ATLANTA—Georgia State softball standout Holly Willis has been named the 2008 Colonial Athletic Association Softball Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
A nursing major, Willis is a three-time CAA Commissioner’s Academic Award recipient and a Dean’s List student at Georgia State. On the field, the junior outfielder from Chesapeake, Va. (Great Bridge HS) earned first-team All-CAA honors in 2008 for a Georgia State squad that posted a 37-18 overall mark and placed second in the league. She batted .354 with 27 RBI and 36 runs scored, and also was successful in 17-of-20 stolen base attempts. She excelled defensively as well, recordeding nine assists from the outfield. Willis owns a .328 batting average for her career.
The Georgia State softball program also boasted the CAA Player of the Year as Willis' teammate, freshman catcher Catherine Lee, claimed that honor.
The Colonial Athletic Association 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 with a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.20. The winners were selected by a vote of the sports information directors at each CAA institution.
Willis is one of six Panthers to be honored this spring as the top student-athlete in their respective sports. Tom Sherreard (men’s golf), Jean-Michel Rochon-Salvas (baseball), Nejc Podkrajsek (men’s tennis), Jacob English (men’s track) and Denice Vance (women’s track) were also named CAA Scholar-Athlete of the Year for their respective sports, announced Wednesday by the conference office.
In addition to the six spring sports winners, Georgia State’s Rachel Hannah was named CAA Scholar Athlete of the Year for women’s cross country last fall, giving the Panthers the league’s top student-athlete in seven of 15 possible sports.
GEORGIA STATE'S SPRING AWARD WINNERS - CAA SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR:
Jean-Michel Rochon-Salvas, Baseball
Senior, Second Base, Longueuil, Quebec/Edouard Montpetit College
Rochon-Salvas is the CAA Scholar-Athlete Award winner in baseball for the second year in a row. The computer science major is a three-time CoSIDA Academic All-District honoree, making the first team in 2006 and 2007 and the second team in 2008. He is also one of the 30 nominees nationally for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award. The senior second baseman earned second-team All-CAA honors this season after batting .356 with a pair of homers and 33 RBI. Rochon-Salvas is the Panthers’ all-time leader in hits and runs scored and ranks among the career top 10 in 11 different statistical categories.
Tom Sherreard, Men’s Golf
Sophomore, Maidstone, England/Maplesden Noakes School
Sherreard, who is majoring in psychology, is a two-time CAA Commissioner’s Academic Award recipient and a Dean’s List student. The sophomore earned first-team All-CAA accolades after posting a 73.1 stroke average for a Georgia State men’s golf team that captured the conference championship and earned a berth in the NCAA East Regionals. He was also a member of the CAA All-Tournament team after posting a fourth-place finish at the conference championship with a 2-under par score of 211, helping the Panthers to a 25-stroke victory. Sherreard had three top-10 finishes and five top-25 showings this season.
Holly Willis, Softball
Junior, Outfield, Chesapeake, Va./Great Bridge
A nursing major, Willis is a three-time CAA Commissioner’s Academic Award recipient and a Dean’s List student at Georgia State. On the field, the junior outfielder earned first-team All-CAA honors in 2008 for a Georgia State squad that posted a 37-18 overall mark and placed second in the league. She batted .354 with 27 RBI and 36 runs scored, and also was successful in 17-of-20 stolen base attempts. She excelled defensively as well, recordeding nine assists from the outfield. Willis owns a .328 batting average for her career.
Nejc Podkrajsek, Men’s Tennis
Junior, Zalec, Slovenia
A finance major, Podkrajsek is a two-time CAA Commissioner’s Academic Award recipient. The junior is a member of the Dean’s List and made the Georgia State Athletic Director’s Honor Roll last fall. On the court, Podkrajsek was selected as the 2008 CAA men’s tennis Player of the Year after finishing the season ranked No. 125 in the nation in singles. The Panthers’ No. 1 player posted a 19-11 singles mark, including victories over the top players at CAA rivals William & Mary, VCU and Old Dominion. Podkrajsek is a four-time All-CAA selection, earning first-team honors in singles and doubles this season.
Jacob English, Men’s Track & Field
Senior, Atlanta Ga./St. Pius X Catholic
An exercise science major, English is a CAA Commissioner’s Academic Award recipient. He served as vice president of the Golden Key International Honor Society. English was chosen as the Most Outstanding Field Performer at the 2008 CAA Track and Field Championship after winning the conference title in the triple jump and placing second in the long jump. He is also an NCAA qualifier in both events. English owns the Georgia State school record in the triple jump and is a three-time all-conference honoree in the event.
Denice Vance, Women’s Track & Field
Senior, Hapeville, Ga./Tri Cities
Vance is a three-time CAA Commissioner’s Academic Award recipient who earned her B.S. degree in nutrition and is working on a Master’s in Health Sciences. She recorded a perfect 4.0 GPA in two semesters to earn Faculty Scholar honors. On the track, Vance is a three-time runner-up in the 100 and 200 meters at the CAA Track and Field Championship and also was part of the winning 4x100 meter relay team for the second year in a row. She is Georgia State’s school-record holder in the 100 and 200 meters and is also part of the school-record 4x100 squad. Vance is a five-time all-conference honoree.
Courtesy: Georgia State Sports Communications
