June 25, 2008

BAY CITY, Mich. - The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) announced the recipients of the Spring 2008 GLIAC Commissioner's Awards. The awards, sponsored by Meijer, Incorporated, are presented after the Fall, Winter, and Spring athletic seasons to six male and six female student-athletes that excel both in the classroom and on the fields of play.

The six female student-athletes to receive the Spring 2008 GLIAC Commissioner's Awards are: Pamela Bullock of the University of Findlay; Stephanie Cole of Grand Valley State University; Becky Hoffman and Katie Kraai of Ferris State University; Andrea Metz of Michigan Technological University; and Lindsey Perry of Wayne State University.

The six male student-athletes to receive the Spring 2008 GLIAC Commissioner's Awards are: Eric Atsma of Findlay; Matt Cunningham and Brett Witczak of Wayne State; Derek Hinke of Grand Valley State; Joe Luli of Mercyhurst College; and Timothy Sayers of Hillsdale College.

"These 12 student-athletes exemplify what collegiate athletics is all about," stated GLIAC Commissioner Tom Brown. "Our conference, along with Meijer Incorporated, feel that it is important to recognize these hard working student-athletes for their outstanding performances in the classroom and on the field of play. The GLIAC would like to thank Meijer for their generous sponsorship of the 2008 Commissioner's Awards and for helping us acknowledge the exceptional accomplishments of this group."

Lindsey Perry (Taylor, Mich./Kennedy), Wayne State's senior first baseman, earned her third consecutive GLIAC All-Academic team selection in 2008. A nursing major with a 3.79 cumulative grade-point average, she was also a CoSIDA Academic All-District Second Team honoree. On the field, she was one of three players to start all 53 games for WSU and was voted to the All-GLIAC Second Team. In addition, she was selected to the NCAA Great Lakes Region All-Tournament team. Perry earned the WSU Athletics Deans' Award for having highest cumulative grade point average of any student-athlete in the College of Nursing. She finished her collegiate career ranked high in many WSU all-time categories: third in home runs (20) and fielding putouts (979), fourth in slugging percentage (.512) and fielding percentage (.985), sixth in runs scored (123) and doubles (40), eighth in total bases (311), and ninth in hits (199) and RBI (100).

Matt Cunningham (Gregory, Mich./Chelsea), a senior catcher for the Warriors, garnered his fourth career GLIAC All-Academic Team award in 2008. Having already earned his bachelor's degree in public relations, Cunningham is pursuing a master's degree in sports administration and has a cumulative grade point average of 3.75. This past season, Cunningham played in 45 games, batted .265 and set career-highs in at bats (132), runs scored (21), runs batted in (18), walks (21), total bases (43) and sacrifice hits (6) while serving as team captain for the second straight year. He completed his WSU playing career tied for sixth all-time in games played (178), tied for fourth in sacrifice hits (17), fifth in fielding chances (864), sixth in putouts (762), and eighth in fielding percentage (.979) in the annals of Wayne State baseball.

Senior second baseman Brett Witczak (Hudsonville, Mich.) earned a GLIAC All-Academic Team selection in his first year of eligibility, having spent two years at Eastern Michigan prior to his arrival at WSU in 2007. An ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District IV College Division Second Team honoree in 2008, Witczak has a 3.58 cumulative GPA as a social studies education major. He started 52 games at second base this season and batted.320 with 29 RBI and 23 runs scored while finishing second on the team with 19 multiple-hit games. Witczak was named to the All-GLIAC First Team in 2008 after taking Second Team honors a year ago.