General | 4/19/2017 11:55:00 AM
BAY CITY, Mich. -- Two Wayne State University student-athletes received the prestigious GLIAC Commissioner's Award, as announced earlier today by the league office. Redshirt senior swimmer
Manuela Ferreira (Ibague, Colombia) and
Michael Lewis (Ann Arbor, Mich. / Huron), a graduate student on the men's basketball team were honored for excelling both in the classroom and on the field of play.
Each season (Fall, Winter and Spring), the GLIAC selects six males and six females to be recognized with a GLIAC Commissioner's Award. Their selection increased the number of WSU student-athlete distinguished with a GLIAC Commissioner's Award to 43, the second-most of any GLIAC school.
Ferreira helped WSU to its 12th consecutive top-two finish at the 2017 GLIAC Championships by being a three-time conference champion. She swam the second leg of the 200 medley relay which set a GLIAC meet record; swam the second leg of the 400 medley relay; and was the GLIAC Champion in the 100 breaststroke. Ferreira earned a total of 53 points between relays and individual events at the GLIAC meet, then was a three-time First Team All-American at the NCAA Championships. She swam the second leg of the third-place 200 medley relay; the second leg of the sixth place 400 medley relay; and finished fifth in the 100 breast to earn a total of 28.5 points at the NCAA Championship.
Ferreira qualified for the NCAA Championships all four years she competed (redshirted in 2015-16) earning four First Team All-American certificates plus two Honorable Mention All-America accolades. She won a total of six GLIAC titles (3 in 200 medley relay; 2 in 400 medley relay; and 1 in 100 breast). Ferreira is a four-time GLIAC All-Academic Excellence Team honoree and was named to the Athletic Director's Honor Roll (term gpa 3.5+) all eight semesters at WSU (joined the team in January 2013), including one 4.00 term. A three-year CSCAA Scholar All-America First Team selection, Ferreira maintains a 3.81 cumulative grade-point average in chemical engineering.
Lewis is an all-around student athlete. He graduated in four years with a degree in marketing and will be concluding his second semester in the MBA program (Mike Ilitch School of Business). He earned a 3.89 term GPA in his first semester in grad school. Lewis recently earned his fourth GLIAC All-Academic Team award and was one of 12 national Honorable Mention recipients of the Haier Achievement Award during the 2015-16 season. He was twice WSU's nominee for the NABC Allstate Good Works Team and was a three-time CoSIDA Academic All-District nominee.
On the court, Lewis was selected to the 2016-17 All-GLIAC Defensive Team and helped WSU to a 16-10 record and a 10th-place ranking in the final NCAA Regional poll. He had three double-doubles and nearly had two more. Lewis finished his career 17th in school history in three-point field goal percentage (min. 50 made - .382/ 60-157), while ranking 19th in rebounds (495), tied-for-20th in minutes played (2,376), tied-for-28th in three-pointers made (60) and 36th in career scoring with 838 points. Lewis scored in double figures 40 times with six games of at least 20 points.
