CHARLESTON, S.C. – A total of 67 current and former student-athletes and eight members of athletic department support groups participated in May Commencement ceremonies held at the College of Charleston on Saturday on the picturesque Cistern Yard.

A tradition unlike many other colleges and universities, CofC students who complete their undergraduate degrees do not wear robes or caps for the spring commencement ceremony. Instead, women don white dresses and men wear white dinner jackets. For decades, this annual tradition has taken place in front of The College's oldest building, Randolph Hall, with ancient live oak trees draped with Spanish moss setting the stage.

This year's well-rounded group included accounting, economics, international business, early childhood education, biology, biochemistry, historic preservation and community planning, studio art, English, psychology, public health and urban studies majors.

Eleven student-athletes in the Class of 2013 graduated with honors including Southern Conference Women's Tennis Player of the Year and J. Stewart Walker Cup recipient Christin Newman (Greensboro, N.C.) and fellow women's tennis teammate Irene Viana (Paris, France), who graduated at the top of their class, summa cum laude, with a 3.9 or better grade-point average.

Newman was one of two CofC Honors College graduates along with Sarah Schaidle (Simpsonville, S.C.) of women's soccer, who graduated magna cum laude in biochemistry. Newman also earned two college-wide student awards including the John Lewis Gervais Jr. Award and the Phi Kappa Phi Merit Award.

Cameron Hall (St. Petersburg, Fla.) of sailing and Haley Hutchens (Irmo, S.C.) of women's soccer graduated magna cum laude (3.750-3.899 GPA) followed by Ben Pounds (Austin, Texas) of men's golf, Matt Pegler (Greenville, S.C.) of baseball, Gracie Herlong (Charleston, S.C.) of women's swimming and diving, Shawn Ferguson (Rock Hill, S.C.) of men's soccer, Bart Benton (Monroe, Ga.) of men's basketball and Ali Leberfinger (Chatham, N.J.) of women's swimming and diving, cum laude (3.500-3.749 GPA).

All benefited from the academic support and guidance from the CofC Student-Athlete Academic Services (SAAS) staff headed up by director Keith Merritt II and learning specialist Kate Tiller and academic advisor Mindy Reger.

The majority of CofC's graduating student-athletes have also benefited from scholarship funding throughout their academic and athletic careers provided by the Cougar Club, the athletic department's fundraising arm. If you would like to become a member to help continue to support student-athlete scholarships, please contact Associate AD Steve Stroud at (843) 953-8255.

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON ATHLETICS MAY 2013 GRADUATES (in alphabetical order by last name)

Jeff Aschieris, Sailing, Newport Beach, Calif., Business Administration

Chris Banholzer, Sailing, Hartland, Wis., Economics

Laura Beigel, Sailing, Severna Park, Md., Communication

Bart Benton, Men's Basketball, Monroe, Ga., Communication, Cum Laude

Kathy Boehm, Women's Golf, Munich, Germany, Business Administration/Communication

Maryam Buazza, Women's Soccer, Katy, Texas, Exercise Science

Brooks Clark, Sailing, Newport Beach, Calif., Communication

Courtney Clark, Softball, Tampa, Fla., Business Administration/Hospitality & Tourism Management

Eric Craig, Men's Swimming & Diving, Knoxville, Tenn., Historic Preservation and Community Planning

Kevin Decker, Baseball, Washington, Ind., Sociology

Cory DeCollibus, Sailing, Duxbury, Mass., Business Administration/Hospitality & Tourism Management

Sean de Silva, Men's Soccer, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, Business Administration

Brendan Faria, Sailing, Middletown, R.I., Economics

Shawn Ferguson, Men's Soccer, Rock Hill, S.C., Biology, Cum Laude

Megan Fischer, Women's Basketball, Hoffman Estates, Ill., Business Administration

Jordan Fogarty, Women's Swimming & Diving, Charleston, S.C., Early Childhood Education

Branko Gavric, Men's Soccer, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Biology

Peter Gibbons, Men's Swimming & Diving, Fairfax, Va., Biology

Kristy Giragosian, Softball, Charlotte, N.C., Communication

Cameron Hall, Sailing, St. Petersburg, Fla., Business Administration, Magna Cum Laude

Willis Hall, Men's Basketball, Charlotte, N.C., Business Administration

Rob Harding, Baseball, Columbia, S.C., Accounting

Cathryn Hardy, Women's Basketball, Dayton, Ohio, Communication

Latisha Harris, Women's Basketball, Aynor, S.C., Sociology

Gracie Herlong, Women's Swimming & Diving, Charleston, S.C., Public Health, Cum Laude

John Duke Hudson, Men's Golf, Sonora, Texas, Business Administration/Hospitality & Tourism Management

Cassidy Hurt, Equestrian, Mt. Pleasant, S.C., Communication

Emilie Huser, Women's Soccer, Fort Wayne, Ind., Biology

Haley Hutchens, Women's Soccer, Irmo, S.C., Business Administration, Magna Cum Laude

Ashton Jarrett, Softball, Hanahan, S.C., Sociology

Billy Kenny, Men's Tennis, Pawley's Island, S.C., Business Administration

Katie Kerr, Women's Soccer, Cincinnati, Ohio, Business Administration

Vanessa Koechli, Women's Golf, Greer, S.C., Communication

Kelly Kolich, Volleyball, Overland Park, Kan., Communication

Andrew Lawrence, Men's Basketball, London, England, Public Health

Ali Leberfinger, Women's Swimming & Diving, Chatham, N.J., Communication, Cum Laude

Katie Lee, Women's Tennis, Brisbane, Australia, Communication

Mac Mace, Sailing, Newport Beach, Calif., Business Administration

Emily McKee, Equestrian, Redding, Conn., Biology

Olivia McMillan, Women's Tennis, Mt. Pleasant, S.C., Communication

Zoe Merritt, Equestrian, Southberry, Conn., Business Administration/Hospitality & Tourism Management

Sam Metzger, Men's Cross Country, Hilton Head Island, S.C., Business Administration

Manning Miller, Men's Cross Country, Bluffton, S.C., Business Administration

Michael Montgomery, Men's Golf, Hilton Head Island, S.C., Communication

Christin Newman, Women's Tennis, Greensboro, N.C., Exercise Science, Summa Cum Laude

Ainhoa Nogales, Women's Golf, Madrid, Spain, International Business

Matt Pegler, Baseball, Greenville, S.C., Business Administration, Cum Laude

Ben Pounds, Men's Golf, Austin, Texas, Accounting, Cum Laude

Michael Ramming, Sailing, Newport Coast, Calif., Economics

Jimmy Revan, Baseball, Boiling Springs, S.C., Physical Education

Emma Rudolph, Equestrian, South Berwick, Maine, Communication

Stephanie Saylors, Softball, Easley, S.C., Business Administration

Sarah Schaidle, Women's Soccer, Simpsonville, S.C., Biochemistry, Magna Cum Laude

Toni Schneider, Women's Soccer, Arlington, Texas, Special Education

Sarah Scudder, Sailing, Mamaroneck, N.Y., English

Emily Shelton, Volleyball, Cincinnati, Ohio, Communication

Sarah Somes, Sailing, Grosse Pointe Park, Mich., Urban Studies

Seth Stuart, Men's Golf, Austin, Texas, Business Administration/Hospitality & Tourism Management

Ben Spector, Sailing, Santa Clarita, Calif., Accounting/Economics

Matt Sundberg, Men's Basketball, Kennesaw, Ga., Communication

Chelsea Taylor, Women's Track & Field, Seneca, S.C., Elementary Education

Jackie Tully, Women's Swimming & Diving, Bethesda, Md., Biology

Francis Twohig, Men's Soccer, St. Simon's Island, Ga., Psychology

Irene Viana, Women's Tennis, Paris, France, Economics/International Business, Summa Cum Laude

Tyler Vukoder, Men's Soccer, Tega Cay, S.C., International Business

Dre Watts, Baseball, Clinton, S.C., Business Administration

Ryan West, Baseball, Glen Allen, Va., Studio Art

 

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON ATHLETICS SUPPORT GROUPS

Mary Kathryn Archie, Cheer, Rock Hill, S.C., Communication

Paige Childers, Savannah, Ga., Athletic Training, Cum Laude

Brittany Crosby, Chapin, S.C., Athletic Training, Cum Laude

Sheryl Dizon, Cheer, Sumter, S.C., Psychology

Amy Evans, North Pole, Alaska, Athletic Training

Christy Harrison, Cheer, Mt. Pleasant, S.C., Sociology

Ariel Imler, Dance, Latrobe, Pa., Biology, Cum Laude

Paige Martin, Cheer, Orlando, Fla., Business Administration