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 |