Griz name captains for 2014 season
5/7/2014 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
May 7, 2014
If last week's Griz Got Talent and Monte Awards show was any indication, the 2014 Montana soccer team will be under terrific leadership next fall.
Allie Simon won the Monte for being the department's most inspirational athlete. Tyler Adair won her own Monte for having the most Griz spirit. And Brooke Moody was named the junior class student-athlete of the year, an award based on athletic and academic success and community involvement.
The three players, all of whom will be seniors next fall, were voted the Montana soccer team's captains for 2014 recently by their teammates.
"As a class goes through its four years, certain players always emerge and earn the respect of their classmates and teammates because of the example they set," said UM coach Mark Plakorus. "It was very apparent as the spring went on that it was those three who the team really looked to.
"Next year's senior class is very strong and well connected, and the three players who were voted captain keep everything together and provide a lot of guidance for the whole team. I'm very excited for them and for the entire team as we start getting ready for the fall."
Beyond inspiration, spirit and athletic success, Simon, Adair and Moody also share a passion for their work in the classroom. The three average a 3.66 GPA and have nine Academic All-Big Sky Conference selections between them.
"It's important when you're the leader of a team that you're not just a leader in one area," Plakorus said. "It's important that you're a leader as a student-athlete, and that includes what you do in the classroom.
"These three take their studies very seriously. They all want to do well because they have goals beyond graduation, so they make sure that piece of who they are is successful as well."
Adair, a midfielder who was one of four team captains last fall as a junior, has been a starter since the first match of her collegiate career and has three times been voted honorable mention All-Big Sky Conference.
Moody played a team-high 1,663 minutes last fall and was voted second-team All-Big Sky Conference and the team's Outstanding Defensive Player. And though Simon has missed 25 matches in her career because of injuries, she has five goals and four assists.
It's her resiliency in coming back from setback after setback, all with no stain on her personality or outlook, which is why she ranks so high on the inspiration meter and is one of Montana's leaders.
The captains will get their first chance to help mold the full 2014 team when the Grizzlies open practice in early August. Montana will begin its regular season with a road trip to Air Force and Wyoming Aug. 22 and 24.
