IRVINE, Calif.-The Second Concordia Athletics Senior Legacy Banquet was hosted Sunday, and four Eagles received the 2017-2018 special awards.

William Best was given the Men's Academic Achievement Award for his excellence athletically and the classroom. Best is not only a varsity athlete in three sports, but has a near-perfect GPA of 3.89.  He has been accepted to the Doctor of Philosophy in Statistics program at prestigious Baylor University.  He also will be receiving a graduate school fellowship that is awarded to less than 5% of those who apply. 

Four-year Eagle, Ryann Ferguson, won on the women's side. 

Ferguson will graduate in May with an accumulative grade point average of 3.92 and a degree in Exercise and Sport Science.  The center fielder was named 2016 & 2017 PacWest Softball scholar athlete of the year, two-time PacWest Female Scholar Athlete of the Year for all sports, two-time CoSIDA Academic All-America, a D2ADA Academic Achievement recipient, and a Capital One Academic All-American. She is also actively involved with the Presidential endowment and on top of being a student-athlete, she interns at Hoag hospital in hopes of achieving her goal to become a nurse.

Ferguson also took home Female Athlete of the Year. She was the GSAC player of the year in 2015, First Team All-PacWest in 2016 and Second team in 2017. She was first team All-American in 2015. She was named 2018 preseason All- PacWest and received PacWest Player of the Week once this year. Ryann has appeared in 217 games for the Eagles and will continue to represent the Eagles in the upcoming regional tournament for the first time in CUI history.

Jacob Weiser was named the Male Athlete of the Year. Weiser's defensive prowess and stable serve receive earned him All-MPSF Second Team recognition and Defender of the Week, once. Against mainly Div. 1 competition, he logged 297 total digs with 65 assists. His season high came in the four set win over USC, where he snagged 17 digs against the Trojans. Weiser tallied double-digit digs 19 times and helped lead CUI to wins over ranked CSUN, Grand Canyon University, Loyola University of Chicago and a five-set thrilled against BYU. Jacob was also named the Off The block Erik Shoji -Libero of the Year award - which is given to the top libero in the country. Jacob lead his team to the first ever MPSF tournament in school history, the farthest any Division II school has competed.  
 

The final award went to women's swimming and diving athlete Bailee Blankemeier. She received the first Eagle Award as a testament to her accomplishments at Concordia as an incredible athlete, team player, for her character and was representing what it means to be an Eagle. She is a four-year member of the women's swim & dive program. In her time at CUI, she was a two-time team captain, 2015 NAIA National Champion for the 400 yard individual medley, 2015 NAIA All American in three events, 2015 scholar All-American, four time all-conference, CSCCA Academic All-American and holds a school record in the 200 yard butterfly, 400 yard individual medley and 800 yard freestyle relay. Her impact on Concordia goes well beyond the classroom and pool. Blankemeier was a three year SAAC member and finished her senior year as the student-athlete-advisory committee President in which she led the growth of department wide community service outreach projects. She implemented Village of Hope foundation into Athletics, organized days to feed the homeless, got athletics involved with operation Christmas child, is a JoyFactor volunteer for the Jesse Reese Foundation and is a Negu Gala Ambassador. Bailee will graduate with a degree in behavioral science and a minor in psychology.

2018 Senior Award Winners:
Male Academic Award: William Best - men's track & field/cross country
Female Academic Award: Ryann Ferguson - softball
Male Athlete of the Year: Jacob Weiser - men's volleyball
Female Athlete of the Year: Ryann Ferguson - softball
Eagle Award: Bailee Blankemeier - women's swimming and diving

2017 Senior Award Winners:
Male Academic Award: Ryan Land - baseball
Female Academic Award: Lucia Seller - women's swimming & diving
Male Athlete of the Year: Ryan Caverly - men's swimming & diving
Female Athlete of the Year: Taylor Dennison - women's volleyball

**Note: The Male and Female Academic Awards were renamed the Male and Female Scholar-Athlete Awards in 2019 at the third Senior Awards Legacy Banquet.**