Oct. 29, 2007

BAY CITY - Lake Superior State senior Megan LaMothe was named to the All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference First Team for the second straight year.

LaMothe (Troy, Mich.) started her career as LSSU's No. 4 singles player and steadily worked her way up in the lineup. She played No. 1 singles this season, finishing 6-4 overall and 6-3 in GLIAC matches. She had a winning record every season, including an impressive 17-5 mark at No. 2 singles last season.

"Megan has moved right up ranks," said LSSU coach Charlie Drury of his only senior, who was also a GLIAC Player of the Year finalist. "Megan has done what she's had to do to play competitively at each position. This year when Megan came in, I could tell that she was in the best shape I've ever seen her in. And she is just a mentally-tough player. When she steps on the court, you know she's going to give it everything she's got. She is a great role model for our team. The GLIAC is one of the stronger conferences in Midwest. When you're playing No. 1, you are not going to get any matches given to you. You're playing the best players. You've got to fight for each and every point, and do it on weekly basis. You have to be consistent."

LaMothe was an integral part of LSSU's appearances in the NCAA Tournament in the spring of 2006 and 2007. She earned All-GLIAC honorable mention as a sophomore. She posted career records of 48-22 in singles and 47-24 in doubles.

While paired with a freshman or a sophomore this season, she was 4-6 overall and 4-5 in the GLIAC at No. 1 doubles.

"I am happy to see her have success, but her best attribute is that she is a great team player," Drury said. "It didn't matter to her that we were 0-9 this season. She played every match like we were 9-0."

LaMothe is expected to earn her third straight GLIAC All-Academic Team honor this fall. The accounting major with a 3.25 grade point average is also a two-time winner of the Bud Cooper Endowment Award.

Other members of the All-GLIAC First Team included Northwood's Darina Berkova (Fr.), Julia Goncalves (Sr.) and Ashley Neumann (So.), Mercyhurst's Kim Ezzo (Fr.), Wayne State's Sharon Gill (Fr.), Ferris State's Amy Ingle (Fr.), Grand Valley State's Jenna Killips (Sr.) and Ashland's Myra Pepino (Fr.). Goncalves was named GLIAC Player of the Year, while Pepino received the Freshman of the Year Award. Michigan Tech coach Mike Axford was named GLIAC Coach of the Year.