May, 2015
Women's Golf wins BIG EAST Championship
Winning one championship is a wonderful achievement. Winning back-to-back championships is a special achievement! Congratulations to our women's golf team, which captured the BIG EAST title for the second straight season, taking the crown by a stroke a couple of weeks ago. I'm very proud of our student-athletes, who did not take winning last year's championship for granted and worked hard to keep their title this year.
Special congratulations to Ali Kruse, an All-BIG EAST selection and our coach Sara Doell, who was named BIG EAST Coach of the Year for the second straight season as she continues to do a phenomenal job with this program, which is only five years old.
Best of the luck to the team in the NCAA Tournament as our student-athletes compete in Raleigh, N.C., beginning today! Click here for more information on the team's NCAA appearance.
Softball earns BIG EAST Championship berth
Congratulations to our softball team, which has qualified for the BIG EAST Championship after a strong regular season that included most overall and conference wins for the program in the last six years. The team yesterday had three players named first-team All-BIG EAST, including Danielle DeStaso, Yasmin Harrell and the BIG EAST Rookie of the Year Alexis Walkden.
The team is in Rosemont, Ill., now getting ready for Friday's semifinal game against DePaul and I wish them all the best as they chase the tournament title and NCAA Tournament bid. You can catch the team in action at 2 p.m., Eastern on FOX Sports 2. The championship game will be Saturday at 2 p.m., also on FOX Sports 2. Click here for more information on the tournament.
Baseball competing for a spot in the BIG EAST
While it may seem like the year is winding down, our baseball team is still playing a competitive regular season with two full weekends remaining before the BIG EAST Tournament. The Pirates sit in third place and are facing Villanova and Georgetown the final two weekends, two teams that are also fighting for a spot in the four-team playoff. The team needs your support May 14-16 at Owen T. Carroll Field, and I encourage to come out for some fun baseball!
Season Ticket Renewals Month
May is our men's basketball season ticket renewal month, and we are excited to offer some great prizes to our loyal supporters who renew for the 2015-16 season. We are giving away a great prize each day in the month of May , and ALL season ticket holders who renew will be invited to a men's basketball practice this fall.
And everyone who renews is eligible to win a grand prize each Wednesday of the month . Just yesterday, Kimberly Franko was the winner of four courtside seats and transportation to and from our Prudential Center home opener.
Click here to learn more about our renewal program and if you'd like to renew now, please call (973) 275-HALL or visit HALLtix.com to access your account.
Donor Matching Day Recap
One of our most important days of the year is Donor Matching Day, a day when our Pirate Blue supporters come together to raise money for the enhancement of our student-athlete experience. For the second straight year, we also had a challenge from an anonymous donor to obtain a gift from a donor in each of the 50 U.S. States. If we did so, we would receive a $50,000 gift. We passed this challenge with flying colors, and by day's end, Pirate Blue raised over $175,000.
None of this is possible without the generosity of our Pirate Blue supporters, so I want to extend my thanks to you all for everything that you do for Seton Hall Athletics and its student-athletes.
To read more about our Donor Matching Day event, please click here.
Men's & Women's Golf - 2015 PPC Champions
Along the same lines, congratulations to our men's & women's golf teams who were named the winners of this year's Pirate Pride Challenge! Current and former student-athletes teamed up with donations to earn the title, defeating volleyball in the championship round. The teams will now receive $5,000 that go directly towards supporting the student-athletes.
Over 200 former student-athletes and all the current student-athletes donated towards the Pirate Pride Challenge, and it is exciting to see them want to give back as they are the ones who have lived and breathed being a student-athlete at Seton Hall, and they are willing to help future generations of Pirates enjoy a better experience. That's what it's truly all about.
End-of-Year Awards
This is the time of year when we get together as a department to celebrate the accomplishments of our student-athletes, both on and off the field. I'm proud of all of their achievements and was excited to be able to share them at our SAAC Banquet on April 30. Click here to read about our award winners. And we're not done yet as we will hold our Senior Banquet on Tuesday, May 12. That day will be extra special as we prepare to send our seniors off to graduation and the next chapter of their lives.
Save the Date
Finally, please save the date on some upcoming Pirate Blue events. We will hold our Hall of Fame Golf Outing and Dinner on Monday, June 22 at the Fairmont Country Club in Chatham, N.J. Our Pirate Blue Golf Outing will take place Monday, Aug. 3 at Navesink Country Club in Middletown, N.J. And the Coach Mike Sheppard Golf Outing will be on Monday, Oct. 12 at Maplewood Country Club in Maplewood, N.J. Visit PirateBlue.com or call (973) 275-6447 for more information.
Go Pirates!
