INDIANAPOLIS – UIndy accounted for nine of twenty-two student-athletes named 2020-21 GLVC Scholar-Athletes of the Year, it was announced by the Conference office on Friday. Recipients were honored for their efforts in the classroom and on the playing field in 22 league-sponsored sports.
 
The Greyhounds honored included Nikol Alekseeva (women's tennis), Lauren Bailey (women's cross country), Pilar Echeverria (women's golf), Dimitrios Karousos (men's soccer), Oliver Mast (men's golf), Andrew Sams (wrestling), Connor Steeb (football), Hallie Waters (softball) and Dana Youssef (women's soccer). UIndy tripled the second-highest total among league schools, as both Drury and Lewis collected three nods apiece.

The league selects one student-athlete in each Conference sport to be designated the GLVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The award is based upon athletic accomplishments, both team and individual, and academic performance in the season upon which the award is based. Each GLVC member has the opportunity to nominate one individual from its team for the award. Nominees must have a cumulative grade point average that meets Academic All-America standards (3.30), and freshmen and first-year transfers are not eligible for the award. The voting is completed by each member institution's Faculty Athletics Representative (FAR).

See below for summaries on each UIndy honoree, and click/tap the link above for the complete GLVC release.
 

WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
Named the GLVC Runner of the Year, Lauren Bailey won all three races in the fall, including the GLVC Championship, GLVC East Divisional 6k, and GLVC Triangular 5k. She set a new league mark with a time of 20:23.48 during the Championship race, and was twice named USTFCCCA Cross Country National Athlete of the Week. Posting a 4.0 fall semester GPA as a Public Health Education and Promotion major with minors in Psychology and Spanish, Bailey was recently name Academic All-GLVC for the fourth time.
 
FOOTBALL
Connor Steeb is the fourth Greyhound to earn GLVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year in the sport of football and the first since Hayden Janney in 2016. Leading the team in tackles, Steeb was named All-GLVC First Team while also earning his fourth straight Academic All-GLVC selection. Steeb tallied three pass breakups in the GLVC Championship game to lead the Greyhounds to their league-best seventh title and ranked second among Conference players in total tackles. Graduating with an Operations and Supply Chain Management major, Steeb sported a 3.6 GPA during the spring semester as an MBA student.
 
MEN'S GOLF
Now a two-time GLVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Oliver Mast adds to his 2019 honor following a successful spring season that ended with his second GLVC Player of the Year award and a national semifinal appearance for UIndy. Mast recorded a 72.8 scoring average this season, winning three tournaments and finishing in the top 10 seven times. Mast graduated with a degree in Business Administration and Management, accumulating a 3.7 GPA over the past four years. The Fortville, Ind., product was recently named the 2021 GLVC Richard F. Scharf Paragon Award recipient, as the league's male athlete of the year.
 
WOMEN'S GOLF
One of the most-prolific student-athletes in GLVC history, Pilar Echeverria closes out her UIndy career with a second straight Scholar-Athlete of the Year selection. Adding to her fifth consecutive All-America nod, Echeverria recorded a 73.6 scoring average this season and led UIndy to a national quarterfinal appearance. The Guatemala native also earned her fifth All-GLVC First Team award, amassing eight top-five finishes and two wins in 11 tournaments, including a runner-up finish at the GLVC Championships this past spring. Echeverria secured a 3.85 GPA during the spring semester as she finishes her master's degree in Data Analytics.

MEN'S SOCCER
Dimitrios Karousos is the first GLVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year from UIndy in men's soccer since Jacob Meyer in 2015. The senior led NCAA DII in goalie minutes played (1,604:32) and shutouts (10), while ranking third in goals-against average (.337). The Athens, Greece, native was named All-GLVC First Team, leading UIndy to its first unbeaten season in program history, blanking opponents in the GLVC Quarterfinals and Semifinals. A Physics major with a double minor in Math and Computer Sciences, Karousos finished his undergraduate degree with a 3.815 GPA, while recording an .857 save percentage.
 
WOMEN'S SOCCER
Dana Youssef capped an impressive senior spring season with the first GLVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the UIndy women's soccer program since Abby Tracy in 2008. Voted the GLVC Defensive Player of the Year, Youssef led the Greyhounds to their first league semifinal under head coach Holly Cox. Youssef anchored nine shutouts during the spring, which ranked second in NCAA Division II. The Monchengladbach, Germany, native tallied eight points on two goals and four assists, while posting a 4.0 undergraduate GPA in Biology and a double minor in Psychology and Chemistry. Earlier this week, Youssef also earned the prestigious Council of Presidents' Academic Excellence Award, which recognizes perfect 4.0 GPAs at the conclusion of the student-athletes' careers.
 
SOFTBALL
Recognized last week as the 2021 GLVC Richard R. Scharf Paragon Award winner, Hallie Waters earns her second straight GLVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year honor following an impressive senior campaign. After being named GLVC Pitcher of the Year, the league's female athlete of the year went on to claim D2CCA Midwest Pitcher of the Year, as well as D2CCA All-America Third Team distinction and NFCA All-Region First Team honors. Waters led the Greyhounds to the GLVC Championship this spring, topping the league in appearances (34) and starts (29), while ranking second in innings (159.1) and wins (21) and third in strikeouts (170) and opponent batting average (.179). Graduating with a 3.992 GPA in Biology and Psychology, Waters was recently accepted into the Indiana University School of Medicine. The Boonville, Ind., product is also a four-time Academic All-GLVC selection and recipient of the GLVC Brother James Gaffney Distinguished Scholar Award.

WOMEN'S TENNIS
Nikol Alekseeva earns her second straight GLVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year after being named the GLVC Player of the Year and leading the Greyhounds to a national runner-up finish. Ranked the No. 1 singles player in DII the majority of the year, Alekseeva compiled a 15-1 record while recording a 17-1 mark on the doubles court. The Moscow, Russia, native posted a 4.0 GPA in the spring in the midst of leading UIndy to a No. 1 national ranking and being named a part of the ITA No. 1 doubles team following the completion of the season. Named a GLVC Brother James Gaffney Distinguished Scholar Award recipient earlier this week, Alekseeva is working toward her degrees in Business Administration and Management and Marketing.
 
WRESTLING
Andrew Sams is the second straight Greyhound to be named GLVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year in the sport of wrestling, adding a 3.574 GPA to an All-America performance in the 174 weight class at this year's DII national meet. Sams was also named NWCA Scholar All-Academic, while leading the team with 12 wins, including a runner-up finish at the NCAA Super Region 3 event. The Fairfield, Ohio, product tallied two pins and one major decision this season. Sams is currently working toward his degree in Mathematics, Secondary Education/Mild Intervention.