BEREA, Ohio – Baldwin Wallace University has announced its Clyde Lamb and Most Outstanding Senior Athlete Award winners.
The Clyde A. Lamb Awards are presented annually to 10 male and 10 female student-athletes from each of the OAC institutions. Criteria for the award includes at least two years participation in an OAC-sponsored sport, senior status, a minimum GPA of 3.00 and sportsmanlike conduct in a manner that has brought credit to the student-athlete and his or her institution.
BW's Kenneth Steingass Most Outstanding Male Athlete has been awarded since 1948-49 while the Marcia French Most Outstanding Female Athlete was first awarded in 1981-82. Both are presented annually to a deserving senior as voted on by the coaches.
Three-time All-Ohio Athletic Conference and Academic All-OAC guard Jay Battle (Gahanna/Lincoln) and three-time All-OAC and Academic All-OAC right fielder Alexis Boledovic (Brook Park/Berea-Midpark) were named the Male and Female Clyde Lamb Award recipients. Meanwhile, two-time All-American 165-pounder Anthony Arroyo (Maumee) and United Soccer Coaches All-American forward Rachel Bender (Massillon/Jackson) were tabbed as the Male and Female Most Outstanding Senior Athletes.
Battle capped off his four-year career with a stellar senior campaign, leading the men's basketball team to its first OAC Tournament title since 2006. He played in all 112 games with 102 starts, averaging 13.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game while shooting at a career 45.6 percent clip from the floor. Battle became the 42nd player in school history to join the 1,000 point club and his 1,531 career points ranks 12th all time. His career accolades include three All-OAC selections, the 2019 OAC Tournament Most Valuable Player award, three separate All-Tournament Team selections, a D3hoops.com All-Great Lakes Region honor and an National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-Great Lakes District accolade. Academically, Battle is a two-time Academic All-OAC selection, a Dean's List student, a Jacket Scholar and a member of the Chi Alpha Sigma Honor Society.
Still in the midst of her final season, Boledovic has appeared in 142 games to date and holds a career .408 batting average with 188 hits, 37 doubles, nine triples, three home runs, 107 runs scored, 80 runs batted in (RBIs) and 35 stolen bases. She outright owns the single-season hits record with 62 and has tied the single-season runs scored record with 42. Boledovic's career numbers rank among the school's all-time leaders – fourth in hits, sixth in runs scored, sixth in doubles, tied for second in triples, tied for ninth in RBIs and sixth in stolen bases. Her other career accolades include three All-OAC selections and one OAC Hitter of the Week honor. Academically, Boledovic is a two-time Academic All-OAC honoree, a College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA)/Google Cloud Academic All-District 7 selection, a Dean's List student, a Jacket Scholar and a member of the Alpha Lambda Delta and Chi Alpha Sigma Honor Societies.
Arroyo will graduate as one of BW's finest wrestlers. The three-time national qualifier and two-time All-American became just the seventh wrestler in school history to win 100 or more matches en route to a 120-21 career record and a .851 winning percentage, both of which rank third in school history. Arroyo also posted a perfect 22-0 mark in OAC action and won six separate tournament titles during his career. He was a four-time All-OAC first-team selection, the 2017-18 OAC John Summa Wrestler of the Year, a seven-time OAC Wrestler of the Week honoree, three-time All-Region performer and a 2015-16 D3wrestling.com All-Freshman first-team selection.
Bender led the Yellow Jackets in most offensive categories throughout her four-year career. The All-American forward played in all 83 games of her career with 81 starts and tallied 60 goals, 37 assists and 157 points on 445 shots. Bender will graduate with the school's single-season (16) and career assist (37) records and will finish second all-time in career goals and career points scored. Her other career accolades include four All-OAC first-team selections, two OAC Forward of the Year awards, two OAC All-Tournament Team selections, three OAC Women's Soccer Player of the Week honors, four Ohio Collegiate Soccer Association (OCSA) All-Ohio selections, two tournament Most Valuable Player awards and the 2019 Greater Cleveland Sports Female Collegiate Athlete of the Year award. Academically, Bender is a United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-American, a two-time CoSIDA/Google Cloud Academic All-American, a three-time Academic All-District 7 selection, a three-time OCSA Academic All-Ohio honoree, a three-time Academic All-OAC selection, a Dean's List student, a Jacket Scholar and a member of the Chi Alpha Sigma Honor Society.
