June 15, 2007
Mastroianni, Shafer earn GLVC honors
EVANSVILLE, Ind.—University of Southern Indiana junior second baseman Darin Mastroianni (Huntersville, North Carolina) and sophomore distance runner Allison Shafer (Plainville, Indiana) were named the GLVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year for baseball and women's track and field.
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Darin Mastroianni |
Mastroianni earned first-team All-America honors in 2007 after leading the USI baseball team to the NCAA II National Championship Series for the first time in school history and a final national ranking of fourth. He led the Screaming Eagles and the GLVC with a .409 batting average, a school-record 97 hits, and school-record 64 stolen bases in 2007.
A two-time GLVC Player of the Week, Mastroianni also was the GLVC Player of the Year, the Rawlings/ABCA North Central Player of the Year, and the NCAA II North Central Region Tournament Most Outstanding Player. He also earned All-Tournament honors at the NCAA II National Championship Series.
In the classroom, Mastroianni was equally impressive as he has compiled a 3.647 grade point average while majoring in business management. Mastroianni was chosen by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 16th round of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on June 8.
His efforts in 2007 also helped USI (43-23, 24-15) to a school-record for wins in a single-season as well as the program's first NCAA II North Central Region title.
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Allison Shafer |
Shafer earned three All-America honors in 2006-07, including two on the track. During the indoor season, she earned All-America honors after finishing fifth in the 5,000 meters at the NCAA II Indoor Championships. She also won the GLVC championship and earned All-GLVC honors in the indoor 3,000 meters.
In addition to the 5,000 meters, Shafer helped lead the Eagles' distance medley relay team to a ninth-place finish at the NCAA II Indoor Championships.
During the outdoor season, Shafer earned All-America honors after finishing fifth in the 10,000 meters at the NCAA II Outdoor Championships. Shafer also earned All-GLVC honors after winning the 5,000 meters at the GLVC Outdoor Championships. She finished 12th in the 5,000 meters at the NCAA II Outdoor Championships and was named the GLVC Track Athlete of the Week on April 9.
In the class room, Shafer has compiled a 3.890 grade point average while double majoring in nursing and health services. In 2006-07, Shafer was the USI/Integra Bank Female Student-Athlete of the Year, the GLVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year in cross country, and the GLVC Women's Cross Country Runner of the Year after winning the GLVC championship.
USI, along with Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, was the only school in the league to have two student-athletes earn GLVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors this spring.
Dan McDonnell,
USI Sports Information
