Maertzke named Dakotronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete
Tobias Maertzke became the first Bruin since 2012 to win the prestigious award
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The National Association for Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced today that 382 men's soccer student-athletes, including Bellevue University's Tobias Maertzke, have been named 2015 Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athletes.
A seniors, Maertzke was named a Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete for the first time in career. This comes not long after he was preivously recognized on the First Team All-North Star earlier this year.
Baker (Kan.) led all programs with 11 individuals on the list.
Maertzke – a versatile midfielder – had another strong year offensively. He paced the team with nine goals on the season, including a team-best five game-winners. He also added five assists which ranked second on the team, thus meaning he had a hand in 14 of the 36 (38.9 percent) goals the Bruins scored this season. Perhaps his greatest contributions came towards the end of the season when he played as a holding midfielder, helping the Bruins post three clean sheets in their final five matches of the season and claiming a pair of conference championships.
In order to be nominated by an institution's head coach or sports information director, a student-athlete must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale and must have achieve a junior academic status to qualify for this honor.
The Bruins finished the season with a 12-4-4 overall record (3-0-1 North Star) winning the North Star Regular-Season and Tournament Championships. The Bruins won their NAIA National Tournament Opening Round match before falling in the second round of the National Tournament in Delray Beach, Fla.