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Henry and Siaba named Fr. Gartland Student-Athlete Award recipients
Poveda and Ivey selected as Martin Scholar-Athlete Award winners
Theilgard and McShane receive Fr. McCarthy Leadership Awards
Murphy receives McDonough Spirit Award
Cobbs, Johnson and Valentine selected for Community Service Award
EASTON, Mass. (May 14, 2021) – The Stonehill College athletic department announced its annual student-athlete award recipients by way of a virtual awards week through its social media channels this week.
Poveda |
Ivey |
2021 Edward E. Martin Senior Scholar-Athlete Awards
The Edward E. Martin Scholar-Athlete award is presented annually to senior student-athletes who have combined academic success, with a minimum 3.20 cumulative grade point average, with athletic achievement. This year's recipients are seniors Sophia Poveda from the volleyball program and Derek Ivey from the football program.
Poveda, who will graduate on Saturday with a 3.71 cumulative grade point average in the Moreau Honors Program with a Bachelor's Degree as a double-major in political science and international studies, is the second volleyball student-athlete in as many years to receive the Martin Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award after former teammate Rachel Dunlavy, '19 earned the honors last spring. Poveda is a four-year letterwinner and two-year captain of the volleyball program who earned All-Northeast-10 Conference first team honors as a junior in 2019. She is a three-time Arthur Ashe, Jr., Sports Scholar, and two-time Division II Athletic Director's Association (ADA) Academic Achievement Award recipient, while receiving the St. Thomas Aquinas, Patron Saint of Students, Medal for having the highest cumulative grade point average on the volleyball team.
Poveda has been named to the NE10 Academic Honor Roll all seven semesters to date, with Academic Distinction status for having a GPA between 3.50 and 3.99 the last five semesters. She received the Presidential Scholarship all four years, has been named to the Athletic Director's Honor Roll and Dean's List all seven semesters to date. Poveda has is a Footlocker Scholar-Athlete Scholarship recipient and was honored as a U.S. Army/Pro Football Hall of Fame Award for Excellence National Finalist. She participated in the Goldman Sachs Undergraduate Camp in Dallas, Texas, in February 2019, from which she was selected for the company's Virtual Series Insight Scholar, and completed an internship with the United State Embassy, in Buenos Aires, Argentina the summer of 2019.
Poveda played in 68 matches (227 sets) over her four-year Stonehill career, averaging 2.49 kills, 0.35 service aces and 2.31 digs per set as an outside hitter. She finished her career with 566 kills, 79 aces, 524 digs and 53 blocks, totaling 20 double-doubles. Poveda ranked sixth in the NE10 for aces per set (0.38) in 2019, while also ranking seventh in kills per set (2.88) and points per set (3.38) after ranking third among NE10 leaders with 0.47 aces per set in 2018.
Ivey, who will graduate tomorrow with a 3.94 cumulative grade point average and Bachelor's Degree in economics, and mathematics minor, adds the Martin Award to his already impressive list of academic honors over his Stonehill career. The National Football Foundation's William V. Campbell Trophy® semifinalist and Hampshire Honor Society member earned the NE10 Elite 24 Award this winter for having the highest cumulative grade point average among all NE10 football student-athletes. He is the third CoSIDA Academic All-American® in program history at Stonehill and the football team's first first team selection, having also collected CoSIDA Academic All-District® first team and NE10 Academic All-Conference accolades in 2019.
Ivey is a two-time Division II ADA Academic Achievement Award recipient and been named to the NE10 Academic Honor Roll, Athletic Director's Honor Roll and Dean's List all seven semesters at the College to date. He received NE10 Academic Excellence status three semesters for having a perfect 4.0 GPA, to go with Academic Distinction Status four semesters with a GPA between 3.50 and 3.99. Ivey has been inducted into the Omicron Delta Epsilon and Lambda Epsilon Sigma Academic Honor Societies, been selected as the Economics Department's Outstanding Senior and is a two-time St. Thomas Aquinas, Patron Saint of Students, Medal recipient for having the highest GPA on the football team.
Ivey, a four-year member of the Stonehill football team, started all ten games for the Skyhawks at right tackle in 2019, part of an offensive line that blocked for the top-ranked offense in the NE10 with a Conference-best 415.8 yards per game (21st nationally), including 193.7 rushing yards (2nd NE10) and 222.1 passing yards per game (4th). Stonehill ranked second in the NE10 for pass efficiency (141.04) and fewest sacks allowed (1.60/gm) and the line blocked for the program's first Harlon Hill Trophy candidate who set program records for rushing yards (1.513) touchdowns (16), total touchdowns (18), scoring (108 points) and all-purpose yards (1,611).
2021 Fr. William Gartland, C.S.C., Senior Student-Athlete Awards
Henry |
Siaba |
The Father William Gartland, CSC, Senior Scholar-Athlete Awards are presented annually to one male and one female student-athlete who have achieved excellence on the playing field over the course of their career. The award winners are recognized based on athletic accomplishments, citizenship, character, and personality. This year's Fr. Gartland Award recipients are seniors Kayla Henry from women's soccer, and Michel-Ange Siaba from the men's track & field program.
Henry led the Stonehill women's soccer program to a pair of NCAA Tournament bids in 2018 and 2019, posting the first NCAA Tournament win in program history in 2019 with a 2-1 victory over Jefferson University, in which she netted the match-winning goal. She appeared in 50 matches over her career, starting 36, and finished with 19 goals and 12 assists for 50 points, netting five match-winning goals. Henry tallied ten goals and five assists for 25 points as a junior, ranking fourth among NE10 leaders in goals and points and eighth in assists.
Henry earned All-East Region first team honors from the United Soccer Coaches in 2019, when she was also a New England Women's Intercollegiate Soccer Association (NEWISA) All-New England first team and All-NE10 first team selection. She was named Stonehill's Outstanding Junior of the Year for the fall season in 2019-20 and was a two-time NE10 Player of the Week her junior year. Henry, who will graduate tomorrow with a degree in accounting, has received the Division II ADA Academic Achievement Award and been named to the NE10 Academic Honor Roll all seven semesters to date.
Siaba made an immediate impact at Stonehill in the brief time he was a Skyhawk after transferring from Humboldt State University prior to the 2019-20 academic year. He was named Most Outstanding Field Athlete at the 2020 Northeast-10 Indoor Track & Field Championships after picking up three All-Conference performances at the event. He earned All-NE10 second team honors for the long jump and triple jump, finishing third in both events with distances of a school-record 23-feet, 1.75-inches and 46-feet 6.75-inches, respectively. Siaba was a third team All-NE10 performer in the heptathlon, posting a school-record 4,666 points for his third-place finish for that event.
Siaba earned U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-East Region honors for the long jump, triple jump and heptathlon for the 2019-20 indoor season. This spring, he has posted season-bests of 22-feet, 2.25-inches in the long jump and 46-feet, 3.5-inches in the triple jump, having qualified for the New England Championships this weekend. He will graduate tomorrow with a 3.88 cumulative grade point average as a criminology major and is a 2021 Fulbright Scholarship Semifinalist.
2021 Fr. John McCarthy, C.S.C., Leadership Awards
Theilgard |
McShane |
The Father John McCarthy, C.S.C., Leadership Awards are presented annually in memory of one of Stonehill's most beloved figures to one senior male and female student-athlete in good academic standing and citizenship on the basis of their exemplary leadership attributes. This year's honorees are seniors Michelle Theilgard from the softball program and Michael McShane of the men's soccer team.
Theilgard is a four-year letterwinner and two-year captain of the softball program who will graduate tomorrow with a finance degree. She is a three-time All-Northeast-10 Conference selection, with third team honors as a senior, while being also named to the NE10 All-Rookie Team her freshman year. Theilgard has been named to the NE10 Academic Honor Roll multiple semesters and received the Division II ADA Academic Achievement Award, while being named Stonehill's Spring Outstanding Junior Award recipient. She appeared in 113 games over her Stonehill career, hitting .353 (117-for-331), with 30 doubles, two triples, 14 home runs and 65 RBI, while stealing 13 bases on 15 attempts.
Theilgard has been active with the team's endeavors through Team IMPACT, while also volunteering for the Special Olympics and the Boys and Girls Club of Brockton. She has been named to the Financial Management National Honor Society and been a member of Women in Finance (LAUNCH) and the ENGAGE Leadership Program at Stonehill.
McShane is a four-year member of the men's soccer program, serving as captain as a senior, who will graduate tomorrow with a degree in economics from Stonehill. He appeared in 44 games, starting 23, as a midfielder for the men's soccer team, totaling five goals and an assist for 11 points, netting a pair of match-winning goals. McShane is Co-Chair of Stonehill's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, is president of the College's Student-Alumni Association and financial coordinator for the Stonehill chapter of Hope Happens Here.
McShane, a member of the Moreau Honors Program at Stonehill, is a three-time Saint Thomas Aquinas, Patron Saint of Students, Medal recipient for having the highest cumulative grade point average on the men's soccer team, was the 2019 Male Fred C. Petti Award recipient for having the highest GPA among all male student-athletes at the College and has been inducted to Omicron Delta Epsilon Honor Society. He is a two-time Division II ADA Academic Achievement Award recipient and has been named to the NE10 Academic Honor Roll, Athletic Director's Honor Roll and Dean's List all seven semesters to date, having twice earned Academic Excellence status from the NE10 for having a 4.0 semester GPA.
Johnson |
Valentine |
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Cobbs |
2021 Community Service Award
Stonehill presents its Community Service Award to a trio of student-athletes who have played key roles in elevating the conversation for racial justice on campus over the last academic year. Juniors Shamir Johnson, of the men's basketball program, and Tahj Valentine, along with sophomore Stephen Cobbs of the football program were all leaders in various ways in the fight for racial justice throughout the community over the past year.
Through their work with establishing One Hill and the Athletics Task Force Against Racial Injustice, continued work with Students In Action, we well as the organization of a campus-wide sit in during the fall semester, they have engaged to empower their fellow students to stand with faculty and staff to fight for involvement in decision making with regards to equality on campus. In addition to the campus-wide sit-in, they have hosted zoom sessions to progress that conversation and give other students a venue to express their experiences with racial injustice, enacted voter registration drives and instituted a pregame message of unity which is played before Stonehill home athletic events.
2021 Matthew McDonough '99 Spirit Award
Murphy |
The 2021 Matthew McDonough, '99 Spirit Award, which is presented annually by the Stonehill Student-Athlete Advisory Committee to the student who embodies the contagious spirit and outstanding character of Matt McDonough, '99, for whom the award commemorates, is awarded to junior Saylor Murphy. McDonough's memory remains etched upon the Stonehill campus and will continue to be remembered in the future as the ideal student-athlete, participating on the Stonehill football team and was an avid fan and attendee of all fellow sports competitions. His dedication and pride toward the community will always be highly regarded and this award memorializes his honorable character and service toward the Stonehill community.
Murphy has been a fan of all Stonehill athletic teams since stepping foot on campus and can always be seen cheering on the teams. Whether baking cookies for teams, or just her general enthusiasm for the teams, she is appreciated by all the student-athletes on campus. Murphy has also recently turned her love of photography into taking action photos of Stonehill athletic events, which have been welcomed by the athletic communications department.
With 23 intercollegiate sports, Stonehill boasts one of the top athletic and academic programs in the country. Stonehill has won the Northeast-10 Conference Presidents' Cup six times, all coming within the last 15 years, after receiving the Cup for the winter sports season in 2019-20 while holding an overall lead in the standings prior to the remainder of the athletic calendar being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in mid-March. Stonehill won seven NE10 Championships during the 2019-20 academic year, with six programs earning NCAA Division II Championship bids. The Skyhawks have received the NCAA Division II Presidents' Award for Academic Achievement each of the first ten years of the program's existence of honoring institutions with an Academic Success Rate (ASR) of 90-percent or better. Stonehill has earned a 92% Academic Success Ranking (ASR) by the NCAA, which considers the academic success rate of the institution based on the graduation rate of student-athletes, good for third in the NE10 and 18th among all NCAA Division II institutions, with seven Skyhawk teams receiving a perfect rating of 100%.
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2021 Stonehill Awards Week Graphics
