Matthew Boyce, Alex Kopp Named Gustavus Student-Athletes Of The Year

ST. PETER, Minn. – To officially close the 2015-16 academic year, the Gustavus Adolphus College Sports Information Department is proud to announce senior football player Matthew Boyce (Excelsior, Minn.) and junior gymnast Alex Kopp (Wayzata, Minn.) as this season’s Male and Female Student-Athletes of the Year.

A wideout who broke nearly every Gustavus receiving record, Boyce cemented his name among the Gustie greats this past football season. The Minnetonka product earned D3football.com All America Second Team honors after receiving MIAC First Team All-Conference and All-West Region accolades. Boyce became just the sixth Gustie to garner All America honors twice, as he was named to the Third Team in 2014.

Boyce finished his senior season as the MIAC’s top receiver with 77 receptions (7.7 per game, 11th/NCAA) for 1,318 yards (131.8 per game, 3rd/NCAA) and 16 touchdowns (8th/NCAA). After four seasons wearing the winged helmet, Boyce holds single season receiving records for yards (1,318 – 2015), touchdowns (17 – 2014) and 100-plus-yard games (9 – 2015). The Excelsior native finished his career as the program leader in receiving yards (3,295) and touchdowns (35). His 219 career receptions were just four shy of breaking the all-time record.

After his senior season officially came to a close, Boyce represented Team USA at the 2015 Aztec Bowl in Chihuahua, Mexico on Dec. 5, which featured the top Division II and III players from around the country. And last month, Boyce was invited to the Minnesota Vikings Rookie Camp, where he showcased his abilities for three days in front of an NFL coaching staff.

Kopp’s junior campaign in the gym proved to be nothing short of spectacular as she claimed the NCGA floor national championship with a program record score of 9.85. Kopp also earned All America status in the all-around competition as she placed ninth and garnered Second Team All America distinction with an 11th place finish on the vault.

The Providence Academy product plastered her name in the Gustavus record book during her junior season, setting program records on the floor (9.85) and all-around (38.525). She also ranks second on the beam (9.7), and fifth on the vault (9.625). Kopp prefaced her amazing performance at the NCGA Championships with an impressive showing at the WIAC Championships where she won the beam and floor titles, becoming the first Gustie to record two event titles at the WIAC meet in program history.

This year, nine male and 11 female athletes were nominated. Once nominations are finalized, they are balloted and voted on by the head coaches at Gustavus. Coaches vote for their top-three athletes on both the men’s and women’s sides, awarding five points for a first place vote, three points for second place, and one point for third. On the men’s ballot, sophomore tennis player Mohanad Alhouni (Tripoli, Libya) took second in the voting, while senior basketball player Gary Cooper (Detroit, Mich.) took third. On the women’s ballot, senior volleyball player Alyssa Taylor (Trimont, Minn.) garnered the second most votes, while junior tennis player Michaela Schulz (Elk River, Minn.) took third.