ROMEOVILLE, Ill. - As we reflect on a remarkable year for Lewis University Athletics, each team achieved significant success both in competition and academically. Here are some of the top accomplishments from each team during the 24-25 school year.
The baseball team stood out with Mikey Kocen (Beach Park, Ill./UNC-Pembroke) earning Player of the Year honors from the GLVC, NCWBA, and D2CCA Midwest Region, while Kocen and George Bilecki (Chicago, Ill./Marist) were named All-Americans. Head Coach Mike Vucsko was honored as Coach of the Year for both the GLVC and NCWBA Midwest Region. The Flyers captured the GLVC regular season title, had a program-record eight All-GLVC selections, and saw Brendan Lawry (Bolingbrook, Ill./Eckerd College) earn GLVC Pitcher of the Year and All-American Honorable Mention, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament as the No. 3 seed in the Midwest Regional.
Men's basketball saw three players earn All-GLVC recognition, qualified for the conference tournament as the No. 5 seed, and posted a six-game winning streak. In men's cross country, the team finished 12th at Nationals and second at the Midwest Regional. They won the GLVC title, with Evan Horgan (Loves Park, Ill./Belvidere North) being named GLVC Runner of the Year, Midwest Regional champion, and an All-American after finishing 13th nationally. Coach James Kearney was named GLVC Coach of the Year.
Men's golf celebrated a GLVC Tournament championship from Cody Donovan (Cedar Lake, Ind./Hanover Central), who, along with Ty Doty (South Elgin, Ill./South Elgin), earned All-GLVC honors. The team reached match play in the GLVC Tournament, with Doty also finishing 36th at the Midwest Regional. The men's lacrosse team advanced to the GLVC Championship for the third straight year, had 13 All-GLVC selections including Specialist of the Year Domenic Tarello (Libertyville, Illinois/Libertyville HS), and boasted an eight-game win streak, including a road victory over No. 14 Newberry. Luke Schroeder (Plymouth, Minnesota/Totino-Grace HS) and Tyler Davis (Edina, Minnesota/Edina HS) were named USILA All-Americans, joined by Malikye Good (Windsor, Ontario, Canada/St. Thomas of Villanova Catholic HS) and Tarello on the All-South Region team.
Men's soccer had a stellar season, winning both the GLVC regular season and tournament titles. Arturs Gorodnickis (Riga, Latvia/Riga) was named a DII Scholar All-American, while six players earned All-GLVC honors. The team also qualified for the NCAA Tournament as the No. 5 seed. Coach Evan Fiffles was named GLVC Coach of the Year. Men's swimming broke nine school records, earned 28 All-American honors—most in school history—and finished seventh nationally with eight swimmers qualifying for Nationals.
In men's tennis, Indrek Soome (Pielavesi, Finland/Emmanuel College) was named First Team All-GLVC. Men's track and field claimed the GLVC Outdoor title and placed 18th at the indoor championship. Levi Graham (Plainfield, Ill./Minooka), Evan Horgan (Loves Park, Ill./Belvidere North), and Gavin Jenkins (Flint Hill, Va.) earned All-Midwest Region and National Qualifier status, with Graham placing second in both the indoor weight throw and outdoor hammer throw nationally. Men's volleyball finished 22-9, ranked in the AVCA Top 15 all year, and reached the MIVA semifinals for the 16th time. Oguzhan Oguz (Bursa, Turkey/Ocean) earned Second Team AVCA All-American honors, with three others named Honorable Mention and five earning All-MIVA recognition.
Women's basketball dominated the GLVC regular season and earned the No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Taylor Gugliuzza (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way West) was named GLVC Player of the Year and All-American Honorable Mention, while five players earned All-GLVC honors. The team recorded win streaks of 13 and 12 games. Women's bowling captured two tournament titles for the first time in program history and set a daily scoring record while winning the Daemen Classic. Carolina Alvarado (Metepec, Mexico) and Savanna Jourdan (Oswego, ILL./Oswego) earned All-GLVC honors.
The women's cross country team had a historic season, finishing sixth at Nationals and winning the GLVC title with a perfect score—a first in conference history. Hannah Smrcka (Cory, PA/Cory) was the GLVC individual champion and Scholar Athlete of the Year, while Coach James Kearney earned GLVC Coach of the Year again. They also placed second at the Midwest Regional. Women's golf saw Sophia Lawler (Racine, Wis./Prairie) take third at the Bearcat Dual Gender Tournament, and
Eve Garvey (Al Rayyan, Doha, Qatar/American School of Doha) was named GLVC Player of the Week.
Women's lacrosse had six All-GLVC honorees, and in women's soccer, Breanna Culver (Roscoe, Ill./Wisconsin-Milwaukee) was named both All-GLVC and CSC Academic All-District. The softball team was led by Delaney Garden (Carpentersville, IL/Harry D. Jacobs High School), who earned NFCA and D2CCA All-American honors, D2CCA Midwest Region Player of the Year, and both GLVC Pitcher and Player of the Year. The team won the GLVC regular season title and qualified for the NCAA Tournament as the No. 6 seed, with Coach Becky Pearl named GLVC Coach of the Year.
STUNT celebrated its inaugural season by earning the program's first-ever win against Quincy. In women's swimming, Larissa Bueno Alves (Brazil, Panama/Colegio De La Salle) advanced to Nationals in four events. Women's tennis saw Jordane Dookie (Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago/St. Joseph's Convent Port-of-Spain) named GLVC Freshman of the Year and to the All-GLVC First Team. Women's track and field enjoyed national success as Denise Hernandez (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North HS) won the outdoor long jump national title and placed second indoors. The team won both indoor and outdoor GLVC titles, sent eight athletes to Nationals, and finished 17th at the indoor championships. Several athletes earned All-American and All-Midwest Region honors.
Lastly, women's volleyball continued its dominance by winning a fourth consecutive GLVC Tournament title and advancing to the NCAA Tournament, where they won their quarterfinal match. Bella Ray (Plainfield, Ill./Joliet Catholic) and Ally Hickey (Granger, Ind./Penn) were named AVCA All-Americans, All-Midwest Region, and All-GLVC, with Ray also making the CSC Academic All-America Team.
