Saints Excel in the Classroom

A total of 587 SHU student-athletes earned a 3.11 cumulative GPA in the winter semester 2021. Women’s soccer led with a 3.67 GPA. Rounding out the top five were men’s golf (3.54), women’s bowling (3.52), and women’s cross country and softball (3.5 each). All nine of the women’s teams earned a 3.0 GPA or higher with an aggregate GPA of 3.41. The aggregate men’s GPA was a 2.92. Dance led the coed sports with a 3.12.

Bauer Elected to NAIA Hall of Fame

Longtime cross country and track and field coach Tim Bauer will be inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame in spring 2022. A former standout student-athlete for the Saints, Bauer has been a member of the Siena community for more than 40 years The 1982 graduate returned in 1983 as a graduate assistant before taking over as the full-time head coach in 1984. During his tenure, he has coached more 300 All-Americans, 100 All-American honorable mentions, more than 100 NAIA Scholar-Athletes, more than 25 National Champions, three Olympic Trials qualifiers, and one American Champion. Bauer’s teams have won 45 championships, including 30 Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference titles. He has had two teams finish in the top four in the nation, as well as numerous teams place in the top 10 in NAIA championship events. He also has served as the president of both the NAIA Track and Field Association and the NAIA Cross Country Association.

2020-21 SHUSPY Award Winners Announced

The 2021 “SHUSPY” Awards were presented by members of the SHU Student-Athlete Leadership Team (SALT) this spring. The 2020-21 SHUSPY Award winners are:

• Male Athlete of the Year: Kole Murlin, football
• Female Athlete of the Year: Marissa Cirino, women’s lacrosse
• Best Individual Achievement: Peyton Banks, women’s basketball
• Best Team Moment: Women’s lacrosse (NAIA Tournament berth)
• Best Play: Colin Duffy, men’s golf (69 round)
• Biggest Underdog Upset: Men’s lacrosse (11-5 win over #5 Cumberlands)
• Biggest Comeback: Women’s lacrosse (win over Concordia)
• Halo Award: Kara Bishop, women’s soccer, SALT President (presents SHU with pride)
• Best Supporter: Emma Winter, dance (always in attendance at SHU events)
• Most Supportive Team: Women’s soccer
• Most Supportive Faculty Member: Michael Orlando
• Male Comeback Player of the Year: Alec Emerson, men’s lacrosse
• Female Comeback Player of the Year: Madison Castle, women’s soccer
• Coach of the Year: Alexa Matta, women’s lacrosse
• Male Rookie of the Year: Eric Williams II, football
• Female Rookie of the Year: E’Anna Won, women’s basketball
• Team Community Impact: Women’s soccer (community volunteer work, organized events)

Volleyball

Women:

• Junior Janel Ruhlman was named first team All-Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference. The outside hitter had 160 kills on the season to lead the Saints. Freshman setter Aubrey Bates earned second team All-WHAC and also was a member of the All-Freshmen Team. Ruhlman, Claire Beaudoin, Alli Conly, Courtney Dolkowski and Aline Marinelo each received WHAC all-academic honors. The Saints finished 9-9 on the shortened season due to COVID.
• Saints head coach Kim Berrington recorded her 600th career win as a collegiate coach after SHU’s win over Adrian in fall 2021. Berrington entered the 2021 season with 599 wins between her three stops as a collegiate head coach, including Concordia and NCAA Division I Eastern Michigan. Upon her arrival at Siena Heights, Berrington coached both the men’s and women’s volleyball teams. During her five years as the men’s coach, Berrington racked up an 88-44 record to go along with her 103-72 mark with the women’s team.

Men:

• Junior Joudiel Poveymirow and senior Keegan Crawford led the postseason honors for the Saints. Poveymirow was named the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Libero of the Year and Crawford the Setter of the Year. Both also earned spots on the all-conference first team. Poveymirow led the nation in digs per game (4.52) while Crawford finished his career with more than 4,000 assists. Junior Shevin Blades also earned first team All-WHAC honors after leading the conference in hitting percentage (.381). Nathan Lee was the recipient of the team’s Champions of Character award. Poveymirow was also named an honorable mention NVA/AVCA All-American by the American Volleyball Coaches Association. He was also named an honorable mention NAIA All-America. The Saints finished 11-7 overall, 7-5 in conference play during a spring 2021 season.
• The Saints named Chris McKim as the new head men’s volleyball coach in December 2020. McKim returns to the Saints after having spent the last two years as head men’s coach at Graceland University. McKim previously served as the assistant for the SHU men’s and women’s volleyball programs for four years.

Football

Junior linebacker Kole Murlin was named an honorable mention NAIA All-America after leading the Saints in tackles (56) in a shortened spring season. He also averaged 14 tackles a game in four games, which led the NAIA. He was also named the Co-Mid-States Football Association Mideast Defensive Player of the Year. He also was chosen Mid-States Football Association Mideast Division first team and was named to the 2020-21 Academic All-America® NAIA Football First Team by the College of Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Also earning first team MSFA Mideast honors were runningback Jared Jordan, receiver Eric Williams and safety Trenton Morrow. Receiving second team recognition were offensive lineman Nick Turchiano and defensive linemen Wyatt Gardocki and Andrew Loria. Safety Gabe Callery, cornerback Khoreice Crawford and quarterback Tyler Knecht each received honorable mention. The Saints had 17 student-athletes named to the MSFA All-Academic Team, including Loria, Cole LaFave, Murlin, Kendrick Green, Jacob Lederman, Andrew Lyons, Hayden Sluder, Andrew McGaughy, Walter Turner Jr., Alec Thelen, Justin McCown, Theodore Varner III, Kabe Sykora, David Robinson, Ty Smith, Turchiano and Logan Schmidt. Loria, Murlin and Turchiano were each named to the NAIA Academic All-District team by the College Sports Information Directors of America. The Saints finished 2-2 in a shortened spring season.

Wrestling

• The Saints were back on the mat for the first time since 1988, competing at the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Tournament. Christian DeLuna was one of three Saints who competed, finishing fourth in the 285-pound weight class.
• The Saints named Hudson native Derrik Marry as the new head coach in spring 2021. Marry wrestled collegiately at Eastern Michigan, and most recently was an assistant coach at Hudson’s wrestling program. During his time at Hudson, Marry coached multiple youth national champions, state champions and NCAA Tournament qualifiers. In 2019, the Hudson Wrestling Club won the highest team score at the premier youth national tournament in Tulsa, Okla.

Dance

The Saints placed third at the NAIA Northeast Regional in Iowa. SHU had 80.07 points, with St. Ambrose (93.33) and Aquinas (84.05) taking the top two spots. The Saints finished only behind champion Aquinas to place second at the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Championships. Sydney Bramlett was named first team All-WHAC, with Logan Richardson and Rafe Jacobs each named to the second team. Earning all-academic were Evan Cater, Bridget Sacca, Emma Winter and Bramlett, while Cater was the team’s Champions of Character recipient.

Cheer

The Saints finished fourth at the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Championships. The Saints had four named to the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference All-Academic Team, including Alexia Ferguson, Kyle Harcek, Madison Lago and Megan Serin. Ferguson was also the team’s Champions of Character recipient.

Women’s Track and Field

• Outdoor: Tyler Fugate finished .05 meters short of a national championship in the pole vault at the NAIA Outdoor Women’s Track and Field Championships in Gulf Shores, Ala., in May 2021. Fugate had a career-best vault of 13 feet, 1 1/2 inches to earn second place and All-American honors. Kierra Rice finished fourth in the 100-meter hurdles to also earn All-America honors. Rice recorded a personal best time of 13.98 seconds. The Saints finished fourth at the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Championships in Grand Rapids. Emily Monroe earned all-conference honors by winning the 1000 in a time of 3:12.05. Placing second were Alexis Cordle in the 600 and Tyler Fugate in the pole vault. Earning WHAC all-academic honors were Madelyn Birmingham, Julia Forbes, Jaymz Gibson, Madisyn Kleinschmit, Mollie Smith, Morgan Turk and Rachel Wiltse. Abigail Bansen was the team’s Champions of Character recipient.
• Indoor: Fugate finished sixth in the pole vault at the NAIA Women’s Indoor Track and Field Championships to earn All-American honors. Fugate had an effort of 3.73 meters. She was the lone Saint to compete at the meet. The Saints finished fifth at the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Championships, with Kierra Rice and Fugate each winning titles. Rice claimed the 100 hurdles in a time of 14.22 seconds, with Fugate taking the pole vault with a career-best 3.76 meters. Jaymz Gibson placed second in the pole vault and third in the javelin.

Men’s Track and Field

• Outdoor: The Saints finished fifth at the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Championships in Grand Rapids. Zachary Gipple won the shot put with a throw of 53 feet, 5 1/2 inches, while placing second was Rees Nemeth in the pole vault.
• Indoor: Zachary Gipple won the shot put to help the Saints finish third at the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Championships. Gipple had a toss of 53 feet, 10.25 inches. Placing second were Noah Cunningham in the javelin and Zach Kunst in the discus. Earning honorable mention status with third place finishes were Sebastian Hamilton (shot put), Matthew Gipple (long jump), Liam Hartsuff (10000), the 4×800 relay of Jacob Sand, Abdullah Nassr, Jordan Parkinson and Cedric Grant, the 4×400 relay of Sand, Nathan Parker, Cedric Grant and Naythan Haslam and the 4×100 relay of Jason Baird, Haslam, Davion Curry and Matthew Gipple.

Indoor Track and Field

Women: The Saints finished fifth at the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Championships. Asia Gardner and Kierra Rice each had first-place finishes, with Gardner taking the 60 (7.72) and Rice the 60 hurdles (8.64). Earning second was Jaymz Gibson in the pole vault. Julia Forbes, placed fourth in the long jump to earn All-American honors at the NAIA Indoor Championships in South Dakota. Forbes went a distance of 5.77 meters. Also competing at nationals were Rice (60 hurdles), Jaymz Gibson (pole vault), Gardner (60, 200), Chelsea Short (400), Stephanie Reed (high jump) and Delaney Stersic (400). Saints who earned WHAC All-Academic honors were Abigail Bansen, Madelyn Birmingham, Forbes, Gibson, Manon Lutzke, Michayla Miller, Stersic and Madisyn Kleinschmit. Gardner received the team’s Champions of Character award. The outdoor season was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Men: The Saints finished behind Indiana Tech and Aquinas for third place at the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Championships. Nathan Parker won the 600 (1:25.47) and Liam Hartsuff the 5,000 (15:46.86) to lead the way. Earning second place were Davion Curry in the long jump, the 4×400 relay of Parker, Cedric Grant, Curry and Naythan Haslam and Zach Kunst in the weight throw. Competing at the NAIA meet were Davion Curry (long jump), Jefferson Edwards (shot put), Zach Kunst (shot put) and Naythan Haslam (400). Senior Garret Young and Shane Skelcy and junior Bradley Bauer were each named to the WHAC All-Academic Team, with Young also the recipient of the team’s Champions of Character award. The outdoor season was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Bowling

Women: The Saints finished 10th in the final team standings after the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Championships. Madeline Marcetti made the conference all-academic team, with Kendall Herron earning the team’s Champions of Character award.

Men: Ryan Reid became the first bowler in program history to qualify for the USBC Intercollegiate Singles Championships. Reid finished with a 1219 pin total to earn third place at sectionals. The Saints placed eighth in the final Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference team standings. Travis Marcus and Shane Rusinek each earned a spot on the conference all-academic team, with Marcus the team’s Champions of Character award recipient.

Soccer

Women: Senior Kaleigh Mahaz and sophomore Marissa Young each earned second team All-Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference honors. Mahaz was a defender, with Young leading the Saints with four goals on the season. Freshmen MacKenzie Stenzel, Emily Broman and Allison Balasico were each tabbed to the All-Newcomer Team, while Kara Bishop, Haylie Curtis, Mia Dronchi, Isabel Herden, Kiley Kaczmarek, Macy Llewellyn, Jennifer Richmond, Alexa Scroggie, Lauren Southworth and Ashley Strong made the all-academic team. Bishop was the recipient of the team’s Champions of Character award. The Saints finished 5-6 overall, 4-5 in WHAC during a shortened season.

Men: Marcelo Rocha was named to the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference All-Newcomer Team. Earning WHAC all-academic honors were Uthman Babatunde, Artur Becker, Remy Collard, Alex Hanosh, Nathaniel Kehres, Andrew Kozan, Alexander Mittag, Carlos Palan and Webster Ruiter. Collard was also the recipient of the team’s Champions of Character award. The Saints finished 3-7-1 in a shortened season.

Golf

Women: The Saints finished fifth at the two-day Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Championships in Battle Creek. Dakota Spears finished 10th overall with a 251 (83-84-84) to earn second team all-conference honors. Spears and Mya Price each earned spots on the WHAC All-Academic Team, with Sorina Grech the recipient of the team’s Champions of Character award.

Men: The Saints finished sixth at the two-day Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Championships in Battle Creek. Trent Moody finished with a 237 (78-73-86) to finish tied for 12th and earn second team all-conference. Colin Duffy and Nate Hamilton each earned academic all-conference, with Duffy the recipient of the team’s Champions of Character award.

Basketball

Women:

• Junior Peyton Banks was named the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Player of the Year for the second consecutive year after averaging 17.5 points and making better than 44 percent of her 3-point attempts. Banks was also named an honorable mention All-America by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association. She also was named to the College Sports Information Directors of America Academic All-District first team in the NAIA District 1 division, the first Saint to earn the honor. Junior guard Kelsey Wyman was also named to the All-WHAC first team, averaging 14.6 points and making 45.3 percent of her triple tries. E’Anna Won claimed a spot on the conference All-Freshman Team, while Banks, Marcia Hawkins-Day, Brooke Madak, Shelby Morrow, Ashley Nicosia and Dakota Spears each earned all-academic honors. Morgan Leppelmeier was the team’s Champions of Character recipient. The Saints (13-6) had their season end with a 65-33 loss to Indiana Tech in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals.

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  SHU Assistant Coach Sara Chrenko was named the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association 2021 Assistant Coach of the Year for the NAIA division. The award is presented to one associate head coach or assistant coach in each of the six membership divisions (NCAA DI, DII, DII, NAIA, Two-Year College, and High School) who demonstrates a commitment to their program, their student-athletes and their head coach; their impact coaching on the court; their mentorship and impact on other coaches; and their professional manner and attitude. Chrenko started as a women’s basketball student-athlete from 2000-04 before transitioning into a student manager in 2004-05. Upon graduating, she became a three-year graduate assistant coach before moving to the role of the assistant coach, where she has been the past 16 seasons. While coaching, Chrenko worked in the Admissions Office at Siena and currently is director of the Career Services Office. She is the first member of the Siena Heights coaching staff to receive this prestigious award.

Men: Seniors Kevin Rice and Jordan Wyckoff were each honored by the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference. Rice was named to all-conference second team after averaging 19 points and 6.5 rebounds this season. Wyckoff was the team’s recipient of the Champions of Character award. The Saints finished 2-10 overall, 2-9 in the conference in a shortened season.

Lacrosse

Women: The eighth-ranked Saints (7-4) fell to No. 1 Keiser (Fla.) 12-7 in the opening round of the NAIA Championships in Savannah, Ga. After being defeated by No. 6 Lawrence Tech 17-10 in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Tournament championship, the Saints received an at-large berth to the eight-team NAIA National Tournament. It is only the second time in program history the Saints have qualified for nationals. Junior Marissa Cirino was named a first team NAIA All-America as well as the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year. She led the Saints in goals with 44, assists with 17 and points with 61. Cirino was also selected as the WHAC Offensive Player of the Year and also earned a spot on the conference first team and all-academic team. She was also named to the College Sports Information Directors of America Academic All-District® At-Large Team for NAIA District 1. Finally, Cirino was listed among the top 11 student-athletes on the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) 2020-21 Academic All-America® NAIA At-Large first team. The teams consist of the top 22 women student-athletes in the category of At-Large sports. Senior goaltender Elizabeth Elliott was also named first team All-WHAC and was also an all-academic honoree. Earning second team all-conference were senior attack Jenna Sommerville, sophomore attack Emily Pringle, senior midfielder Alexis Nicole and junior defender Reilly Winn. Also earning all-academic honors were Sommerville, Kristin Delclos, Mariah Smythe, Amber Soukup and Katherine Tapia, with Ashlyn Childs the recipient of the team’s Champions of Character award.

Men: 

• Junior defender Jeff Putz was named to the All-Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference second team. He led the Saints with 47 ground balls. Earning academic all-conference were Alec Emerson, Jake Gallaher and Garrett Weaver, with Alex McCarthy the recipient of the team’s Champions of Character award.
• Spencer Macek was named the new men’s lacrosse coach in June 2021. Macek takes over the program after the passing of legendary head coach Ed Maloney, who started the program. He served as the interim head coach, leading the Saints to a 3-2 record shortened by COVID in spring of 2021. A former four-year standout starter for the Saints, Macek graduated in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in business management with concentrations in accounting and marketing. He received his master’s degree in business administration from SHU in 2019.

Esports

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  Lucas Carvalho was named the Eastern College Athletic Conference FIFA Player of the Year. The Brazil native won the Fall Championship and finished second in the Spring Championship. He had a 17-2 record for the season. Carvalho, a native of Brazil, advanced to the championship round of the FIFA and Madden Spring ECAC Tournaments.

• Steven Robinson Jr. was named the new head coach of the Esports program in July 2021. He is the third head coach in the program’s history. Robinson returned to his hometown of Elkhart, Ind., after graduating from Siena Heights in 2015. He began teaching special education while also coaching wide receivers on the Elkhart High School football team. He also started the Elkhart High Elite Esports program and led seven student-athletes to collegiate scholarships in just three years. He was a member of the first recruiting class in Siena Heights football history. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in English from SHU.

Softball

Senior Haley Rose, junior Sam Hill and freshman Jordan Green were each named second team All-Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference. Rose hit .371 with 10 doubles and 16 RBI, with Hill batting .382 with a team-high 42 hits. Green, a pitcher, compiled a 9-7 record with a 2.48 earned run average in 104 1/3 innings. Earning academic all-conference honors were Rose, Hill, Lily Guerra, Janelle Krueger, Milah Loose, Alyssa Marshall and Hannah Pennington, with Brenna Nurenberg the recipient of the team’s Champions of Character award. Hill and Rose were also each named to the College Sports Information Directors of America Academic All-District Team for NAIA District 1. The Saints finished 16-14 on the season.

Baseball

Freshman outfield Adam Wilding was selected first team All-Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference after setting a single-season program record with a .434 batting average. He added six doubles, 25 RBI and 12 stolen bases. Earning all-academic honors were Collin Bammer, Zach Bloom, Cody Henderson, Jack Malone, Jakob Scroggie, Jacob Simmers, Parker Swartz and Andrew Werth. Cal Olmstead was the recipient of the team’s Champions of Character award, with head coach John Kolasinski chosen as the conference’s Champions of Character Coach. The Saints were among the over 580 college and high school programs named to the 2020-21 American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Team Academic Excellence Award winners. The Saints finished 9-28 on the season.