From the desk of the Interim Director of Athletics…

Welcome to 2018 Wildcat Fans! With a new year and a new spring semester in full swing, campus is once again abuzz with students.

For many, the beginning of a new chapter, be it a new year or a new semester, can leave us wondering what lies ahead and how to best move forward. For our student-athletes, they are navigating new classes and new practices. For me, however, a new chapter has always represented a time to reflect. When I take time to reflect back on last fall, I am reminded just how amazing our student-athletes are. Daemen Athletics has continued to impress - academically, athletically and in the community.

Academically, our student-athletes posted a collective grade-point average (GPA) of 3.05. This is Daemen Athletics' ninth consecutive semester above 3.0! Individually, 64% of our student-athletes achieved a GPA of at least 3.0. We also had 96 student-athletes named to the Dean's List (which requires a GPA of 3.3 or higher), and seven student-athletes achieved a perfect 4.0 GPA during the fall semester. At our welcome back lunch for the spring semester, we celebrated the women's volleyball (3.53), men's golf (3.45) and women's triathlon (3.41) teams for achieving the highest team GPAs last semester.

Athletically, our student-athletes continued to show great talent and drive. Some highlights of the fall include our men's soccer team tying the program record for wins in a season, our women's soccer team posting their most victories since 2013, our men's and women's cross country teams each finishing third at their respective conference championship meet, and triathlete Amber Custodi's performances which led her to qualify and compete in the collegiate national championship for triathlon. Also, our women's tennis team had their most victories ever during the fall season, and our women's bowling team has already established a new team record for wins in a season (18) with still 30 more matches to come this spring. 

In the community, Daemen celebrated being named the third place honoree for the 2018 NCAA Division II Award of Excellence, an honor recognizing campus and community engagement efforts over the past year. Daemen received this award for its work with CAUSE (Center for Allied and Unified Sport and Exercise). As many of you know, CAUSE is an initiative that provides recreational and competitive athletic opportunities for persons with disabilities, pairing participants with Daemen students, student-athletes, faculty and coaches in activities that promote sport, exercise and socialization. Being nationally recognized for a program that means so much to our department is truly something I am proud of.

So as we move into Spring 2018, remembering all the amazing things we could reflect on, we look forward to creating more memories, more possibilities and more opportunities for our student-athletes. Thank you Wildcat fans for all of your support!