SHU Teams Visit Italy

SHU football and women’s soccer players traveled to Italy last spring and played against local competition during their stays (photos above & right). The group traveled to Rome, Florence, Siena and Viterbo from May 5-13 for a week of experiencing a new culture, highlighted by competitive games on the football fields and soccer pitches of Italy. The women’s soccer team faced a local Division I Firenze team before being part of a unique doubleheader in Viterbo, near Rome. The Saints football team played against the Italian national team, which was coached by former University of Texas and Kansas City Chiefs head coach John Mackovic. Before returning on May 13, the group also took a guided tour of the Vatican Museum and St. Peter’s Basilica.

SHU Earns Eight NAIA Scholar-Team Awards

The Saints had eight teams earn the NAIA Scholar-Team Award. Those teams honored were baseball, women’s basketball, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s soccer, softball and women’s volleyball. For a team to be considered for the NAIA Scholar-Team award, it must have a minimum 3.0 grade-point average (on a 4.0 scale).  The team grade-point average includes all eligible varsity student-athletes.

Softball

Junior first baseman Taylor Hayes was named to the Great Lakes All-Region second team by the NAIA. She hit .400 with five homers, 15 doubles and 30 RBI  for SHU. Senior Katie O’Hotzke, Hayes and sophomore Mariah Boss were each named to the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference first team. O’Hotzke, a pitcher, has 14 wins and 118 strikeouts in 152 1/3 innings so far this season. Boss, an outfielder, batted .347 with 15 stolen bases. Freshmen Megan Jones and Kenya Keller received honorable mention all-conference honors, with Boss, Hayes, Megan Higdon, Morgan Huttenlocker, Ashley O’Leary, Jenn Sylvester, Bitty Treece and Morgan Warfield earning academic all-conference honors. Kelsey Lampkowski earned the team’s Champions of Character award. O’Leary, Sylvester, Treece and Warfield were also each named NAIA Scholar-Athletes. Finally, the National Fastpitch Coaches Association recognized 10 Saints as NFCA All-America Scholar-Athletes, including Boss, Huttenlocker, Megan Jones, Kenya Keller, Kelsey Lampkowski, O’Leary, Liz Polmanteer, Sylvester, Treece and Warfield. The Saints finished 20-21 on the season.

Baseball

Outfielder Dan Muller was tabbed first team All-Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference after leading the Saints in several offensive categories this season. Muller hit .365 in conference play with 54 hits, 13 doubles, five home runs and 29 RBI. He also was chosen to the WHAC’s Gold Glove Team. First baseman Joe Williams was an honorable mention all-conference selection, while earning academic all-conference were Lucas Bartz, Drew Byers, Logan Curtis, Alec Duncan, Nolan Herendeen, Mike Lollo, Travis Mielcarek, Drew Milligan, Tayler Thelen and Williams. Lollo was the team’s Champions of Character recipient. Sophomore shortstop Austin Hauck was named to the College Sports Information Directors of America Academic All-District team. He is an accounting major. Byers, Duncan, Herendeen, Lollo and Mielcarek, Bartz, Milligan, Thelen and Williams were each also named NAIA Scholar-Athletes. The Saints finished 17-27 on the season, 6-18 in the WHAC.

Recent graduate Travis Mielcarek ’14 pitched for the new Adrian Pioneers professional baseball team this summer. The Pioneers are members of the Independent Baseball League, which played its home games at Adrian College. Mielcarek is a left-handed pitcher.

Golf

Women: The Saints had two top 15 individual finishers to place fifth at the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Championships at Ft. Wayne’s Coyote Creek Country Club. Ashley Everett tied for 12th with a two-day total of 171 (87-84), with Andrea Richards finishing 14th with a 174 (84-90). Indiana Tech won the team title with a 649, with the Saints finishing with a 706.

Men: Joe Forest placed second to lead the Saints to a third place finish at the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Championships at the Stonewater Country Club in Kentwood, Mich. Forest fired a three-round total of 226 on the par-71 course. Parker Ross tied for fourth with a 229. Siena Heights (932) finished only behind Madonna (915) and Davenport (917) in the final team standings. The Saints had three named NAIA Scholar-Athletes. Junior Michael MacLean and seniors Dylan Orr and Josh Short earned the honor.

Lacrosse

Women: Erin Kehn and Tabitha Ferguson were each named to the All-Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference first team. Kehn, a sophomore, led the Saints in goals (82) and points (100). Ferguson, a freshman, was 9-8 in goal with 239 saves. Cindy Hill was named the Co-Coach of the Year, while senior Stephannie Gonzalez was tabbed to the honorable mention all-conference team and was also named academic all-conference. Aliisa Mason was the recipient of the team’s Champions of Character award. Gonzalez was also named to the Academic All-National Women’s Lacrosse League, only one of 17 in the NWLL to earn the honor. The Saints finished 9-10 on the season.

Men: Junior defender Jordan Martin was named to the All-Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference first team for the second consecutive year. Sophomore defender Josh Abruzzo earned All-WHAC honorable mention status, with senior Ben Lama the team’s Champions of Character recipient. Abruzzo was also named to the Central Collegiate Lacrosse Association second team while Martin was tabbed to the third team. Abruzzo was chosen to the Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association’s honorable mention team. SHU finished 6-8 on the season.

Track & Field

Women: Phoenix Duncan and Taylor Byron each won individual events as the Saints finished second at the Wol-verine-Hoosier Athletic Conference championships. Indiana Tech won the meet with 249 points, with SHU finishing with 157. Duncan was first in the high jump with a leap of 5 feet, 7 inches. Byron was first in the shot put (42-0 3/4) and first in the hammer with a toss of 174 4 ½ and Brianna Nordby was first in the javelin (126 5 1/2). Nordby and Byron each earned All-American honors at the NAIA Outdoor Championships in Gulf Shores, Ala. Nordby was seventh in the javelin with a toss of 132 feet, 6 inches. Byron placed fifth in the shot put with a toss of 46 feet, 10 inches. Four Saints were named NAIA Scholar-Athletes, including seniors Melanie Glinski and Brianna Nordby and juniors Phoenix Duncan and Arika Knannlein.

Men: Gauge Aebersold and Chris Schurr each claimed national titles in their respective events as the Saints finished seventh in the nation NAIA Outdoor Championships in Gulf Shores, Ala. Aebersold had a heave of 59 feet, 4 3/4 inches in the shot put, while Schurr won the pole vault in a tiebreaker with an effort of 17-3/4. Earning All-American honors were the 4×400 relay of Zakary Haines, Zach Widner, Dominic Muessig and Ryan McElyea (seventh, 3:15.03), Tre Goynes in the high jump (seventh, 6-7) and the 4×800 relay (third, 7:37.99). The Saints finished with 28.42 points, with Indiana Tech winning the title with 105. Schurr won the pole vault in school and conference record-breaking fashion to lead the Saints at the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference outdoor championships. SHU finished second behind top-ranked Indiana Tech, 252-134. Schurr won the vault with an effort of 17 feet, 3/4 inches. That effort also earned him the Most Outstanding Performer of the meet. Logan Moore won the 110 hurdles (14.46), with Gauge Aebersold winning the shot put (55-1) and Paul Jacobs the hammer throw (151-6½). Seniors Matt Leaders, Matt Robinet and Schurr were named NAIA Scholar-Athletes.

Basketball

Women: Senior guard Grace Howrigon was named an honorable mention NAIA All-American by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association. Howrigon is SHU’s all-time assist leader and has single-season and single game assists records. She was an all-conference performer last season for the 15th ranked Saints.