
ATLANTA--Georgia State golfer Charlotte Lorentzen and tennis standout Victor Valente have been named Colonial Athletic Association Scholar-Athlete of the Year for their respective sports.
The conference honors one Scholar-Athlete in each of its 22 championship sports. Nominees for the award must be a starter or important reserve on their team and must have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.25.
Lorentzen, a senior from Soroe, Denmark, earns top honors for women's golf for the third straight year, while Valente, a junior from Sao Paulo, Brazil, is a first-time honoree.
Lorentzen and Valente join a pair of fall sports winners in Vincent Foermer of men's soccer and volleyball's Vineece Verdun, giving GSU four Scholar-Athletes for 2011-12, tied for the league high with William and Mary and Hofstra.
Since GSU joined the league in 2005-06, 22 Panthers have been named CAA Scholar-Athlete of the Year, more than any CAA school during that time except William and Mary with 23.
Lorentzen is one of the most decorated student-athletes in GSU history. In addition to three straight CAA Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards, she also claimed three consecutive CAA Golfer of the Year awards, a first in league history. The journalism major was named to the Capital One Academic All-District first team in 2012 and is a three-time NGCA All-America Scholar. She was the medalist at the CAA Women's Golf Championship for the second time season with a one-over par 217 to capture the event by four strokes. Lorentzen, who won four tournaments in 2011-12, posted a top 20 finish at the NCAA Regionals and finished her career with a school-record stroke average of 74.69.
A junior majoring in computer information systems, Valente was selected to the Capital One Academic All-District first team in 2012. He received first-team All-CAA honors in singles this season after posting a 16-5 mark as the Panthers' No. 1 player and earned second-team all-conference accolades in doubles after compiling a 14-7 record as part of GSU's No. 1 tandem. Valente was the 14th-ranked singles player in the Southeast Region this season and he recorded a doubles victory over the nation's 22nd-ranked team. He is a three-time All-CAA selection in singles and a two-time honoree in doubles.
GEORGIA STATE'S CAA SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR HONOREES
Year | Student-Athlete | Sport |
2005-06 | Meghan McCoy | Softball |
2006-07 | Jean-Michel Rochon-Salvas | Baseball |
2007-08 | Jean-Michel Rochon-Salvas | Baseball |
2007-08 | Rachel Hannah | Women's Cross Country |
2007-08 | Holly Willis | Softball |
2007-08 | Tom Sherreard | Men's Golf |
2007-08 | Denice Vance | Women's Track & Field |
2007-08 | Jacob English | Men's Track & Field |
2007-08 | Nejc Podkrajsek | Men's Tennis |
2008-09 | Tom Sherreard | Men's Golf |
2008-09 | Mark Steeds | Men's Cross Country |
2008-09 | Martina Nitkova | Women's Tennis |
2009-10 | Tom Sherreard | Men's Golf |
2009-10 | Charlotte Lorentzen | Women's Golf |
2010-11 | Charlotte Lorentzen | Women's Golf |
2010-11 | Vineece Verdun | Volleyball |
2010-11 | Yolanda Berryhill | Women's Track & Field |
2010-11 | Cody Paulk | Women's Basketball |
2011-12 | Charlotte Lorentzen | Women's Golf |
2011-12 | Vineece Verdun | Volleyball |
2011-12 | Vincent Foermer | Men's Soccer |
2011-12 | Victor Valente | Men's Tennis |