Ashley Bower among Top Student-Athletes recognized at Wayne State University's Third Annual Golden W's

The Wayne State University Department of Athletics honored all Warrior student-athletes during the Third Annual Golden W's held last evening at the Hilberry Gateway Theatre.

Ten (10) Deans' Award winners were also recognized for having the highest cumulative grade-point average among all student-athletes in that particular college:

* Mike Ilitch School of Business - Senior women's basketball student-athlete Ally Shagena (Fort Gratiot, Mich. / Port Huron Northern) is the 2024-25 Deans' Award recipient from the Mike Ilitch School of Business.  A Finance major, Shagena has earned a 4.00 term GPA six times in her seven semesters at WSU with a cumulative grade-point average of 3.99.  She appeared in 94 career games for the Warriors and set season-highs as a senior in points, rebounds, free throws made, assists and steals.  Shagena received College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District recognition last month and will be a three-time GLIAC All-Academic Excellence Team recipient.  She was also garner her third D2 Academic Achievement Award this summer.

* College of Education - Mattie Drennan (Clarkston, Mich.), a senior on the women's cross country and track & field teams, was selected to receive the Deans' Award from the College of Education for the 2024-25 academic year.  The Exercise and Sport Science major has earned Athletic Director's Honor Roll (term GPA 3.5+) accolades all seven semesters with a perfect 4.00 term GPA every semester.  Drennan will conclude her collegiate career as a nine-time GLIAC All-Academic Excellence team selection (three each in cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track) as well as a three-year D2 Academic Achievement Award recipient.  She is also a two-time USTFCCCA All-Academic Athlete.  Drennan competed in the GLIAC Cross Country Championships all four years, twice at the NCAA Midwest Regionals and at nationals in 2022.  She has participated at the GLIAC Track and Field Championships three times for indoors and during her first three years for outdoors.

* James and Patricia Anderson College of Engineering - Senior Lucas Harding (Chelsea, Mich. / Salem), a butterfly and individual medley swimmer on the men's swimming team, is the 2024-245 Deans' Award honoree from the James and Patricia Anderson College of Engineering.  An Electrical and Computer Engineering major, he has been on the academic honor roll all seven semesters, including six terms on the Athletic Director's Honor Roll (term GPA 3.5+).  Harding competed in 31 regular-season meets across four seasons.  He will earn his third GLIAC All-Academic Excellence Team certificate this spring and his third D2 ADA Academic Achievement Award this summer.

* College of Fine, Performing, and Communication Arts - Senior Natalie Davies (Chelsea, Mich.), a member of the women's cross country and track & field squad, is the recipient of the Deans' Award from the College of Fine, Performing, and Communication Arts for the second consecutive year.  A Journalism major with a 3.935 cumulative GPA, Davies has achieved Athletic Director's Honor Roll (term GPA 3.5+) status all seven semesters, including four times with a perfect 4.00 term GPA.  She has earned nine letters at WSU (four in cross country, three in indoor track and two in outdoor track).

* Honors College - Junior women's fencer Mehreen Siddiqui (Canton, Mich. / Salem) is the 2024-25 Deans' Award recipient from the Honors College.  A Biochemistry and Chemical Biology Honors major, she has earned Athletic Director's Honor Roll (term GPA 3.5+) status with a perfect 4.00 semester GPA all five semesters at WSU.  A sabreist, Siddiqui has recorded 14 wins in her two seasons on the fencing squad.

* College of Liberal Arts and Sciences - Redshirt junior men's cross country runner Eli DiCerbo (Clinton Township, Mich. / Fraser [Macomb Mathematics Science and Technology Center (MMSTC)]) is the Deans' Award recipient from CLAS for the second consecutive year.  A Mathematics major, DiCerbo earned Athletic Director's Honor Roll (term GPA 3.5+) accolades all seven semesters with a perfect 4.00 term GPA each of the last six semesters.  As a freshman in 2021, he helped lead the Warriors to a 15th-place team finish at the NCAA Championships.  DiCerbo earned Second Team All-GLIAC honors after finishing in 22nd place, along with being named the squad's Newcomer of the Year.  He has only ran in one meet over the last three years due to injuries.

* College of Nursing - Women's basketball redshirt sophomore Ashley Bower (Portland, Mich.) is the 2024-25 Deans' Award honoree from the College of Nursing.   Bower, who has missed the last two-plus seasons due to an injury, began her career by averaging over 27 minutes per game in her first seven collegiate contests and scoring over nine points per game and dishing out three assists per match.  She has earned a perfect 4.0 term GPA each of her first five semesters at WSU.  Bower will earn her second GLIAC All-Academic Excellence Team honor this spring and her second D2 ADA Academic Achievement Award this summer.

* School of Social Work - Softball senior Lauren Fritz (Commerce, Mich. / Waterford Kettering [Oakland CC]) is the Deans' Award recipient from the School of Social Work for the second straight year.  Fritz joined the Warriors in the fall of 2023 after spending her first two seasons at Oakland Community College.  She has appeared in 32 career games and made some outstanding defensive plays in right field.  Fritz was named to the Athletic Director's Honor Roll (term GPA 3.5+) all three semesters at WSU, with two 4.0 terms.  She earned Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete honors in 2024 and was a 2023-24 recipient of the D2 ADA Academic Achievement Award.

* Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences - Women's basketball junior Jaci Tubergen (Hudsonville, Mich. [Bowling Green]) is the 2024-25 Deans' Award recipient from the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.  Tubergen came to WSU last summer after two seasons at Bowling Green.  An Applied Health Sciences (pre-Occupational Therapy) major, she earned a perfect 4.0 term GPA in her first semester at WSU.  On the court, she played in 31 contests helping the Warriors to a 20-12 mark and an appearance in the NCAA Midwest Regional semifinals.

* Graduate School - Men's swimmer Trevor Jones (Farmington, Mich.) is the 2024-25 Deans' Award recipient from the Graduate School.  Jones earned a bachelor's degree in Finance in December of 2023 (2.5 years) and started the MBA program in January of 2024.  He was named to the Athletic Director's Honor Roll (term GPA 3.5+) all seven semesters at WSU, including five 4.0 terms.  Jones received First Team Academic All-American distinction last year from CSC.  In the pool, he was an 11-time All-American (three First Team, and eight Second Team/Honorable Mention), with a best finish of sixth.  Jones earned All-GLIAC honors seven times (three Second Team and four Third Team).  He was three-year First Team CSCAA Scholar All-American.

A school-record eighty-four (84) student-athletes recorded a perfect 4.00 term GPA for the Fall 2024 semester with nearly 78 percent of Warrior student-athletes having a term GPA above a 3.00 for the Fall 2024 semester.  The cumulative GPA for all student-athletes is 3.449 with nearly 53 percent of all student-athletes having a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5.

Courtesy Photo: Ashley Bower (women's basketball) received the Athletics Deans' Award for having the highest cumulative grade-point average among all student-athletes in that particular college. She was presented the award by College of Nursing Dean Ramona Benkert.