By Beth Renkoski

June 25, 2009

Seniors Dominate Year-End Awards for Lions

Costa Mesa, Calif – Four-year senior Rebecca Sopp claimed Vanguard University’s Female Athlete of the Year Award and shared the Female Champions of Character Award with classmate Lauren Jansen, a fourth-year Volleyball player at VUSC. On the men’s side, third-year tennis player Florian Lemke, also a graduating senior, was crowned Male Athlete of the Year and junior cross country and track athlete Michael Hartanov was named VU’s Male Champions of Character for the 2008-09 school year.

Rebecca Sopp

Sopp, who runs cross country as well as indoor and outdoor track and field for the Lions, completed her fourth year at Vanguard in grand fashion. VU’s Female Athlete of the Year qualified individually for the NAIA Cross Country Championships with an All-Conference performance at the Golden State Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships in early November. She posted a time of 18:13 in the 5K distance, just eight seconds off her personal record of 18:05, set earlier in the season at the UC Riverside Invitational. Sopp finished 75th out of 327 runners at the NAIA Championships near the end of November with a time of 18:48 in the cold Kenosha, Wisconsin air, becoming the only VU athlete (male or female) to qualify and compete in four NAIA Cross Country Championships during their career. Just over three months later, Sopp ran in her second national event of the year as she qualified for the NAIA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Louisville, Kentucky. Her 5,000 meter time of 17:50 was good for sixth place in the 12-woman final, earning Sopp NAIA All-America laurels. Late in May, Sopp made another NAIA appearance when she qualified for the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. A third-year runner in track, Sopp peaked at the right time as she notched a second NAIA All-America honor with a personal best time of 36:43.79 in the 10,000 meter event.

In addition to her strong athletic achievements, Sopp earned Academic All-GSAC and NAIA Scholar-Athlete for the third and fourth times in her career, carrying a 3.66 grade point average in the Liberal Studies program. Team captain for her Cross Country and Track teams, Sopp also served VUSC athletics as a member of the LIONS (Leaders Influencing Our Nations Sports) within Vanguard’s Champions of Character Program. As a testament of her consistency and personal character, Sopp was nominated by her Coach Bryan Wilkins and selected to share VU’s Female Champions of Character Award.

"I have truly been blessed to have Rebecca in our program the past four years," Wilkins says. "She is a great leader, loyal teammate, outstanding student, and she embodies all the character qualities Vanguard Athletics stands for."

Florian Lemke

Lemke completed his third season at Vanguard as an All-GSAC, NAIA All-America, and an ITA All-America selection. Playing the number one singles position for the Lions, Lemke led Vanguard to a 16-8 overall record and the quarterfinals of the NAIA National Tournament this season, where the Lions lost 5-3 to the eventual NAIA runner-up Auburn-Montgomery.

The 6’8" German made a big splash on the Vanguard campus when he arrived in the fall of 2006, becoming possibly the tallest player ever in the history of the men’s tennis program at VUSC. Competing in his first season in 2007, the Lions have won 49 matches and lost 26 while making three trips to the NAIA National Tournament with two quarterfinal appearances. Lemke has been named to the NAIA All-America First Team all three years as he rose to the top of the Vanguard singles lineup.

Individually, Lemke posted an overall singles record of 18-2 in 2009, rising from 12th in 2007 to third in 2008 and finally No.1 in the ITA’s (Intercollegiate Tennis Association) Individual Players rankings. The top-ranked men’s player in the NAIA was not only named the ITA’s Senior Player of the Year, but he was also selected for the ITA’s 2009 Collegiate All-Star Team for which he will be recognized at the end of August. Lemke combined for an overall doubles record of 13-6 this season and ended the season ranked 11th in the Doubles Team Rankings. In three years as a Lion, VU’s Male Athlete of the Year has notched a 56-10 singles record, all in the No.1 or No. 2 position, and combined for a 44-20 doubles record with matches played at all three doubles positions.

Off the tennis courts, Lemke has also been very successful in his three-year tenure at Vanguard University. Graduating in May with a degree in Business Administration, Lemke accumulated a 3.63 grade point average and earned Academic All-GSAC and NAIA Scholar-Athlete awards the past two years.

Lauren Jansen

Sharing Vanguard’s Female Champions of Character Award with Sopp, Jansen also completed her fourth year as a student-athlete at Vanguard University. Receiving one of the most prestigious awards given by the Vanguard Athletic Department, Jansen was a contributing and consistent member of the LIONS program on campus. She also volunteers her time to be a leader in VU’s Beyond Athletics Ministry (BAM) group on campus and serves her peers as a part of the BAM and athletic chapel worship teams.

Jansen is not only multi-talented, but has been willing to share her gifts and time to others while balancing an outstanding academic career. Graduating in May with a Business degree, Jansen continued her pursuit of excellence by accumulating a 3.86 grade point average in her four years. The stellar GPA qualified her for her second Academic All-GSAC and NAIA Scholar-Athlete awards.

A model of Gold Pride on the volleyball court as well as off, Jansen finished her collegiate athletic career by helping her team reach the NAIA National Tournament for the first time in program history. Receiving her team’s individual Champion of Character Award on the court prior to the beginning of the NAIA "Opening Round" match against Union University, Jansen and the Lions ended up tying for ninth overall in the highly competition tournament and finished the season 18-12 overall. Jansen played 45 games in 22 matches as a senior, and ended with 116 kills, 66 digs, and 33 blocks in her VU career. VU’s Female Champion of Character will be recognized on a perpetual plaque in the Vanguard gymnasium for her contributions to Gold Pride and Vanguard Athletics.

Mike Hartanov

Vanguard’s Male Champion of Character is the lone year-end award winner who was not a senior. Hartanov, a junior on the men’s cross country and track and field teams was also recommended by Coach Wilkins. Serving as team captain for a very young roster, Hartanov has developed into a consistent, reliable, and responsible leader for his teammates and Coach Wilkins.

"Mike is a phenomenal student, excellent leader, humanitarian, and man of character," comments Wilkins. "He plays a significant role in ‘Krochet Kids,’ a non-profit organization he helped establish which serves impoverished people in Uganda, East Africa. This is what Mike is all about; a devoted man of God seeking to make an impact in the world."

Academically, Hartanov has registered over a 3.8 grade point average so far as a Business major and earned his first two Academic All-GSAC and NAIA Scholar-Athlete honors this year in cross country and track.

Hartanov has been improving athletically each season, setting a new personal record (26:17) at the UC Riverside cross country meet this past season. The third-year athlete qualified and competed nationally in the 1,000 meter in Indoor Track and Field. Hartanov made his NAIA Indoor Track debut with a 1,000 meter time of 2:33.39, but did not advance to the final. Primarily a middle distance runner in track, he has a personal best of 4:01 in the 1500m and a 1:56 in the 800m events.

Hartanov looks to be the only senior on his respective teams next year as he prepares to return for his final year of academics and collegiate athletic competition.

Athlete of the Year and individual Champions of Character Awards are the highest honors distributed by Vanguard University Athletics. Chosen at the conclusion of the school year, the honorees are generally recognized at the annual Vanguard Awards Chapel, Athletic Banquet, and by the Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce early in the summer. In addition, their names are placed on a perpetual plaque on display in the Vanguard University gymnasium. Serving as an example of Gold Pride tradition, the display also is a reminder that "Tradition Never Graduates."