Seton Hall Celebrates 2015 Commencement
5/19/2015 12:00:00 AM | General
Seton Hall University celebrated its 158th baccalaureate commencement on Monday, May 18, at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., and 58 student-athletes walked across the stage as members of the Class of 2015.
The diverse group included 30 female and 28 male student-athletes, representing 16 different states as well as six foreign nations. Of the 58 student-athletes who received their diplomas, five graduated Summa Cum Laude, 12 earned Magna Cum Laude recognition and 10 received Cum Laude honors.
The men's soccer teams saw 10 student-athletes receive their diploma while the softball and baseball squads each graduated seven. Women's Soccer (6) and volleyball (5) combined for 11 graduates and all four men's basketball seniors earned their degrees as well. The women's golf, men's cross country, men's swimming & diving and women's swimming & diving programs each boasted three honorees followed by a pair of representatives from women's basketball, women's cross country and women's tennis respectively. The men's golf program graduated its lone eligible senior as well.
The ceremony marked the culmination of the academic year for the Seton Hall University Department of Athletics, honoring a group of Pirates that garnered a number of individual and team academic accolades during their time in South Orange.
Graduating on Monday were 30 members of Chi Alpha Sigma, the National Student-Athlete Honor Society, along with 42 recipients of the Seton Hall Academic Merit Award which recognizes seniors who have achieved at least a 3.2 grade-point average (GPA).
Together, they have helped make achieving BIG EAST Academic All-Star status the standard; contributing to efforts that have resulted in the collective GPA among all student-athletes at The Hall rising to its highest mark ever.
The class included Seton Hall Scholar Athletes of the YearMary Migton (Ledgewood, N.J.) and Tyler Orner (Sinking Spring, Pa.); both of whom competed for the Pirates' cross country program. Migton will be returning to South Orange to pursue a graduate degree while Orner earned both a bachelor's and master's degree in four years while helping the men's cross country team take home the last two BIG EAST Team Excellence Awards for boasting the highest GPA in the conference.
Volleyball standout and Class of 2015 member Shelbey Manthorpe (Merion Station, Pa.) became Seton Hall's first recipient of the BIG EAST Female Scholar Athlete of the Year award and recently added the prestigious BIG EAST Michael Tranghese Postgraduate Leadership Award to an impressive collection of accolades.
The commencement ceremony capped a 2014-15 academic year in which the women's soccer squad earned National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Team All-Academic accolades and both the men's and women's swimming & diving teams garnered College Swim Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Scholar All-America distinction for the 15thconsecutive year. Also continuing the tradition of academic prowess was the tennis program, which received the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Team All-Academic Award for the eighth straight year.
| SETON HALL PIRATES CLASS OF 2015 |
| BASEBALL (7) |
| Sal Annunziata Bronx, N.Y. |
| Tyler Boyd Succasunna, N.J. |
| Dan Ditusa St. Charles, Ill. |
| Anthony Elia Flanders, N.J. |
| Alex Falconi Freeport, N.Y. |
| Kyle Grimm Bergenfield, N.J. |
| D.J. Ruhlman Belle Meade, N.J. |
| MEN'S BASKETBALL (4) |
| Sterling Gibbs Scotch Plains, N.J. |
| Haralds Karlis Riga, Latvia |
| Stephane Manga Orleans, France |
| Brandon Mobley Savannah, Ga. |
| WOMEN'S BASKETBALL (2) |
| Chizoba Ekedigwe Laurel, Md. |
| Jordan Mosley Orlando, Fla. |
| MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY (3) |
| Tyler Orner Summa Cum Laude Sinking Spring, Pa. |
| John Walsh Summa Cum Laude Deltaville, Va. |
| Kevin Walsh Magna Cum Laude Deltaville, Va. |
| WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY (2) |
| Mary Migton Summa Cum Laude Ledgewood, N.J. |
| Felicia Mingrone Magna Cum Laude Shelton, Conn. |
| MEN'S GOLF (1) |
| JT Harper Pebble Beach, Calif. |
| WOMEN'S GOLF (3) |
| McKenzie Cutter Myrtle Beach, S.C. |
| Ali Kruse Summa Cum Laude Overland Park, Kan. |
| Erin McClure Magna Cum Laude Tucson, Ariz. |
| MEN'S SOCCER (10) |
| Bolu Akinyode Lagos, Nigeria |
| Mateusz Brela Magna Cum Laude Kielce, Poland |
| Mario DeClerico Maple Shade, N.J. |
| Kai Greene South Orange, N.J. |
| Andrew LoManto Massepequa Park, N.Y. |
| Victor Manosalvas Magna Cum Laude Clifton, N.J. |
| Alex Megna Hales Corners, Wisc. |
| Konrad Plewa Cum Laude Maniowy, Poland |
| Jason Wellington West Palm Beach, Fla. |
| Jeremy Witherspoon South Orange, N.J. |
| WOMEN'S SOCCER (6) |
| Rachel Friedman Cum Laude Bridgewater, N.J. |
| Mikayla Hickey Cum Laude Salem, N.H. |
| Kristin Kosch Mahwah, N.J. |
| Kristina Meier Cum Laude Paramus, N.J. |
| Peggy Nicolle Wenonah, N.J. |
| Angie Shehaj East Brunswick, N.J. |
| MEN'S SWIMMING & DIVING (3) |
| Richard Lessard Wethersfield, Conn. |
| James Logan Cum Laude Wallingford, Pa. |
| Ben Mitchell Milford, Pa. |
| WOMEN'S SWIMMING & DIVING (3) |
| Sarah Dougherty Magna Cum Laude Waterford, N.Y. |
| Gabi Levine Cum Laude Garwood, N.J. |
| Megan Mostoller Magna Cum Laude Cheshire, Conn. |
| SOFTBALL (7) |
| Sam DeMasi Cum Laude Lockport, Ill. |
| Danielle DeStaso Cum Laude Congers, N.Y. |
| Sara Haefeli Montclair, N.J. |
| Whitney Jones Cum Laude Skowhegan, Maine |
| Casey Moses Magna Cum Laude Lower Burrell, Pa. |
| Jordan Moses Lower Burrell, Pa. |
| Kaylyn Sanbower Magna Cum Laude Etters, Pa. |
| WOMEN'S TENNIS (2) |
| Anna Guryanova Cum Laude Moscow, Russia |
| Madison Shoemaker Halfmoon Bay, British Columbia |
| VOLLEYBALL (5) |
| Sam Duncan Summa Cum Laude Tucson, Ariz. |
| Jamie Froning Magna Cum Laude Huntington Beach, Calif. |
| Shelbey Manthorpe Magna Cum Laude Merion Station, Pa. |
| Stacey Manthorpe Magna Cum Laude Merion Station, Pa. |
| Ashani Rubin Philadelphia, Pa. |
