18 student-athletes receive St. Thomas Aquinas medals
Xuejian Yu earns Outstanding Faculty Member Award

Academic Excellence Recognition Breakfast & Grant Study Lounge Dedication Photo Gallery

Senior Megan Ruonavaara, SAAC Chairperson, presents the 2016 Outstanding Faculty Member Award to Professor Xuejian Yu, Communication. (PHOTO BY: Lewis Glass/SportsPix)

EASTON, Mass. (April 8, 2016) - Stonehill College held its annual Academic Excellence Recognition Breakfast at the Sally Blair Ames Sports Complex this morning. The event is the signature event for the College in recognition of National Student-Athlete Week as administrators, faculty and athletic staff presented St. Thomas Aquinas medals as well as its Outstanding Faculty Member Award.

The event honors student-athletes from Stonehill’s 20 varsity programs who have the highest cumulative grade point average on their respective teams through the fall 2015 semester. Those students are presented with St. Thomas Aquinas, Patron Saint of Students, Medals. Of the 18 medal recipients, eight are repeat honorees, including seniors Kevin Airoldi (Kennebunk, Maine/Berwick Academy), from the Northeast-10 Conference Champion ice hockey program, RJ Aprile (Carmel, New York/Kennedy Catholic), from the men’s soccer program, Analise Kump (Falmouth, Maine/Falmouth), from women’s tennis, Trisha Pierson (East Hanover, New Jersey/Hanover Park), of the women’s track and field program and Megan Ruonavaara (Rocky Hill, Connecticut/Rocky Hill), from the softball team.

In addition, Ruonavaara, chairperson of Stonehill's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, presented the athletic department's Outstanding Faculty Member Award to Xuejian Yu, Professor of Communication at the College. Professor Yu has taught various communication courses at the College and is an avid supporter of its student-athletes at many home events, but also a great mentor in the classroom.

The Academic Excellence Recognition Breakfast was closed out by the blessing and rededication of the new and improved Richard J. “Dick” Grant Student-Athlete Study Lounge within the Sally Blair Ames Sports Complex.

Earning St. Thomas Aquinas Medals were:

Kevin Airoldi (Kennebunk, Maine/Berwick Academy), Ice Hockey**

Richard Aprile (Carmel, New York/Kennedy Catholic), Junior, Men’s Soccer**

Sam Bradford (Bedford, Mass./Bedford), Men’s Cross Country

Charlie Calenda (Chelmsford, Mass./Chelmsford), Football

Fiona Carroll (Alexandria, Virginia/Bishiop Ireton), Equestrian

Pierce Cumpstone (Bainbridge Township, Ohio), Men’s Basketball

Mark Hamalian (West Bridgewater, Mass./Bridgewater-Raynham), Men’s Track and Field

Abby Hersom (Rockland, Maine/Oceanside), Women’s Cross Country

Erika Isner (Farmington, New York/Farmington), Sophomore, Women’s Lacrosse**

Analise Kump (Falmouth, Maine/Falmouth), Junior, Women’s Tennis**

Nikolay Lisichenok (Danvers, Mass./Danvers), Men’s Tennis

Paige Marshall (Braintree, Mass./Braintree), Women’s Basketball

Sarah Morse (Westminster, Mass./Oakmont Regional), Sophomore, Field Hockey**

Delia Phillips (St. James, New York/Smithtown East), Volleyball

Trisha Pierson (East Hanover, New Jersey/Hanover Park), Junior, Women’s Track & Field***

Megan Ruonavaara (Rocky Hill, Connecticut/Rocky Hill), Junior, Softball***

Michelle Vonick (Boulder, Colorado/Fairview), Women’s Soccer**

Michael Young (Mashpee, Mass./Pope John Paul II), Baseball

Number of years honored marked with asterisks

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