Athletics
Lewis Wins Third Consecutive GLVC Commissioner’s Cup
The Lewis University Athletic Department has won the Great Lakes Valley Conference Commissioner's Cup for the third straight year and fourth time in school history, the league office announced Thursday, May 15. The Flyers earned the award for the 2024-25 campaign by totaling 90 points among the league's nine sports in which all 15 schools compete. Lewis also finished runner-up for the GLVC All-Sports Trophy with 176.5 points.
"Securing the GLVC Commissioner's Cup for a third straight year is a remarkable accomplishment that speaks volumes about the dedication, talent, and resilience of our student-athletes, coaches and entire athletics staff," Assistant Vice President for Athletics John Ashaolu said.
"This historic three-peat reflects the strength of our programs, the unwavering support from our campus leadership and community, and our continued pursuit of excellence both in competition and in the classroom. We are proud to uphold a standard of success that inspires our entire Flyer family."
Points are allocated for the Commissioner's Cup based on the athletic department's finish in the GLVC's postseason tournaments and league standings in baseball, men's and women's basketball, women's cross country, men's and women's soccer, softball, women's indoor and outdoor track and field and volleyball.
Lewis made the GLVC Championship Tournament in eight of the nine sports this year, highlighted by a league title in women's cross country, men's soccer, and both indoor and outdoor track and field.
Lewis Softball
Makes Third Straight NCAA DII Tournament
The Lewis University softball team earned the No. 6 seed in the NCAA Division II Tournament Midwest Regional. The Flyers competed in the Midwest Region 2 Bracket at Tiffin University. This marked the third consecutive year that the team has qualified for the NCAA Division II Tournament. Lewis finished the season 37-20.
GLVC Pitcher of the Year, Player of the Year, D2CCA Midwest Region Player of the Year
- Delaney Garden
GLVC Coach of the Year
- Becky Pearl
Four Flyers in total earned All-GLVC Honors
First Team ALL GLVC
- Delany Garden,
- Kristen Graham
- Allie Wondrasek
Third Team ALL GLVC
- Anna Frafjord
Men’s Track and Field
Wins Fifth Outdoor GLVC Crown: Four Individual Champions
The Lewis University men's track and field team won its fifth Great Lakes Valley Conference Outdoor Championship, hosting and competing at the three-day event from May 1-3. The Flyers finished with 131 total points.
GLVC Individual Champions
- Levi Graham
- Evan Horgan
- Gavin Jenkins
GLVC Outdoor Track and Field Coach of the Year
- Head Coach Dana Schwarting
Three Indoor NCAA Championship Qualifiers: Three Outdoor Qualifiers
The Lewis men’s track and field team had four different athletes make it to the NCAA Championships throughout the season, with three making it during the indoor meet in Indianapolis, Indiana, while two from indoor made it for outdoor, with one more addition in Pueblo, Colorado, for the outdoor meet.
NCAA Outdoor
- Levi Graham
- Evan Horgan
- Gavin Jenkins
NCAA Indoor
- Enoch Antwi
- Levi Graham
- Evan Horgan
Women’s Track & Field
Ninth Straight Outdoor GLVC Crown: 15th Overall: Seven Individual Champions
The Lewis University women's track and field team won their ninth consecutive Great Lakes Valley Conference Outdoor Championship as the team hosted the event at Lewis Stadium and competed at the three-day event from May 1-3.
GLVC Individual Champions
- Aubrey Brinkman
- Madilyn Calloway
- Mary Edwards
- Denise Hernandez
- Brynlee Keeran
- Karmen Kurowicka
- Hannah Smrcka
GLVC Outdoor Track and Field Coach of the Year
- Head Coach Dana Schwarting
GLVC Outdoor Freshman of the Year
- Katerina Kakavelaki
GLVC Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year
- Denise Hernandez
Three Indoor NCAA Championship Qualifiers: Eight Outdoor Qualifiers
The Lewis women’s track and field had eight different athletes made it to the NCAA Championships throughout the season with three making it during the indoor meet in Indianapolis, Indiana while the same three made it for outdoor with five more additions in Pueblo, Colorado for the outdoor meet.
NCAA Outdoor Qualifiers
- Naylah Allen
- Mary Edwards
- Denise Hernandez
- Katerina Kakavelaki
- Brynlee Keeran
- Karmen Kurowicka
- Hannah Smrcka
- Faith Wyman
NCAA Indoor Qualifiers
- Denise Hernandez
- Brynlee Keeran
- Hannah Smrcka
Lewis Swimming
Nine NCAA Championship Qualifiers: Men’s Place Seventh at National Meet
The Lewis University swimming team had nine members of the team qualify for the NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championships which took place in Indianapolis, Indiana from March 11-15.
The Flyers broke nine school records at the meet and received 28 All-American honors, which is the most in school history. The men's relay team set a new school record in every event at the National Championships.
NCAA Division II Qualifiers
- Mahmoud Abdelkarim
- Larissa Bueno Alves
- Juan Jose Castro
- Valentin De Frutos
- Matt Howard
- Nico Jacinto
- Tom Thalau
- River Streefland
- Davidson Vincent
Lewis Baseball
Claims Sixth GLVC Regular Season Championship: Makes NCAA Tournament for First Time Since 2013
The Lewis University baseball team earned the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Division II Tournament Midwest Regional, the NCAA announced. The Flyers competed in the Midwest Region 2 Bracket at Grand Valley State May 15-18.
The Flyers went to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013.
GLVC Player of the Year
- Mikey Kocen
GLVC Pitcher of the Year
- Brendan Lawry
GLVC Coach of the Year honors
- Head coach Mike Vucsko
First Team All-GLVC
- George Bilecki
- Cain Headrick
- Mikey Kocen
- Brenden Lawry
Second Team All-GLVC
- Jackson Bruno
- Jason Krol
- Chris McDevitt
- Cole Nelson
Lewis Men’s Volleyball
Records 20 Win Season: Four Named AVCA All-American
The Flyers finished the season at 21-9, third in the MIVA Conference. and ranked 15th in the AVCA National poll. It was the Flyers eleventh 20-win season under head coach Dan Friend and their 17th straight MIVA tournament appearance and 15th MIVA tournament semifinals or better.
American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Second Team All-American
- Oguzhan Oguz
AVCA Honorable Mention
- Tyler Morgan
- Nico Paula
- Max Roquet
Men’s Golf
Doty Finishes 36th In Men’s Golf At NCAA D-II Midwest/Central Regional: Donovan Wins GLVC Medalist Honor
Lewis University men's golfer Ty Doty (South Elgin, Ill./South Elgin) placed 36th Saturday, May 10 at the NCAA Division II Midwest/Central Regional at St. Joseph Country Club, recording a score of 220 (+7) over three rounds. Doty opened the tournament Thursday with a four-over par 75. He shot a 76 (+5) on Friday and finished with a 69 (-2) Saturday. He moved up 32 places with his under par round.
Lewis University's Cody Donovan (Cedar Lake, Ind./Hanover Central) took home medalist honors at the Great Lakes Valley Conference Championship at Silo Ridge Country Club. Donvan helped lead the Flyers to match play as the No. 3 seed. Donovan won the tournament by three strokes after finishing with a 210 total (6-under-par). The Flyers used a strong 5-under-par score in round two Monday morning to propel them into the lead. A 291 (+3) in the afternoon round landed them in third.
Men’s Lacrosse
Thirteen Players Named All-GLVC: Tarello Repeats as Specialist of the Year
The Lewis University men's lacrosse team had 13 players earn spots on the All-Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) team. Three made the first team, two are on second team and eight made were named honorable mention.
Domenic Tarello earned his second consecutive GLVC Specialist of the Year award. The senior led the conference with 75 groundballs and face-off wins (149), while ranking second in face-off percentage at 65.9 percent.
GLVC Specialist of the Year
- Domenic Tarello
First Team All-GLVC
- Domenic Tarello
- Tyler Davis
- Luke Schroeder
Second Team
- Malikye Good
- Joe Janda
Honorable Mention
- Nolan Dalep
- Caden Donahue
- Xan Hayes
- Henri Marindin
- Michael Metheny
- Paul Ruskoski
- Logan Suchy
- Michael Trbovich
Ian Disteldorf Named Lewis Head Women’s and Men’s Swimming Coach
Lewis University Assistant Vice President of Athletics John Ashaolu announced that Ian Disteldorf has been hired as the next women's and men's swimming coach at Lewis University. Disteldorf joins Lewis after spending the last two seasons as the assistant swim coach at NCAA Division I University at Buffalo.
Ashaolu said, "Ian's passion for the sport, dedication to developing champions both in and out of the water, and his ability to lead, empower, and connect with today's student-athletes make him the ideal fit to guide our program into an exciting new era. The future of Flyer Swimming has never looked brighter."
At Buffalo, Disteldorf helped lead the Bulls to a fourth-place finish at the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Championships the last two seasons. During those two seasons, three athletes were named First Team All-MAC, five received Second Team All-MAC honors, there was one MAC Swimmer of the Year, three schools records were broken and 25 Top Ten Times were posted.
Before his time at Buffalo, Disteldorf served as the assistant swim and dive coach and strength conditioning coordinator at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana for two seasons. During his tenure at Wabash, the team finished in third place at the 2022 North Coast Athletic Conference Championships and fourth place in 2023.
Disteldorf earned a Masters of Sports Science in coaching at the University of Akron in May, 2021 where he also served as a graduate assistant and director of operations for the swim team. During his time with the Zips, he helped lead the team to a second-place finish in the MAC Championships, broke two conference records, had four All-MAC First Team selections, a MAC Swimmer of the Year, a NCAA Qualifier and 16 Academic All-MAC selections. The Zips were Day One CSCAA National Invitational team champions as well.
Disteldorf graduated from Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois with a bachelor's degree in finance and economics with a minor in accounting in May, 2017. He was a four-year letter winner with the Vikings, serving as the team captain in 2016 and 2017. He was named All-CCIW during the 2015 and 2016 seasons. After graduation, he became an assistant coach at Augustana from 2017-2019, where he developed and implemented practices focusing on specific stroke techniques and designs for both teams. During his tenure as assistant coach, he helped lead the men's team to their best College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) finish in six seasons, had 21 Academic All-CCIW members, four individual CCIW champions, six All-CCIW conference members, the CCIW Swimmer of the Year and three CSCAA All-Academic Team honors. Disteldorf is originally from Oak Forest, Illinois and swam at Chicago Brother Rice High School.
Dodie Dunson II Named Lewis Women's Basketball Coach
Lewis University Assistant Vice President of Athletics John Ashaolu announced on Thursday, April 24 that Dodie Dunson II has been hired as the next coach of the Lewis women's basketball team. Dunson joins the Flyers after spending the past two years as an associate head coach at the University of Evansville.
"We are thrilled to welcome Dodie Dunson and his wife Tameka to Lewis University as our new head women's basketball coach," Ashaolu said. "Dodie brings exceptional connections throughout the Midwest and is highly respected across the coaching community. Everyone I spoke with about him emphasized his strong character, which he demonstrated during his visit to campus. His experience working under some of the game's most respected coaches has shaped him into a skilled tactician, a relentless recruiter and a dedicated mentor committed to the development of his student-athletes. We are excited for the future of our program under his leadership and confident he will guide us to new heights."
Dunson brings 14 years of collegiate coaching experience across six NCAA Division I programs, with a proven track record of player development and postseason success. He helped coach teams in the Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) twice and the Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) three times. He was also part of seven tournament championships.
He was part of staffs in both 2021-22 at Tulsa (+11) and 2022-23 at the University of Illinois-Chicago (+17) with the largest single-season turnarounds under first-year head coaches in their respective years. No other assistant coach has achieved that.
Dunson has coached 20 All-Conference selections, two Freshmen of the Year, three First Team selections, seven Second Team selections and six All-Freshmen Team picks. At five of his previous stops he helped lead the teams to the highest GPA in program history to go with 43 All-Academic honorees and his players had a 100 percent graduation rate. Dunson played collegiately at Iowa State, Vincennes University and Bradley.
Dunson has coached 20 All-Conference selections, two Freshmen of the Year, three First Team selections, seven Second Team selections and six All-Freshmen Team picks. At five of his previous stops he helped lead the teams to the highest GPA in program history to go with 43 All-Academic honorees and his players had a 100 percent graduation rate. Dunson played collegiately at Iowa State, Vincennes University and Bradley.
In his freshman season at Iowa State (2006-07) he played in all 31 contests, averaging 5.2 points per game. At Vincennes he helped the Trailblazers go 28-6 and he was named MVP of the National Junior College Association of America (NJCAA) District 3 Tournament. He spent three years at Bradley from 2008-11, missing most of the 2009-10 season due to injury. He had 692 points in 68 career games (10.1 average) and was named a Lowe's Senior CLASS Award finalist.
