SENIOR ATHLETES OF THE YEAR:
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Female
Senior Athlete of the Year: Melissa Gates
Melissa Gates was named King's Female Senior Athlete of the Year. A
two-sport standout, she excelled as a member of both the King's field
hockey and women's lacrosse teams. As a field hockey player, Gates did
not score a single point in her four-year career, but as the top
defensive player in the conference, she was a key figure in the Lady
Monarch defense shutting down the opposition.
During her four years with the program, the Lady
Monarchs played 80 games and outscored their opponents 243-to-120,
allowing just 1.5 goals per-game. In field hockey, she was a three-time
MAC Freedom Conference All-Star selection and helped lead the Lady
Monarchs to the 2006 and 2007 Freedom Conference championships, as well
as NCAA Division III National Tournament berths both years. In women's
lacrosse, she was a four-year starter playing both defensively and in
the midfield.
Gates started 59 of the 60 games she played in and
totaled 93 points on 85 goals and eight assists, while also registering
163 ground balls where she ranks third all-time in King's history.
She is also an outstanding student who will
graduate with a 3.91 overall grade-point average and was honored two
weeks ago as the Middle Atlantic Conference Field Hockey Scholar-Athlete
of the Year.
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Male
Senior Athlete of the Year: David Morgan
David Morgan was named King's Senior Male
Athlete of the Year after concluding perhaps the most successful career
ever in King's College Athletics. As a wrestler, Morgan came to King's
during the 2005-06 academic year with a lofty reputation, having been a
Pennsylvania State Tournament runner-up as a senior in high school. He
transferred to King's after wrestling one semester at the University of
Pittsburgh. Expectations were high and he did not disappoint.
As a sophomore, he registered a 26-5 mark, and was
named the Outstanding Wrestler after winning the Middle Atlantic
Conference Tournament. He would then go on to the NCAA Division III
National Championships where he earned all-American honors with a 6th
place finish at 133-pounds.
As a junior, he posted a 35-2 record, winning the
133-pound championship in King's first season a member of the
Metropolitan Wrestling Conference. History would be made soon there
after when Morgan won the 2007 NCAA Division III National Tournament as
he became King's first national champion in any sport.
This past season he returned as a marked man and
took on the challenge of being a returning national champion and having
each and every opponent trying to be the person to knock him off.
Despite the pressure, he was dominant in winning the Metropolitan
Conference Tournament for the second straight year at 133-pounds and was
named the Outstanding Wrestler of the Tournament. He would then go onto
the national tournament where he won his second straight NCAA Division
III National Championship.
In his three years at King's, he has compiled an
89-8 record, three conference championships, and two conference
Outstanding Wrestler Awards. He is a three-time Division III
All-American and a two-time Division III National Champion.
SCHOLAR-ATHLETES OF THE YEAR:
Each year the King's recognizes the outstanding academic achievements of
its student-athletes by choosing a male and female scholar athlete of
the year. Over the course of their careers at King's, the recipients
have demonstrated a high level of success not only in their chosen sport
or sports, but more important, in the classroom.
Female
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Grace King
Grace King was selected as King's Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year
after completing a fine career in both field hockey and lacrosse. King
was named to King's Dean's List all eight semesters and graduates with a
3.971 overall grade-point average in Psychology and Business. She was a
combined five-time MAC All-Academic selection in both field hockey and
lacrosse and was a three-time selection to the National Field Hockey
Coaches Association All-Academic squad. Additionally, just two weeks ago
she was honored by the Middle Atlantic Conference when she was named the
2008 MAC Women's Lacrosse Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
As an athlete, she helped King's field hockey team
win back-to-back Freedom Conference championships in 2006 and 2007 with
two straight NCAA Division III National Tournament berths as a
defender/midfielder where she was a two-time all-conference selection.
In lacrosse, despite playing just three years after missing her junior
year to study in Europe, she graduates as the second all-time leading
scorer in program history with 152 total points and also ranks second
all-time in King's history with 139 goals scored.
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Male
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Ed Kopec
Ed Kopec was named the Male
Scholar-Athlete of the Year after enjoying one of the finest careers in
the history of King's College cross country. Kopec was named to the
King's Dean's List all eight semesters and graduates with a 3.85 overall
grade-point average as an elementary education major. He was a
three-time Middle Atlantic Conference All-Academic selection in cross
country and was honored two weeks ago as the MAC Cross Country
Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
In cross country, he was King's number-one runner
for three straight years, earning first-team All-MAC honors in 2005 and
2007, while receiving second-team honors as a junior in 2006. As a
sophomore, he placed fourth in the 2005 MAC Championships, the highest
finish by a King's runner in many years. As a senior in 2007, he placed
6th in the MAC Championships and was 28th in the NCAA Mid-East Regionals.
It was his junior year, however, that the true character of this
individual came out when he contracted pneumonia during the season and
continued to compete for King's, despite not being close to 100-percent.
Battling through his illness, he managed to place 14th in the 2006 MAC
Championships.
The Monarch Merit Awards are
presented to deserving student-athletes who have demonstrated a high
level of excellence in both academics and athletics. To be nominated for
consideration, student-athletes must maintain a minimum 3.0 overall
grade-point average. A total of 11 King's student-athletes were selected
for 2007 ECAC Merit Awards.
2007-08 Monarch Merit Awards Winners:
Baseball - Matt Colgan - 3.608
Softball/Women's Soccer - Annie Drimones - 3.724
Women's Basketball - Lauren Kendra - 3.924
Field Hockey - Grace King - 3.971
Women's Lacrosse - Melissa Gates - 3.915
Men's Soccer - John McNichol - 3.526
Women's Tennis - Kristen Hunter - 3.819
Men's Tennis - Nick Hojsack - 3.532
Men's Cross Country - Ed Kopec - 3.850
Football - Chris Maloney - 3.11
Men's Basketball - Jamie Cousart - 3.40
