Seton Hall University Student-Athletes Celebrate 2012 Commencement
5/21/2012 12:00:00 AM | General
The women's soccer team boasted the most members of this year's graduating class with eight student-athletes receiving their diplomas. The baseball team featured seven graduates, women's swimming and diving had six, the men's soccer team had four, men's swimming & diving, men's basketball, softball and volleyball each had three graduates, the women's tennis, men's cross country, men's golf and women's basketball teams each had two and women's cross country and women's golf featured one apiece.
The commencement ceremony highlighted one very special addition with former student-athlete Marteese Robinson. Robinson, who played baseball for the Pirates from 1985-87, helped lead the team to the 1987 BIG EAST Championship and was inducted into the Seton Hall University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2002. He received his Bachelor of Science in Social and Behavioral Sciences on Monday afternoon.a
The Seton Hall University Department of Athletics has seen a number of individual and team academic accolades bestowed on its student-athletes during the 2011-12 academic year.
Graduating on Monday were the Pirates' pair of BIG EAST Scholar Athlete of the Year nominees in baseball's Dale Anderson (Alberta, Canada) and volleyball's Meghan Matusiak (Winfield, Ill.), along with the three Seton Hall Senior Scholar Athletes of the Year in women's swimming's Amy Bonistalli (Naperville, Ill.), women's soccer's Wiebke Balcke (Potsdam, Germany) and John Dawson Neufeld (Calgary, Alberta) of the men's golf team. Balcke graduated wtih Top Honors in the John C. Whitehead School of Diplomacy.
Additionally, Ashley Beamish (Buffalo, N.Y.) and Neufeld received CoSIDA Capital One First-Team Academic All-District II honors, while the women's soccer team earned National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Team All-Academic accolades and both the men's and women's swimming & diving teams earned College Swim Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Fall All-Academic honors.
A total of 30 student-athletes in the Class of 2012 boasted at least a 3.2 cumulative grade point average. Five graduates earned Summa Cum Laude honors, eight were Magna Cum Laude and 10 received Cum Laude honors.
SETON HALL PIRATE CLASS OF 2012
| WOMEN'S SOCCER (8) | Wiebke Balcke |
| | Ashley Beamish |
| | Elizabeth Bond |
| | Christina Cinelli |
| | Chelsea King |
| | Caitlyn Milazzo |
| | Meghan Milazzo |
| | Taylor Wilson |
| BASEBALL (8) | Dale Anderson |
| | Michael Betz |
| | George Fernandez |
| | Chase Gray |
| | Benny Mejia |
| | Marteese Robinson |
| | Will Walsh |
| | Henry Warner |
| WOMEN'S SWIMMING & DIVING (6) | Amy Bonistalli |
| | Kaitlyn Karl |
| | Marilyn Purvis |
| | Megan Rathbun |
| | Kaley Swider |
| | Rose Virgilio |
| MEN'S SOCCER (4) | Joe Baker |
| | Bradley Kerstetter |
| | Giovanni Zammiello |
| | Michael Dietze |
| MEN'S BASKETBALL (3) | Peter Dill |
| | Herb Pope |
| | Jordan Theodore |
| VOLLEYBALL (3) | Meghan Bonk |
| | Meghan Matusiak |
| | Krissy Wrobel |
| MEN'S SWIMMING & DIVING (3) | Pete Gingeleskie |
| | Matt Holland |
| | Will Penny |
| SOFTBALL (3) | Laura Canulli |
| | Kristen Kaelin |
| | Nicole Loewenstein |
| WOMEN'S BASKETBALL (2) | Tajay Ashmeade |
| | Jasmine Crew |
| MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY (2) | Erik Chester |
| | Andrew O'Leary |
| WOMEN'S TENNIS (2) | Courtney Kilarski |
| | Elizabeth Verow |
| MEN'S GOLF (2) | John Dawson Neufeld |
| | Troy Spencer |
| WOMEN'S GOLF (1) | Nicole Longobardo |
| WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY (1) | Jehmessah Walker |
