Weinshank top scholar, joins three Seahawks with conference awards
NEWPORT, R.I. - Salve Regina University's Jake Weinshank (Chapel Hill, N.C.) posts a perfect 4.0 grade point average most semesters (3.98 overall) and earns the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Senior Scholar Athlete award for men's soccer as announced by commissioner Gregg Kaye. Teammates joining Weinshank on the 2014 All-CCC Men's Soccer squad include seniors Issa Demirgioglu (Smithfield, R.I.) and Alex Wasilewski (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.), and sophomore Steven Aston (Sherborn, Mass.).
Weinshank is concluding a four-year career at Salve Regina that has allowed him to shine as the prototype for an NCAA Division III student-athlete. In addition to making 67 appearances and 20 starts for the Seahawks, Weinshank has excelled academically. Sporting a 3.98 GPA as an anthropology major, Weinshank has been honored as a four-year recipient of Salve Regina's McAuley Scholarship, the university's highest possible award for academic merit.
He has earned a place on the SRU dean's list every semester and is a four-year participant in the Pell Honors Program. A spring 2013 inductee into the Chi Alpha Sigma chapter of the National College Athlete Honor Society, Weinshank also serves as a team mentor and tutor and has participated annually in his team's community service project. He is a candidate for honors in the NSCAA Scholar and CoSIDA Academic All-American programs.
Weinshank enjoyed his finest moment on the field in the 2012 CCC Men's Soccer Championship with Salve Regina hosting Nichols College (November 3, 2012). The then-sophomore scored two first-half goals as the Seahawks defeated the Bison, 2-0, and earned their second-ever trip to the NCAA Division III Championships.
His classmates, Demirgioglu and Wasilewski among them, enjoyed that trip as well. Demirgioglu, a two-year captain, earns his second-straight selection to the second team as a midfielder. He has scored three goals in 2014, including the game-winner against Curry on October 4. At UMass Dartmouth on September 17, he assisted on Wasilewski's game-winner.
Wasilewski leads the Seahawks in goals (six), assists (six), and scoring (18 points). In addition to his game-winner against the Corsairs, he also provided the deciding goals against Southern Maine (August 30) and at Roger Williams (October 11). He earns his second-straight selection as an All-CCC forward, this time on the first team.
Second-year defender Aston mans one of two center back positions for the Seahawks. Salve Regina (7-9-1; 4-4-1 CCC) posted one shutout in league play and allowed no more than two goals in any CCC game (three times). Of the 105 shots by conference opponents, only 44 were on frame (.419) and only 11 goals were scored against the Seahawks in nine games. Aston played the full 90 minutes (plus in overtimes) in each league game.
Eighth-year head coach Craig O'Rourke II has an all-star at forward, midfield, and back.
"I'm very happy for each of these young men to receive this recognition. Waz, Issa, and Aston have been the best on our roster at each of their respective positions all season and I'm pleased to see that the other coaches in our conference agree with that assessment. And I am overjoyed that Jake won the conference's Senior Scholar Athlete of the Year award. His consistent degree of excellence in the classroom has been an inspiration to his teammates. The fact that he earns a perfect 4.0 each and every semester in the Pell Honors program is nothing short of exceptional and he has been the cornerstone for us in winning the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Team Academic Award in three of the last four seasons."
Salve Regina begins its quest for a fourth conference title with its quarterfinal match at Endicott College on Saturday (1:30 p.m.). The fifth-seeded Seahawks lost 1-0 to the fourth-seeded Gulls on October 18.
INDIVIDUAL AWARDS
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Caleb Cole, Gordon
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Aidan McParland, University of New England
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR – Rielee Mohsin, Nichols
SENIOR SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR – Jacob Weinshank, Salve Regina
COACH OF THE YEAR – Chris Traina, Nichols
TEAM SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD - Eastern Nazarene College
To view the PDF list of the All-CCC team click HERE.