Thirty-six Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota student-athletes were named MIAC Academic All-Conference during the 2015-16 winter season, contributing to a record-high year of honorees for the MIAC.
The MIAC conference recognized more than 1,000 students during the 2015-16 school year. Eleven Saint Mary’s student-athletes were named All-Conference in the fall season, bringing the university to a total of 47 All-Conference student-athletes in 2015-16.
The Academic All-Conference awards are a combined recognition of excellence in academics and athletics, designed to honor the very best all-around student-athletes in the conference each year. In order to qualify, student-athletes must be a sophomore, junior, or senior with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale. Athletes in team sports must compete in 50 percent of their team’s regular-season varsity competitions.
The team sports eligible in the fall were football, volleyball, men’s soccer and women’s soccer.
The men’s soccer team led the way for Saint Mary’s, boasting five student-athletes on the Academic All-MIAC Team, while the Cardinal women’s soccer team landed three student-athletes.
Cross country student-athletes were required to finish in the overall top 100 or their team’s top seven at the 2015 MIAC Cross Country Championship.
The team sports eligible in the spring were baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s hockey, softball, and men’s and women’s tennis.
Baseball pitching requirements are five appearances or 20 innings pitched, and hockey goalies must play in one-third (33.3 percent) of their team’s total minutes played for the regular season.
The winter and spring individual sports each have sport-specific criteria, and they include golf, swimming and diving, and both indoor and outdoor track and field. The swimming and diving qualifications require a student-athlete to finish in the top 16 of an individual event or compete in a relay race at the MIAC championships to be eligible. Track and field qualifications were modified in 2014-15, and require student-athletes to score in an individual event or compete on a relay team at the MIAC Championships.
Golf moved from the fall to the spring in 2014-15 and its athletic requirements were modified to reflect the split-season nature of the sport. Beginning last year, student-athletes either had to compete in the MIAC Championships or compete in a minimum of 12 competitive rounds.
The Cardinal men’s hockey and women’s tennis teams led the way with five Academic All-Conference selections, while men’s tennis, women’s basketball, and baseball all boasted four.
The student-athletes who received Academic All-Conference honors are listed below.
Men’s Soccer
Joe Bosco (Senior, Elk Grove Village, Ill.)
Sean Butcher (Junior, Cave Creek, Ariz.)
Shawn Gilbert (Junior, Rice Lake, Wis.)
Kareem Rassas (Senior, Lake In The Hills, Ill.)
Michael Tabar (Senior, Skokie, Ill.)
Women’s Soccer
Caroline Blackwood (Senior, Norwalk, Ohio)
Emily Loof (Sophomore, Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Emma Schaefer (Junior, Roseville, Minn.)
Volleyball
Brittney Hanson (Sophomore, Janesville, Iowa)
Sara Lind (Sophomore, Peterson, Minn.)
Women’s Cross Country
Allie Thiel (Senior, Burr Ridge, Ill.)
Women’s Basketball:
Bridget Pethke (Senior, New London, Wis.)
Emma Schaefer (Junior, Falcon Heights, Minn.)
Raelynn Speltz (Junior, Altura, Minn.)
Haley Trom (Senior, Hampton, Minn.)
Men’s Basketball:
Aaron Romportl (Junior, Stillwater, Minn.)
Mark Schumacher (Senior, Perham, Minn.)
Women’s Hockey:
Jessica Cwik (Junior, Chicago, Ill.)
Jane Hannula (Junior, Coon Rapids, Minn.)
Jamie Henderson (Sophomore, Madison, Wis.)
Men’s Hockey:
Michael Cimba (Sophomore, Wilmette, Ill.)
Brad Hauser (Junior, Gurnee, Ill.)
Jay Heinle (Sophomore, York, Penn.)
Jared Johnson (Sophomore, Hartland, Wis.)
Mike Mezzano (Junior, Woodbury, Minn.)
Women’s Track and Field (Indoor and Outdoor)
Maria Missurelli (Sophomore, Franklin, Wis.)
Madaline Eichers (Sophomore, Independence, Minn.)
Men’s Track and Field (Indoor and Outdoor)
Brandon Krogman (Sophomore, Owatonna, Minn.)
Bryan Ortman (Senior, Chicago, Ill.)
Phil Emmerich (Senior, Mondovi, Wis.)
Swimming and Diving:
Sarah Fanning (Senior, Sparta, Wis.)
Chloe Morrison (Junior, Ashkum, Ill.)
Women’s Tennis:
Kirsten Hoffmann (Senior, Apple Valley, Minn.)
Haley Jorgensen (Junior, Fallon, Nevada)
Ashley Syed (Sophomore, Lewisville, Texas)
Megan Vandenberg (Junior, DePere, Wis.)
Sheyenne Bauer (Sophomore, Cannon Falls, Minn.)
Men’s Tennis:
Brenden Amiottte (Sophomore, Rapid City, S.D.)
Bret Geisen (Sophomore, Cato, Wis.)
Alexander Holm (Sophomore, Red Wing, Minn.)
Warren Lawrenz (Senior, Rochester, Minn.)
Softball:
Brittney Birkhauser (Sophomore, Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.)
Stanzy Snyder (Sophomore, Johnston, Iowa)
Baseball:
Ben Buerkle (Junior, Roseville, Minn.)
William Doll (Senior, Stevens Point, Wis.)
Nathan Mathwig (Sophomore, Woodbury, Minn.)
Joseph Seegers (Sophomore, Oconomowoc, Wis.)