SHU Lacrosse Goes to National Tournament

Led by senior goaltender Ryan Mailloux and junior defenseman Joshua Abruzzo, the Saints made their first trip to the Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association Division II national tournament. SHU defeated Missouri Valley 8-7 in the opening round, then fell to eventual national champion the University of Dayton 7-6 in overtime to finish the season 13-3 and ranked sixth in the final MCLA poll.

Mailloux and Abruzzo were each named first team MCLA Division II All-Americans, while Ed Maloney was named MCLA D-II Coach of the Year. Mailloux finished with a 13-3 record, 6.23 goals-against average and 187 saves in roughly 895 minutes of action. Abruzzo was a key cog within SHU’s defense, finishing with a team-leading 54 groundballs. Junior midfielder Tom Kreitzer was recognized as a All-MCLA third team selection and was the Saints’ leading goal-scorer with 34 tallies.

Maloney was also recognized as CCLA and Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Coach of the Year while guiding Siena Heights its highest win total and best finish in program history. The Saints were also 4-0 in CCLA Central Division play—good enough for SHU’s first division championship.

Eight SHU Teams Honored for Academic Achievements

A total of eight Siena Heights athletic teams were honored as NAIA Scholar Teams. The women’s golf team was rated second among all NAIA athletic programs – and first among all women’s golf programs – with a team grade-point average of 3.93. With a 3.56 team GPA, the softball team was rated fifth among NAIA softball teams. The baseball team was seventh with a 3.33 in its sport. The other five SHU teams which received NAIA Scholar Team recognition included women’s soccer (3.50), men’s golf (3.38), women’s volleyball (3.24), men’s soccer (3.21) and women’s basketball (3.06). 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) as defined by the institution.

Golf

Women: The Saints placed fourth at the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Championships at Coyote Creek Golf Club. Sydney Gossett was the Saints’ leading scorer with a three-round total of 259. She tied for 13th individually. Andrea Rumler carded a 263 to tie for 17th while Alyssa Fausneaucht and Andrea Richards each compiled a 265 and tied for 20th. Rumler was also named to the Capital One Academic All-District At-Large Team, which is chosen by CoSIDA (Collegiate Sports Information Directors of America), as well as a NAIA Scholar-Athlete.

Men: The Saints finished tied for fourth place at the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Championships at Coyote Creek Golf Club. Nicklaus Zanotti ended with a three-round score of 229 and placed 10th. Joe Forest had a 233 to tie for 13th, while Tim Combs tied for 16th with a 234. Five were named NAIA Scholar-Athletes, including juniors Combs, Michael MacLean, Parker Ross and Collin Smith and sophomore Gage Snyder.

Women’s Lacrosse

Junior Erin Kehn and sophomore Tabitha Ferguson were each named to the All-Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference first team. Ferguson was also named WHAC Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight year, while SHU head coach Cindy Hill claimed her third consecutive Coach of the Year honor. Ferguson had an 8-6 record and broke her own single-season school record for goals-against average, finishing at 13.03. She was also chosen as honorable mention All-National Women’s Lacrosse League. Kehn led the team in goals (52) and points (57). Sophomore Aliisa Mason was honored as an All-WHAC Honorable Mention and was also recognized on the WHAC Champions of Character Team. Cindy Bradford, Margaret Hern, Sabrina Snow and Sydney VanHoose were named to the WHAC All-Academic Team, with VanHoose also earning Academic All-NWLL honors and CoSIDA Academic All-America second team status. The Saints had their first winning season with an 8-6 record and reached their highest-ever NWLL ranking at No. 5.

Softball

Sophomore Megan Jones was named to the Capital One Academic All-America Second Team, which is chosen by CoSIDA (Collegiate Sports Information Directors of America). Nominees for the CoSIDA award must have a GPA of 3.30 or higher. Jones is the second SHU softball player to be honored on the CoSIDA team. Jones, senior Taylor Hayes and freshman Kelsie Abbott were each named to the All-Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference honorable mention team. Seven Saints were named to the Academic All-WHAC Team. That group included seniors Hayes, Jessie Arnold, Mariah Boss, Morgan Huttenlocker, Bitty Treece and Morgan Warfield and junior Tiffany Jones. NAIA Scholar-Athletes were Arnold, Boss, Huttenlocker, Treece and Warfield. Senior Megan Higdon was selected to the WHAC Champions of Character Team. The Saints finished 23-21 overall, 7-11 in the conference.

Baseball

Junior catcher Zack Dunlop and junior pitcher Brent Vaccaro were selected as All-Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference honorable mentions, while senior Drew Milligan was named to the WHAC Gold Glove Team. Junior Ryne Sanders was selected to the WHAC Champions of Character Team. He was also named Academic All-WHAC along with nine teammates: seniors Milligan, Lucas Bartz and Daniel Nye; and juniors Dunlop, Austin Hauck, Thomas McCarter, Alex Robbins, Tayler Thelen and Joe Williams. The Saints tied for the second-most Scholar Athlete honorees in the NAIA. Seniors Bartz and Milligan and juniors Dunlop, Hauck, McCarter, Sanders, Thelen and Williams each received the honor. The Saints finished 19-30 overall, 13-22 in the WHAC.

Outdoor Track & Field

Women: Marissa Johnson won the national championship in the high jump as the 18th-ranked SHU women’s track and field team finished 27th at the NAIA Outdoor Championships. Johnson cleared 5 feet, 8 1/2 inches to bring home the title. Sheila McKinley claimed All-America accolades by clearing 11 feet, 9 3/4 inches in the pole vault, good for eighth place. The Saints won three events in placing fourth at the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Championships. Rebecca Cousineau (hammer throw), Haley Hudson (shot put) and Marissa Johnson (high jump) were individual winners for the Saints. Cousineau also claimed the school record in the discus with a 145-2 effort.

Men: Gauge Aebersold and Logan Moore claimed national championships in the shot put and 110-meter hurdles, respectively, as the Saints finished fifth at the NAIA Outdoor Championships. Aebersold had a school-record distance of 59 feet, 7 1/2 inches in the shot. Moore clocked in at 14.304 seconds in the 110 hurdles, winning the event by .006 seconds. Fellow SHU hurdler Frederick Boyd also claimed All-America honors, taking seventh in 14.62 seconds. Richard DePalma placed runner-up in the pole vault, clearing 16-6 3/4. Gerald Richardson earned All-America honors in the high jump, clearing 6 feet, 10 1/4 inches, and placed fourth. Siena Heights accumulated 35 points, finishing one spot shy of a trophy spot. Concordia (Neb.) won the national title with 59 points. The Saints also won five events in finishing second at the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Championships. Aebersold (discus), DePalma (pole vault), Jonathan Dozier (shot put), Moore (110 hurdles) and Adam Stuckert (hammer throw) were the individual winners for the Saints. DePalma, Paul Jacobs, Matthew Leaders, Matthew Robinet, Chris Whiting and Lyle Van Fleteren were each named NAIA Scholar-Athletes.