SHU Athletics Honors Student-Athlete Class of 2021
5/18/2021 12:00:00 AM | General, Dance, Women's Wrestling
FAIRFIELD, Conn.- The Sacred Heart University Department of Athletics celebrated the Class of 2021 at the 29th Annual Senior Awards Brunch on Campus Field on Friday afternoon. The members of the Pioneer senior class were honored for their success in the classroom and on the field with numerous awards.
Isabel Cuddy of the women's rugby team and Danny Glendon of the baseball team received the top honors of the Pioneer Award, presented to the male and female student-athletes who on and off the playing surface represent the best in athletic and academic excellence.
Cuddy captained the women's rugby team while holding nearly every career record in program history which includes tackles, tries, and run's over twenty. She has been named a two-time NIRA All-American and was a two-time Academic NIRA All-American as she tallied a 3.86 GPA while volunteering at soup kitchens and food pantries in the local campus community. She has been a huge advocate for mental health awareness through her involvement in the heart-to-heart campaign while authoring several articles on the topic.
Glendon is amongst the current NEC leaders in batting average and on-base percentage while serving as the baseball team captain for the 2020-21 season. He was named a member of the NEC Spring Honor Roll as well as the Commissioner's Honor Roll with a 3.94 GPA while being a member of SAAC.
The Athletic Director Award is presented to the senior student-athletes deemed to have had the best collegiate playing career during their time at SHU. The award was presented to Rachel Bamford of the bowling team and men's golf student-athlete Saptak Talwar.
Bamford has received a plethora of bowling performance awards including being an All-NEC selection for three years straight, NTCA All-American, NEC Bowler of the Year while leading the country in three statistical categories. She led her team to two NCAA Tournament appearances including an upset victory over Vanderbilt in the 2019 Tournament.
Talwar who currently is at the NCAA Regional in Tallahassee, FL won this year's NEC Individual Championship for the second time in a row and was named NEC Golfer of the Year. He was named the Division 1 All-New England Team, a Division 1 Srixon/Cleveland All-American, and awarded with the 2020 President's Special Recognition Award by the Golf Coaches Association of America all in 2020 as well.
Softball's Kylee Harvey and baseball's Brendan Coffey were presented the Dr. Gary Rose Scholar-Athlete Award. Honorees had to have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.2, and are a starter or significant reserve for his or her team.
Harvey a four-year starter for the Pioneers, is very active in the team's food drives and little league clinics while maintaining a 3.98 GPA and serving as this year's SAAC President.
Coffey missed the majority of the last two seasons recovering from Tommy John surgery but came back this year to be one of the top relief pitchers in the NEC. He's been a great mentor to the younger players and has been actively involved in the team's community service efforts.
The Athletic Training Staff was presented the Chip Kennedy Outstanding Contribution Award for their outstanding work that they have done during this difficult COVID-19 year. The Kennedy Award recognizes members of the SHU community whose contribution and support are integral to the success of Sacred Heart Athletics. The group worked tirelessly to keep our student-athletes and coaching staff healthy and safe while working hard to get the teams back on the playing field. The staff over the summer worked hard on return to play protocols when students returned this fall as they pivoted to help with our campus COVID testing.
The John Croffy Award was presented to the senior student-athletes with the highest cumulative GPA's and this year's recipients were Nick Fierro of the wrestling team who has achieved a perfect 4.0 GPA in accounting while the female recipient was Morgan Voulo from women's tennis who had a 3.99 GPA in molecular and cellular biology.
Logan Liljeberg of men's lacrosse and Emily Peter of women's swimming and diver were presented the Alvin Clinkscales Unsung Hero Award which goes to the male and female student-athlete that has been a consistent and positive force both in and out of his or her sport and represents the department of athletics in a positive manner in the university community and beyond.
Liljeberg will go down as one of the top players in men's lacrosse program history ranking in the top 10 in three different career statistical categories. Off the field, he has help spearhead community service projects for his team and SAAC where he served on the e-board. In the classroom, he has a near-perfect 3.99 GPA and has been instrumental in the program's involvement with TEAM IMPACT.
Peter has been a role model as the team's captain as she has always put the team's needs ahead of her own. Even though injuries limited how many events she could compete in, she took any opportunity to help the Pioneers to their highest finish at the NEC Championships this season. She scored points for the team in two events at the conference championship and led off the deciding relay that helped SHU score its most points ever at the league meet.
Will Schmidt of the wrestling team and Anna Mesham of women's lacrosse, were named the winners of the Lucy Cox Alumni Recognition Award, presented to the graduating seniors that best reflects the high values associated with intercollegiate competition, academic achievement, leadership, and university service.
Schmidt has been a two-year captain while serving as his team's SAAC representative for the past four years. He's been a two-year member of the Heart-to-Heart Leadership Council while leading the team in pins this year while achieving a perfect 4.0 GPA in graduate school.
Mesham has been a standout in the classroom, field, and in the community. She was named to the NEC Academic Honor Roll all four years of her career while being a part of numerous academic societies and has earned several scholarships. In the community, she has volunteered hundreds of hours in the Bridgeport community as well as worked at the SHU COVID clinic. On the field, she's played at any position necessary to aid in the team's success.
Josh Sokol of the football team and Isabel Cuddy of women's rugby were awarded the Strength and Conditioning Award, which is presented to a male and female student-athlete for dedication and excellence in that area of training.
Colton King of men's lacrosse and Grace De Poortere were awarded the Comeback Student-Athlete of the Year Awards which goes to the male and female student-athlete who has overcome adversity to get back into competition.
King suffered a traumatic injury back in 2019 while having his season stopped by COVID-19 in 2020. Then in his final season was off to a hot start, the injury bug returned cutting his final year short due to a knee injury but the never stopped him from being a consistent leader on his team.
De Poortere suffered two rib injuries and has had to play through an ankle and knee injury in order to play in her final season. She's never one to shy away from rehab and did whatever was needed to get back on the field.
The Pioneers also presented awards to members of the University community for their continued support of athletics. The Dr. Marian 'Bunny' Calabrese Spirit Award was presented to Kelsey Armstrong and Tammy Petrucelli from Academic Services as they went above and beyond to make sure our student-athletes adapted to remote learning while still getting the extra help they needed during the pandemic shutdown.
They were also there for our student-athletes when they wanted their voices heard on matters of social justice and equality. They were there to provide guidance and champion our student-athletes and were at the forefront of the department's diversity, equality, and inclusion efforts.
