BAY CITY, Mich. -- Grand Valley State University women’s soccer player Natalja Stanski (Tecumseh, Ontario) and GVSU football player  Alex Gilde (McBain, Mich.) are the recipients of the 2010  Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Post-Graduate Scholarship. The honor, which awards each recipient $5,000 in aid to the graduate school of their choice, was voted on by the Faculty Athletic Representatives in the GLIAC.

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     Natalja Stanski, a senior from Tecumseh, Ont., was a key force on an impressive Laker backline that allowed only 12 goals all season and recorded 16 shutout wins en route to the program’s first-ever NCAA Division II National Championship. She was named ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American of the Year, Daktronics, Inc. First Team All-American, Daktronics, Inc. First Team All-Midwest Region and Second Team All-GLIAC. Stanski was also honored with the NCAA Elite 88 Award for her outstanding academic and athletic achievements.  The Laker’s posted an incredible 84-4-6 record (.926) at GVSU, becoming part of the most successful senior class in the program’s history.  Stanski earned the 2008 GLIAC Defensive Player of the Year. Stanski has been a member of the Dean’s List all eight semesters at Grand Valley State and is a three-time member of the Academic All-GLIAC Team.
     She is also a two-time recipient of the GLIAC Commissioner’s Award. The biomedical science major with a 4.00 grade point average, will continue her studies at Wayne State University School of Allopathic Medicine.

     Alex Gilde, a senior from McBain, Mich., was a key contributor in the Lakers’ push to the 2009 NCAA DII Football National Championship game. He tallied 29 tackles, 5.0 tackles for loss, and 4.5 sacks, while blocking two kicks, forcing a fumble and recovering a fumble during the 2009 campaign. Gilde, who was a 2009 First Team All-GLIAC honoree, also earned Second Team ESPN The Magazine All-American plaudits and was honored with the NCAA Elite 88 Award for his outstanding academic and athletic achievements.Grand Valley State was 49-4 during Gilde’s career with a National Championship and four GLIAC titles.
     He has been a member of the Dean’s List all eight semesters at Grand Valley State and is a three-time member of the Academic All-GLIAC Team. In addition, Gilde was a two-time recipient of the  GLIAC Commissioner’s Award.  Alex owns a 3.937 grade point average as a biomedical science major with a chemistry minor. Alex was one of only six GVSU students admitted into the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine.