Craig and Turner earn Myles Brand All-Academic with Distinction Award

Bemidji State volleyball player Rachel Craig, a senior from Wadena, and cross country and track and field standout Emily Turner, a junior from Windom, were among the 112 recipients of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference’s sixth annual Myles Brand All-Academic with Distinction Award. Named in honor of late NCAA President Dr. Myles Brand, the award is bestowed upon senior NSIC student-athletes who have a cumulative grade point average of 3.75 or higher, have exhausted their eligibility and are on track to graduate. Craig and Turner both carry a 4.0 GPA.

Hardwater Classic generates more than $10,000 for BSU Athletics scholarships

More than 300 anglers took to frozen Lake Bemidji on Feb. 14 to compete for more than $20,000 in prizes during the Seventh Annual Knife River Materials Hardwater Classic ice fishing tournament. BSU graduate Doug Desjarlait took home top honors and the event’s $2,500 cash prize after pulling a 3.47-pound northern pike through the ice. The classic grossed nearly $10,000, with all proceeds directly benefitting the Bemidji State University Athletic Scholarship Fund.

Senske is NSIC Freshman of the Year

Glyndon native Sierra Senske, a freshman center for the BSU women’s basketball team, was named NSIC Freshman of the Year after appearing in all 22 conference games for the Beavers.

The rookie led BSU’s scoring efforts for most of the season and averaged 15.3 points per game to finish as one of the NSIC’s top 10 scorers. She also averaged 6.1 rebounds per game. Senske is the second BSU player to be named NSIC Freshman of the Year; Maggie Gernbacher, who played guard for the Beavers from 2003–07, received the award in 2004.

40 Beavers make NSIC academic list

Bemidji State landed 40 student-athletes on the 2014 Fall and 2014–15 Winter Academic All-NSIC Teams. The Beavers saw 26 student-athletes recognized on the fall team, led by the soccer program with nine honorees. BSU also saw seven volleyball players and four players each from football and cross country recognized on the fall list. Track and field led the way for BSU on the winter team, with seven of BSU’s 14 honorees on its roster. Five women’s basketball and two men’s basketball players rounded out that list.

To be eligible for the Academic All-NSIC Team, student-athletes must maintain a gradepoint average of 3.20 or better, be a member of a varsity traveling team, and have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at their institution with one full year completed at that campus.

Eleven Beaver hockey players honored as 2014–15 WCHA Scholar-Athletes

The Western Collegiate Hockey Association honored 11 Bemidji State men’s and women’s hockey players for their academic performance, recognizing them among the 87 recipients of the league’s 10th annual Scholar-Athlete Awards.
BSU’s honorees were:

Kristine Grenier, a senior from St. Leon, Manitoba; Brendan Harms, a sophomore from Steinbach, Manitoba; Madison Hutchinson, a sophomore
from Manitou, Manitoba; Megan Lushanko,
a junior from Chisago City; Graeme McCormack,
a junior from Thunder Bay, Ontario; Lauren Miller,
a sophomore from Brockville, Ontario;
Reid Mimmack, a sophomore from Brainerd; Hanna Moher, a junior from Milton, Ontario;
Brittni Mowat, a sophomore from Glendora, Manitoba; Matt Prapavessis, a senior from Oakville, Ontario; and Whitney Wivoda, a junior from Fairbanks, Alaska.

To qualify for the WCHA Scholar-Athlete Award, students must be in their second year of residency at their current institution. They also must either carry a 3.5 GPA on a 4.0 scale for their previous two semesters or three quarters, or have a cumulative GPA of 3.5 for all terms at his or her current institution.

Beaver Hockey trio extend careers in professional leagues

After successful collegiate careers, Bemidji State men’s hockey players Matt Prapavessis, Andrew Walsh and Philip Brewer — all seniors — have signed contracts to play professional hockey.

Prapavessis, a three-year captain from Oakville, Ontario, who left BSU after a program-record 150 consecutive games played, inked an amateur tryout contract with the Rochester Americans, the Buffalo Sabres’ American Hockey League affiliate. Walsh and Brewer each signed with teams in the East Coast Hockey League. Walsh, from Dawson Creek, British Columbia, will finish the season as goaltender for the Stockton Thunder, while Cambridge, Ontario, native Brewer joined former BSU teammates Jeff Jubinville and Drew Fisher on a forward line with the Tulsa Oilers.