Big Rapids, Mich. - Ferris State University Athletics had a league-high total of four student-athletes chosen as 2015 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Commissioner's Award recipients for the fall campaign from the back-to-back GLIAC Champion Bulldog football and volleyball squads in an announcement made today by the league office.
Senior football quarterback Jason Vander Laan (Frankfort, Ill./Chicago Christian) and senior defensive lineman Justin Zimmer (Greenville) were among the honorees for the prestigious conference award along with two seniors from the Bulldog volleyball squad in hitter Alexis Huntey (Stanwood/Morley-Stanwood) and libero Danielle Dowd (Manhattan, Ill./Lincoln-Way Central). All four earned the distinction for the second-straight fall season.
Together, the four FSU selections represented one-third of all the league honorees and doubled the total number of student-athletes chosen from any other insitution.
Overall, a total of 12 student-athletes claimed GLIAC Commissioner's Award recognition. 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.
Not only were the four Bulldog representatives standouts in the classroom, but they also achieved tremendous recognition on the field and court as all four claimed All-GLIAC accolades this year and led their respective teams to back-to-back GLIAC Championships over the past two seasons.
Since the GLIAC Commissioner's Awards process began in 2007, the Bulldogs have ranked among the conference's overall leaders with a total of 37 honorees. This year's four honorees matched the fall 2014 season for the school's most in any given season.
On the football side, both Vander Laan and Zimmer, who are currently training for the upcoming NFL Draft, wrapped up their careers this past fall as both All-Americans on the field and Academic All-Americans in the classroom as both were named to the 2015 CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team.
Vander Laan, who earned his second consecutive Harlon Hill Trophy as the nation's top collegiate player, became the greatest rushing quarterback in NCAA college football history at any level this past season, concluding his career with 5,953 total yards on the ground. He also became the first player in NCAA history to top 1,000 yards rushing and passing for four consecutive seasons.
The senior signal caller led the Bulldogs to a cumulative 37-9 overall mark, two Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference titles, two NCAA playoff appearances and back-to-back unbeaten regular seasons as the Ferris State quarterback in the last four years. The two-time GLIAC Player of the Year finished his senior campaign passing for 2,625 yards and 27 touchdowns while rushing for 1,542 yards and 24 more scores.
Zimmer finished his collegiate career as a three-time All-GLIAC First Team selection for the Bulldogs. He was both a nominee for the Gene Upshaw NCAA Division II Lineman of the Year Award and the Cliff Harris National Small College Defensive Player of the Year Award this year after being a national finalist for both honors a year ago.
Statistically, Zimmer led Ferris State in tackles (81), quarterback sacks (13), tackles for loss (26) and forced fumbles (four). Along with Vander Laan, he was also chosen to the 2015 CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team squad, making him a three-time Academic All-American and two-time first-team recipient.
This season, the Bulldog football team finished with an 11-1 overall record for the second-straight year under head coach Tony Annese and captured the school's second GLIAC Championship in the last two seasons while capping off back-to-back unbeaten regular seasons. Ferris State also stretched its regular-season win streak to a current 25-game stretch and posted the first playoff victory in 19 years.
In volleyball, Dowd claimed 2015 CoSIDA Academic All-America honors for the second-straight year for the Bulldogs. This year, the All-GLIAC choice led the Bulldogs in her second season as the squad's libero with 577 digs on the year. She tallied 10 digs or more in 33 of FSU's 36 outings, including a personal career-high 35 digs earlier this year at rival Grand Valley State (Nov. 3). Overall, she averaged a squad-best 4.62 digs per set and added 64 assists and 23 service aces in 125 total sets.
Meanwhile, Huntey claimed All-GLIAC Second Team accolades as FSU posted a nation-best 33-3 overall record and hosted the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Tournament. This past season, the three-time all-conference choice finished among the conference leaders in several statistical categories. She totaled 10 kills or more 17 times while starting all 36 matches during FSU's memorable campaign. The four-year letterwinner ranked among the team leaders with 339 kills, 378 digs, 58 blocks and 58 service aces as a senior. Presently, she's competing as a member of the Bulldog women's basketball squad this winter, ranking among the team leaders in both scoring and rebounding to date.
The Bulldog volleyball squad, which made the school's fifth-straight and 20th overall NCAA Tournament appearance, finished the 2015 campaign with a nation-leading 33-3 overall record. FSU won its second-straight GLIAC Regular-Season Championship and claimed the school's second consecutive GLIAC Tournament title while earning the right to host the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Tournament where FSU finished as the regional runner-up.
This past year marked the 14th time in 20 seasons under head coach Tia Brandel-Wilhelm in which FSU volleyball has claimed at least 20 victories in a campaign. The Bulldogs also made their 18th consecutive GLIAC Tournament appearance while achieving a number one national ranking for the first time during the 2015 campaign.
Click on the player images below for more biographical information on each of FSU's four honorees!
|
|
| |
|
|
