June 15, 2005

Lewis University student athletes Mark Zilch (senior, men's track and field), Robin Martz (junior, softball) and Mary Moskal (sophomore, women's basketball) have been selected Great Lakes Valley Conference Scholar Athletes of the Year by a vote of GLVC faculty athletics representatives.

The conference selects one student athlete as the GLVC Scholar Athlete of the Year in each conference sport. The award is based upon academic performance and athletic accomplishments in the season upon which the award is based.

The selection of Zilch, Martz and Moskal gives Lewis 13 GLVC Scholar Athlete of the Year awards. They join Arturo Cabral (men's cross country, 1999, 2000 and 2001, and men's track and field, 2002), Helen Kelliher (softball, 1999 and 2000), Kasia Arient (women's cross country, 1998), Beth Bayser (women's track and field, 1999), John Thompson (men's soccer, 2001) and Tracy Buchholz (women's basketball, 2004).

A pole-vaulter and biology major from Bloomingdale, Zilch won the 2005 NCAA Division II indoor national championship and finished fifth at the outdoor national meet, giving him eight All-America awards (four indoor, four outdoor) for his career. He captured GLVC indoor and outdoor titles this season as the Flyers won the league indoor crown and placed second outdoors.

Zilch cleared an indoor school-record 18-0½ at the Iowa State Open to qualify for the U.S. Indoor Nationals, won the Chicagoland Outdoor Championships crown and tied for fifth at the Drake Relays. He was voted to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District first team, named Academic All-GLVC for a fourth time and received Lewis' 2005 Delahanty Senior Student Athlete Award as the graduating senior with the highest grade-point average.

Junior Robin Martz - Softball

Martz, an outfielder and accounting major from Lanark, was named to the 2005 NCAA Division II All-America, All-Great Lakes Region and All-GLVC first teams for a second consecutive season and was chosen GLVC Player of the Year. She earned NFCA/Louisville Slugger Division II National Player of the Week and GLVC Player of the Week honors April 6.

Martz led the GLVC and set Lewis records in batting average (.480), runs (53), stolen bases (38) and hits (82) and also led the league in on-base percentage (.511), a mark that ranks second in Lewis history. She also compiled a .591 slugging percentage (fourth in school history) and had 22 RBI. Martz was voted to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America third team and Academic All-District first team, and she received Lewis' Delahanty Award for academic excellence among student athletes and Academic All-GLVC accolades for a third straight year.

Sophomore Mary Moskal - Women's Basketball

A forward and biology major from Cherry Valley, Moskal garnered a spot on the 2005 All-Great Lakes Region and All-GLVC second teams with team-leading marks of 16.2 points per game, 6.5 rebounds per game, .534 field-goal percentage, .794 free-throw percentage, 201 free throws and 253 free-throw attempts. Both free-throw totals are school records and include a 15-of-22 effort against Southern Indiana, setting the Flyers' single-game record for attempts and tying the school standard for free throws made.

Moskal ranked among the GLVC leaders in nine of the league's 12 statistical categories including top-10 finishes in scoring (fifth), rebounding (seventh), field-goal percentage (seventh), assists (3.2 per game, eighth), assist-turnover ratio (1.13, eighth) and offensive rebounds (2.3 per game, 10th). She helped lead Lewis to records of 19-11 overall and 15-5 (second place) in the GLVC as the Flyers qualified for NCAA postseason play for the first time since 1998, won a GLVC Tournament game for the first time and tied the school record for most GLVC wins.

Moskal was voted to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District first team, and she received Lewis' Delahanty Award and Academic All-GLVC accolades for a second straight year.