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Wayne State University Athletics

2021-2022 Student-Athlete of the Year

General Jeff Weiss, Senior Associate Director of Athletics/Media Relations

Fox and Spicer Named 2021-22 Student-Athletes of the Year

DETROIT -- Wayne State University Interim Director of Athletics Erika Wallace announced the 2021-22 Male and Female Student-Athletes of the Year.  Candidates were judged on academic distinction, athletic accomplishments, individual involvement and University and community service, as well as coaches' recommendation.

Junior women's swimmer Jordan Fox (Melbourne, Australia) and redshirt sophomore men's tennis player Dom Spicer (London, England / Soto Tennis Academy/Spain) were selected as the 2021-22 female and male Student-Athletes of the Year after being nominated by their respective coaches with voting by the athletic department's coaches and administrative staff.  This was the first student-athletes of the Year selected since the 2018-19 academic year as the two following years (2019-20 and 2020-21) had reduced athletic competition due to COVID.

In the pool, Fox was a six-time All-American (1 First Team Individual, 3 Honorable Mention Individual and 2 Honorable Mention Relays) having finished fifth in the 500 free, 10th in the 200 back, and 11th in both the 1000 free and 200 free at the 2022 NCAA Championships.  She also garnered Honorable Mention All-America recognition in two relays - 10th place in the 800 free relay and 15th place with the 200 medley relay team.  At the 2022 GLIAC Championships, Fox was a seven-time All-GLIAC honoree (maximum of seven events per individual).  She placed first in the 500 free, second in both the 200 back and 1000 free, and third in the 200 free.  Fox helped the 800 free relay, 400 free relay and 400 medley relay teams finish second

Fox, who is majoring in Accounting, has earned a spot on the Athletic Director's Honor Roll (term GPA 3.5+) five semesters, plus one term on the Coach's Honor Roll (term GPA 3.0-3.49).  She was a recipient of the GLIAC Commissioner's Award for outstanding academic and athletic achievement.  Fox also earned First Team CSCAA Scholar All-America accolades.

Jordan Fox receiving 2021-22 SAOTY Certificate

Spicer was selected as the 2022 ITA Midwest Region Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship Award recipient.  The 2022 GLIAC Player of the Year, he helped WSU reach the national championship match becoming the first non-southern school in 20 years to reach the finals.  Spicer was a 2021-22 recipient of the GLIAC Commissioner's Award for outstanding athletic and academic achievement.  He also received both the D2 ADA Academic Achievement Award and GLIAC All-Academic Excellence Team honors.  In addition, he was named an ITA All-Academic Scholar-Athlete.

On the court, he was ranked as the No. 1 singles player in the Midwest Region by the ITA, along with a No. 26 national ranking.  Spicer paired with Luke Laws to earn the No. 9 doubles ranking in the final ITA Midwest Regional rankings, along with a No. 35 national ranking.  He went 24-11 in singles play, including a 17-9 dual match record splitting time between the No. 1 (14-9) and No. 2 spots (3-0).  Spicer defeated three ranked opponents, including a straight set victory over the No. 1 player in the country in Columbus State's Alvaro Regalado during the Division II National Semifinals.  He earned a 6-1 singles record in GLIAC play.  Spicer went 27-9 in doubles primarily playing with Luke Laws.  The duo posted a 22-7 record, including a 15-4 dual match mark.  Spicer and Laws defeated two top-15 opponents during the season.  He was a three-time GLIAC Player of the Week honoree.

Dom Spicer receiving 2021-22 SAOTY Certificate

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This is the 19th year of the WSU Student-Athlete of the Year award.  The first recipients in 2001-02 were softball outfielder Kelly Kashmerick and hockey goalie David Guerrera, while cross country runner Shelly Vickery and hockey forward Dustin Kingston were the 2002-03 honorees.  The first four honorees have since been inducted into the WSU Athletic Hall of Fame. 

The 2003-04 student-athletes of the year were women's hockey forward Kim Spaulding and swimmer David Lutz.  Lutz became the first two-time winner in 2004-05 along with Anna Vinnikov, a member of the women's fencing squad.  The 2005-06 recipients were diver Erika Barczak and swimmer Nick Ingrao, while the 2006-07 recipients were Anna Garina, a national champion fencer, and Kris Krzyminski, an All-American basketball player.

All-American baseball pitcher Anthony Bass and Barczak were selected following the 2007-08 school year, with swimmers Ashley St.Andrew and Sean Smith being voted for the 2008-09 season.  Softball pitcher Casey Hanes and swimmer Cauli Bedran were the 2009-10 recipients, while baseball catcher Mike Wiseman and tennis student-athlete Sharon Gill were honored following the 2010-11 school year.  A pair of All-Americans, swimmer Catherine Leix and football running back Josh Renel, were selected as the 2011-12 Student-Athletes of the Year.  Leix helped lead the swimmers to a national title, while Renel's play helped the football team participate in the national championship game.  Barczak, Bass, St.Andrew, Smith, Hanes, Bedran, Wiseman, Gill, Leix and Renel have all been inducted into the WSU Athletic Hall of Fame.

The 2012-13 recipients were eight-time diving All-American Carly Sevald, and men's basketball student-athlete Ian Larkin.  Larkin was a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-District selection as well as a 2012 GLIAC Commissioner's Award recipient.  He was only the third player in 96 years of WSU basketball to record 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 100 blocked shots.  Both Larkin and Sevald were inducted into the WSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019.

The 2013-14 awards went to softball outfielder Logan White and men's diver Dylan Szegedi.  White was named to the NFCA All-Midwest Region Second Team for the third straight season and was a three-time GLIAC All-Academic Excellence Team selection.  An eight-time All-American, Szegedi was a two-time GLIAC Male Diver of the Year and was the national champion on the three-meter board with a school record score of 587.65.  White was a 2020 WSU Athletic Hall of Fame inductee, while Szegedi was selected in 2021 (ceremony held in 2022 due to COVID).

The 2014-15 recipients were women's basketball standout Shareta Brown and football All-American Nores Fradi.  Brown was the consensus NCAA Division II National Player of the Year after averaging 22.0 points per game, and leading the country in rebounds per contest (14.7) and field goal percentage (64.9%).  Fradi was the GLIAC Defensive Back of the Year (linebackers and defensive backs) and led Division II with 28.5 tackles for loss (24 solo, 9 assisted) during the regular season to earn AFCA All-America Team honors.  Brown was inducted the same year as Szegedi.

In 2015-16, men's swimmer Ben Winn and softball player Lyndsay Butler were the honorees, while Butler and men's basketball forward Michael Lewis were the recipients for the 2016-17 academic year.  Butler became just the third person in the history of the award to be a two-time recipient joining men's swimming standout David Lutz (2003-04, 2004-05) and diver Erika Barczak (2005-06, 2007-08).  Lewis spent the entire 2016-17 academic year in graduate school, while Butler earned her bachelor's degree in December of 2016 and began coursework on a master's degree in January of 2017.

Men's fencing national runner-up Ziad Elsissy and track All-American Karrington Seals were the 2017-18 honorees, while All-American baseball pitcher Hunter Brown and diving All-American Amanda Hurchalla were the 2018-19 recipients.

In fact, of the first 13 years of the award (24 recipients since Lutz and Barczak are two-time honorees), 22 have been selected for induction into the Wayne State Athletic Hall of Fame.

 
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Players Mentioned

Luke Laws

Luke Laws

5' 8"
Redshirt Junior
Dom Spicer

Dom Spicer

5' 9"
Redshirt Junior
Jordan Fox

Jordan Fox

Back/Free
5' 11"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Luke Laws

Luke Laws

5' 8"
Redshirt Junior
Dom Spicer

Dom Spicer

5' 9"
Redshirt Junior
Jordan Fox

Jordan Fox

5' 11"
Senior
Back/Free