Volleyball All-American Beth Walker (Dubuque, Iowa) and men's soccer standout Tobias Maertzke (Hamburg, Germany) were named the Bellevue University Athletes of the Year in an announcement made today in conjunction with the 43rd Annual Bellevue University Athletic Banquet.
Beth Walker
Walker capped off her storied career at BU by being named a third team NAIA All-American in 2015. It marked the second All-American honor for Walker in her career. She also was named the North Star Athletic Association's Setter of the Year, while earning first team all-conference and all-North Central Region accolades.
Walker was named the NSAA Setter of the Week on three occasions and was a member of the Omaha World-Herald's NAIA all-Nebraska team. She also earned all-tournament team honors at the Clarke Tournament.
Walker finished her BU career ranked third in school history in total assists (4,789), eighth in digs (1,579) and ninth in service aces (124).
An excellent student, Walker earned her second-straight Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athlete honor and was recognized for the third time as an academic all-conference recipient.
A versatile athlete, Walker will be a member of the Bruins' inaugural women's basketball team this fall.
Tobias Maertzke
Maertzke racked up numerous accolades throughout his time at BU. In his three-year career, Maertzke was named to the all-conference team each season, including twice being named a first-team selection. He was also a two-time selection to the Omaha World-Herald NAIA all-Nebraska team.
He appeared in 57 games (55 starts) in his career and scored 22 goals to go along with 18 assists. This season he led the team in goals (9) and points (23) and ranked second on the club in assists (5). In the fall he helped the Bruins to their third-straight NAIA National Tournament, including their second-consecutive appearance in the Round of 16.
Maertzke also excelled in the classroom as he was thrice named a conference scholar-athlete and saw that culminating in a selection as a Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete this season.
