GLIAC – Five Grand Valley State Lakers earned Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Fall 2017 Commissioner's Award. Females Gabriella Mencotti, Gina Patterson and Shannon Quinn joined male athletes Nick Keizer and Collin Schlosser as recipients of the league honors. The awards are presented after the Fall, Winter, and Spring athletic seasons to six female and six male student-athletes that excel both in the classroom and on the fields of play. All grade-point averages are based on a 4.0 scale.
Mencotti has received some of the highest honors on the GLIAC, regional and national stage in women's soccer after another stellar campaign in her senior season. Mencotti led the nation in goals (30) and points (70) for the second straight year en route to a first team All-American selection by United Soccer Coaches and Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA). D2CCA also named Mencotti the national and Midwest region Player of the Year for the second straight season.
Her blend of athletic performance and academic excellence led to College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) naming her the Division II Women's Soccer Academic All-American of the Year. Mencotti was also honored as a first team Scholar All-American by United Soccer Coaches and a member of the GLIAC All-Academic Excellence team. She earned HERO Sports HERO of the Year honors as well.
Mencotti was the GLIAC Offensive Player of the Year in 2017 and would score five goals in the GLIAC Tournament to earn MVP honors. Mencotti led the Lakers to a 13th straight regular season GLIAC title and 11th consecutive tournament crown. She finishes her illustrious career as the all-time program leader in games played while ranking second in career goals and points and third all-time in assists.
Patterson turned in an outstanding cross country campaign for the Lakers in 2017. Patterson concluded her junior season by being named USTFCCCA All-American for the second time in her career after she placed 39th at the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championship with a time of 21:42.9. Out of the six races that Patterson raced in during the 2017 season she placed in the top-12 five times, four of which were top-10 finishes. Patterson placed first at the GLIAC Championships with a time of 21:47.3 and a seventh-place finish during the NCAA Division II Midwest Region Cross Country Championships after she posted a time of 21:50.1.
During her junior year, Patterson added more to her cross country resume after she was named the GLIAC Women's Runner of the Year. Patterson also earned USTFCCCA All-Region and All-GLIAC First Team honors for the second time in her career. In the classroom, Patterson worked through her coursework as an Exercise Science major and carried a 3.80 GPA during the 2017 Fall semester, along with a 3.826 cumulative GPA. The Laker junior also earned USTFCCA All-Academic honors in 2015, as well as being named to the GLIAC's All-Academic Excellence Team in 2016 and 2017.
A force both on the back line and in the classroom, Quinn was a driving force behind the Lakers women's soccer team's sustained success during her four years at Grand Valley State. A starting center back in all 24 of the Lakers games her senior season, Quinn was a major piece of a defense that pitched 17 shutouts in 2017. The Lakers shut out their opponent for a ten-match stretch that featured 950 minutes without conceding a goal.
With a cumulative GPA of 3.93, Quinn earned several academic awards throughout her career. In 2017 she was honored as a CoSIDA Academic All-American and a United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-American. D2CCA named Quinn a third team All-American as well as a first team All-Midwest Region selection.
Quinn helped anchor a defense that allowed just one goal in conference play in 2017, which did not come until the final GLIAC match of the season. Quinn helped the Lakers to a 13th straight GLIAC regular season title and 11th consecutive tournament championship. She also helped the Lakers to a ninth straight Elite 8 appearance in the national tournament, where the Lakers season ended at the hands of the eventual National Champions, Central Missouri.
Keizer, a senior tight end on the football team, established himself as one of the top tight ends in the country and was named a 2017 GLIAC Commissioners Award recipient. Keizer earned NCAA Division II CoSIDA Second-Team Academic All-America honors in 2017, just the 10th Laker football to earn that honor.
Keizer was named a Don Hansen's Football Gazette and a D2Football.com First-Team All-American following the 2017 season. A First-Team All-GLIAC performer, Keizer led all GLIAC tight ends in receptions (29), receiving yards (504) and TD catches (9), while leading the nation in yards per catch (17.4) for tight ends.
Twenty-two of his receptions resulted in a first down. Among all receivers in the GLIAC, Keizer ranked second in TD catches and 10th in total receptions. Keizer finished his career with 45 catches for 734 yards and 11 touchdowns. Keizer, who was a three-time GLIAC Academic All-Excellence honoree, notched a 3.59 grade point average in Business Administration.
A senior linebacker, Schlosser was honored as a NCAA Division II CoSIDA First-Team Academic All-American, becoming just the third Laker football player to receive that honor and the 10th all-time receive Academic All-America plaudits. In addition, Schlosser earned 2017 Don Hansen All-Super Region Three First-Team honors, while also being named a First-Team All-GLIAC honoree.
Schlosser ranked second on the team in total tackles with 80, while adding 8.0 tackles for loss (-29) and 2.5 QB sacks (-17). Schlosser recovered a fumble and caused two fumbles for a GVSU defense that ranked first nationally in passing defense (127.5), third nationally in scoring defense (13.0 ppg) and 18th in total defense (292.5). Schlosser moved into the number 10 slot for career tackles with 290, while also recording 27.5 tackles for loss and 11.0 QB sacks. Schlosser, who was a three-time GLIAC Academic All-Excellence performer, finished his career with the Lakers sporting a 3.96 grade point average in Biomedical Science/Pre-Med.
