Larsson, Cooper tabbed LSC Athletes of the Year

RICHARDSON, Texas – Cameron’s Chase Larsson and Tarleton State’s Carla Cooper were chosen as the 2011 Lone Star Conference Male and Female Athletes of the Year, respectively. The awards were announced Thursday following a vote of the league’s sports information directors.

CU’s Larsson captured LSC top male athlete recognition following a dominant baseball season. Cooper earned the honor of top female athlete in the conference after helping Tarleton to a fourth-place national finish.
Larsson received the most votes by a slim margin over Central Oklahoma basketball standout Dauntae Williams and Midwestern State hoops star Chris Hagan. Cooper picked up the women’s award ahead of UCO basketball standout Ashley Beckley and Midwestern State softball star Brittney Tanner.

Following a stellar season for the Aggies, Larsson was recently named the Tino Martinez DII Player of the Year and selected in the ninth round of the 2011 Major League Baseball draft by the Atlanta Braves. The Vancouver, Canada, native led NCAA Division II in home runs (29), RBI (84), slugging percentage (1.000) total bases (190) and runs scored (74), while finishing 11th overall in batting average (.432). Larsson tied a CU record with eight RBIs in a single game and matched a school and LSC record when he belted three home runs in a single contest. His most prevailing power surge came during a stretch in March, when the LSC Player of the Year established a new DII record by smashing a homer in nine consecutive games.

Cooper wrapped up an impressive four-year career with the LSC and West Region individual titles while helping the TexAnns to its best-ever finish of fourth-place at the NCAA National Championships. The Arlington, Texas, native led Tarleton to a fourth consecutive league crown and fifth straight regional title as well. Cooper averaged 73.3 strokes per round as part of eight team tournament victories with six individual titles in 2011. She was named first-team Capital One Academic All-District VI, National Golf Coaches Association All-American and first-team All-Region along with LSC Player of the Year for third straight year and Academic Player of the Year for the second time.