AD Newsletter June 2015
Congratulations to our Seton Hall Athletics Class of 2015
Commencement is a day for celebration, and I am extremely excited and proud that 58 of our student-athletes received their undergraduate degrees last month and are ready to move on to the next chapter of their lives. I am also excited to report that 42 of those 58 student-athletes graduated with at least a 3.2 GPA, which makes them recipients of our Seton Hall Academic Merit award. Nearly half (27) of our graduates earned at least a "cum laude" honor. For a full report on Commencement Day at the Prudential Center, click here.
Special congratulations to our Senior Scholar-Athletes of the Year awardees, Mary Migton and Tyler Orner, who had the highest GPAs in the graduating class!
Our job as administrators and educators at Seton Hall is to develop our student-athletes so that they are prepared for the challenges they will face once they graduate. I believe that this group has taken full advantage of everything Seton Hall has to offer and believe they are ready to take their skills into the professional world.
To our graduating class of 2015: As you move on, do so knowing that you will always have a home at Seton Hall. I can't wait to watch your careers grow and develop into leaders in your chosen profession, and I can't wait for you to share those stories at a future Pirate Blue event. Once a Pirate, always a Pirate!
Seton Hall Shines in NCAA APR Report
Annually, the NCAA measures the academic performance of its NCAA Div. I institutions using its Academic Progress Program (APP) and its Academic Progress Rate (APR) formula. This year's report came out last month, and once again, Seton Hall Athletics has made the grade. I'm proud to say that we had a record six programs earn NCAA Public Recognition Awards for having a multi-year APR that ranks in the top 10 percent of their respective sports. Congratulations to baseball, men's basketball, women's cross country, women's golf, softball and women's tennis for this momentous achievement.
In addition, we had nine of our 14 varsity programs have APR scores between 990 and a perfect 1000, including perfect 1000 scores for our baseball, women's cross country, women's golf, softball and women's tennis teams. Twelve of our 14 teams had APR scores higher than the national average, and eight of our teams either matched or exceeded their sport's previous all-time high score.
This academic success is a testament to the commitment our student-athletes, who day in and day out make an effort to succeed in the classroom. This is also a credit to our hard-working Academic Support Services staff, led by director Matt Geibel, and our coaches, who place such a high priority on education and mentorship.
For more information on Seton Hall's NCAA APR success, click here.
Congratulations to all our Spring Sports
The end of May marked the end of our 2014-15 athletics season, and I want to applaud all of our spring sports for their hard work and success over the last few months.
Our women's golf team, led by our two-time BIG EAST Coach of the Year Sara Doell, won a second straight conference championship and competed well at the NCAA East Regional, going up against some of the best in the nation. Congratulations to senior Ali Kruse, who was named to the All-BIG EAST team.
Our men's golf team finished fourth at the BIG EAST Championship, a terrific improvement from 2014's sixth-place finish as our program continues to rise. Congratulations to sophomore Lloyd Jefferson Go and junior Ryan Snouffer for earning All-BIG EAST accolades.
Our softball team not only qualified for the BIG EAST Championship, but also advanced to the tournament's final for the first time since 2005, showing tremendous progress from the previous season. Congratulations to senior Danielle DeStaso, junior Yasmin Harrell and freshman Alexis Walkden, who all claimed first-team All-BIG EAST awards. Special recognition to Alexis, who was also the BIG EAST Rookie of the Year and second-team All-Region.
Our baseball team also qualified for the BIG EAST Championship for the fifth consecutive season and finished third in the tournament after defeating Georgetown. Congratulations to our three second-team All-BIG EAST honorees - senior Anthony Elia, senior Kyle Grimm and junior Zack Weigel.
And our women's tennis team earned a bye into the BIG EAST Championship quarterfinals for the second straight season. A win over Butler in the consolation round earned the program a finish in the top half of the BIG EAST. Congratulations to Hannah Liljekvist, who captured All-BIG EAST honors for the second straight year.
New facilities receive a Blessing
A tradition we have here at Seton Hall is the Blessing of our new facilities, and we were excited to host a Blessing of our brand new state-of-the-art locker rooms, weight room and film room last month. Thank you to our team chaplain Father John Dennehy for performing the blessing, and thank you to all our Pirate Blue supporters who came to tour our new facilities, especially those who donated to our Pride & Excellence Campaign. Many of our donors came to see their name plates on our lockers, where the legacy of their gifts will be seen by many future student-athletes to come.
As I always say, our mission is to provide the best student-athlete experience possible, and we have achieved great success in opening locker rooms that student-athletes can call home, a weight room where they can enhance their performance and a film room where they can learn more. None of this would be possible without our Pirate Blue supporters, so thank you again for your generous gifts and time and thank you for making the Seton Hall student-athlete experience top notch!
We will continue to look for ways to enhance and upgrade our facilities here at Seton Hall. If you would like to donate to our Pride & Excellence Campaign, please click here.
Join us at the Seton Hall Athletics Hall of Fame Golf Outing & Enshrinement Dinner
Our 2015 Seton Hall Athletics Hall of Fame Golf Outing & Enshrinement Dinner is less than three weeks away - Monday, June 22 at the Fairmont Country Club in Chatham, N.J. It will be a day filled with fun as we re-connect with our five Hall of Fame inductees, celebrate their accomplishments and bestow upon them the honor of being called one of the best of the best in Seton Hall history. Our five inductees this year are wrestling's Lou Cerchio, men's basketball's Samuel Dalembert, women's tennis' Kristen Downing, baseball's Greg Jemison and our former University Chancellor Dr. John Petillo.
The golf portion of the day begins with an 11:30 a.m., registration and lunch, followed by a 1 p.m., shotgun start. Our cocktail hour commences at 6 p.m., and the dinner and enshrinement ceremony will begin at 7 p.m. Limited spots are still available, and I encourage you to register online today to reserve your space. Hope to see you there!
