Ball State University Athletics
Ball State Garners Two Scholar-Athletes of the Week
September 16, 2011 | Men's Golf, Soccer
Two Ball State student-athletes -- Brigit Reder and Tyler Merkel -- have been named the Mid-American Conference Scholar-Athletes of the Week.
The MAC Scholar Athlete of the Week honor is presented to a MAC male and female student-athlete who has a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better and performs well during the week's competition. The winners are selected by a group of the conference's faculty athletic representatives.
Reder, who owns a 3.927 grade-point average on Ball State's 4.0 scale as a special education major, led the Cardinals to a 1-0-1 record in the Northern Arizona High Altitude Tournament. Reder, the team's captain and defensive leader, provided stellar efforts on both ends of the field as she scored nine points in two games and helped the Cardinals' defense hold opponents to just three goals in the tournament. Reder became just the fourth Cardinal all-time to post a hat trick and the first Ball State defender to accomplish the feat when she scored three goals in the second half vs. Lamar. Her seven points against Lamar are a Ball State single-game record. She opened the tournament with a goal and an assist against host Northern Arizona.
Merkel, a sophomore with a 3.903 GPA as a business major, was co-medalist at the Northern Intercollegiate, and helped Ball State to a fourth-place finish in the 16-team tournament. Merkel managed a 68-74-70 to win his second collegiate individual title. He was the highest finishing MAC individual at the event and helped the Cardinals defeat MAC foes Northern Illinois, Akron, Eastern Michigan, Bowling Green, Miami University and Toledo.
Players Mentioned
