV honors.
Dr. Laci Rogers, instructor in the College of Business, was presented the Dr. Jane Davis Brezette Award. The award is presented to a USI faculty member who has contributed to the success of USI Athletics by mentoring student athletes and helping them to achieve their goals in the classroom and beyond. Previous winners of award were Dr. Jane Davis-Brezette, the former chair of Kinesiology and Sport Department; Tim Mahoney, an instructor in economics and Patti Marcum, instructor in physical education.
The USI Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) recognized softball with the Team GPA Award (3.511) and men’s and women’s soccer as co-winners of the Team Spirit Award.
