Shenandoah University

Students in Shenandoah University's athletic training program continued to prove they're among the country's brightest during recent trips to regional and national athletic training symposiums. Shenandoah's Aesia Garban '27, Trilby Kite '27 and Kristen Meinberg '26 defended the Hornets' Student Quiz Bowl title at the 2026 Mid-Atlantic Athletic Trainers' Association's annual meeting on May 1, marking the third year in a row that Shenandoah has won the competition and earned the right to represent District 3 on the national stage.

Two members of Shenandoah University's men's golf team were named 2025-26 NCAA Division III Cobalt Golf All-America Scholars by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) on Aug. 3. Hornets senior Dan Ailor and junior Caden Sherman were among the 261 student-athletes from 95 NCAA Division III programs to earn the honor. Shenandoah was one of 64 schools with at least two individuals to earn the award. To be eligible for Cobalt Golf All-America Scholar nomination, an individual must be a sophomore, junior or senior both academically and athletically in NCAA Division I, II, III, and NAIA, or receiving their associate's degree and in their last year of athletic eligibility in the NJCAA. In addition, they must participate in 50% of their team's competitive rounds, have a stroke average under 79.0 in NCAA Division III, and maintain a minimum cumulative career GPA of 3.2. A recipient must also be of high moral character and be in good standing at their college or university.

Three Shenandoah University student-athletes won major awards from the Virginia Sports Information Directors Association to lead a total of 20 Hornets who were named to the VaSID 2025-26 All-State teams in selections announced in July. First-year student-athletes Reagan Flory (field hockey), Natalie Opatovsky (women's lacrosse), and Molly Donaldson (women's outdoor track and field) each earned Rookie of the Year honors for their respective sports. In all, Shenandoah's 20 VaSID All-State honorees included nine first-team selections and represented 11 different sports.

Shenandoah University Athletics set a new department record with 366 student-athletes selected to the 2025-26 Old Dominion Athletic Conference's All-Academic list released by the league on July 17. Shenandoah, which bested its previous record of 355 honorees set last year, ranked second in the conference in total honorees, trailing only Washington & Lee (549). To qualify for ODAC All-Academic honors, student-athletes must earn a cumulative 3.25 GPA or higher during the academic year. A total of 3,308 student-athletes earned ODAC All-Academic honors in 2025-26.

Shenandoah University is pleased to announce that 1,180 graduates earned degrees and/or certificates during the 2025-26 academic year. This total includes graduates from August 2025, December 2025 and May 2026. Shenandoah's 2026 University Commencement took place May 9 in the James R. Wilkins, Jr. Athletics and Events Center.

Shenandoah University's School of Business awarded five $5,000 Legacy Scholarships during its sixth annual Legacy Golf Tournament on April 21 at the Winchester Country Club. This year's recipients were Hanniel Osorio Vasquez '29, Serena Hepner '29, Matthias Rivera '27, Brynna Nesselrodt '27 and Afsara Chowdhury '28. The endowed Legacy Scholarship supports high-achieving, first-generation regional business students and reflects the power of experiential learning, leadership and community partnership. Including this year's recipients, $67,500 in Legacy Scholarships has now been awarded to 14 business students through proceeds generated by six Legacy Business classes - a legacy mindset in practice.

Shenandoah University's Matt Conroy has earned the Old Dominion Athletic Conference's Harry G. "Doc" Jopson Award, the conference's top senior scholar-athlete award, for the 2025-26 year following a vote from the conference's board of directors. Each year, the ODAC awards the Marjorie Berkley and Harry G. "Doc" Jopson awards to one female and one male senior (or graduate student), respectively, who exhibit the highest athletic, academic, and extracurricular achievements. The ODAC's 2026 Berkley Award went to Washington and Lee two-sport star Sarah Zimmerman.

Shenandoah University outfielder Jaime Padilla earned his second All-America nod of the 2026 postseason after being named to the American Baseball Coaches Association's fourth team on May 29. The senior from Yonkers, New York, who was named an All-American by D3baseball.com on May 28, has earned five All-America awards over the last two years. Padilla was named a preseason All-American by D3baseball.com earlier this year and earned postseason awards last season from D3baseball.com and the ABCA.

The Legacy Mindset Business Class in Shenandoah University's School of Business held its annual Legacy Awards Ceremony in May, during which students were recognized for outstanding leadership, fundraising achievement and service.

Shenandoah University outfielder Jaime Padilla was named a fourth team All-American by D3baseball.com on May 28, becoming the first Hornet since 2017 to earn preseason and postseason All-America honors in the same season. Padilla, a senior captain from Yonkers, New York, helped lead Shenandoah to the 2026 ODAC tournament title with a .385 batting average, a 1.101 OPS, 72 hits, and 60 RBIs while starting all 49 games. He led the Hornets in runs scored (66), doubles (21), triples (3), total bases (114), and slugging percentage (.610), while ranking second on the team in stolen bases (21). In center field, Padilla had a .991 fielding percentage, recording 112 putouts, two outfield assists and just one error in 115 total chances.

Shenandoah University's baseball program earned multiple all-region awards on May 26, with Jaime Padilla and Liam Stewart earning All-Region VI recognition from D3baseball.com and the American Baseball Coaches Association, and JP Williams and Carl Keenan joining the duo on the ABCA squad.

Shenandoah University had 1,019 students earn a spot on the Dean's List for the 2026 Spring Term. To qualify for the Dean's List, students must be enrolled full-time in baccalaureate degree programs and earn a semester GPA of 3.50 or higher. Dean's List students who achieve a semester GPA of 3.90 or higher also qualify for the university's President's List.

Shenandoah University had 437 students earn a spot on the President's List for the 2026 Spring Term. To qualify for this prestigious academic recognition, students must be enrolled full-time in baccalaureate degree programs and attain a semester GPA of 3.90 or higher. All President's List honorees are also recognized on the university's Dean's List, which includes students who earn a semester GPA of 3.50 or higher.

Shenandoah University first-year track and field student-athletes Roman Bernard and Molly Donaldson were named United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Region South for the 2026 outdoor season. Bernard raced his way to all-region status in the men's 400-meter dash, while Donaldson was named all-region in the women's shot put. Donaldson now has two all-region accolades after claiming the honor for shot put during the 2025-26 indoor season.

The 2026 outdoor track and field season will continue for the Shenandoah University men's track and field program as first-year Roman Bernard has qualified for the 2026 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Bernard qualified for nationals in the 400-meter dash with a seed time of 47.28 seconds, which ranks 21st in the nation. That mark is a school record, which Bernard set in the finals at the 2026 ODAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships, placing him second in the conference meet.

Thanks to the skills he's developed as a Shenandoah University business student - and the network he's built along the way - David Mann has secured an internship with USA Baseball as he continues to make strides toward a career in the sports industry. Mann '27, who is pursuing a Bachelor of Business Administration with concentrations in sport management and entrepreneurship, begins his internship in baseball operations with USA Baseball in May and will split his summer between the organization's facilities in Arizona and North Carolina.

The Shenandoah University Research Expo (SURE) showcased the depth, creativity, and rigor of student scholarship during its two-day event on April 28-29 at the Hazel-Pruitt Armory, and 27 students were announced as winners in 11 award categories following the conclusion of the annual expo. The Shenandoah University Research Expo is an annual event that showcases undergraduate and graduate students' research and creative projects, allowing students to present their work to the Shenandoah community in a supportive, professional setting. To learn more, visit su.edu/sure.

Shenandoah University infielder Brenna Westwood was named All-Region VI in NCAA Division III by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association on May 16, becoming the first Hornet to earn an all-region nod since 2016. The junior from Pittsburgh helped the Hornets to a 30-win season, the program's first since 2011. Westwood also garnered first team All-ODAC recognition earlier this month. In 41 games this season, Westwood hit .405 with 49 hits, all of which were singles. She tallied at least one hit in 32 games and had 13 multi-hit contests. Westwood also posted a .468 on-base percentage to go along with 22 RBIs, 21 runs scored, 13 walks and five steals. Defensively at second base, Westwood had 80 assists and 75 putouts, both ranking among the top three for the Hornets. She posted a .969 fielding percentage in 160 chances.

Shenandoah University's men's tennis team was awarded four All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference honors in selections released by the conference office on May 13. Dominick Suwak was named to the All-ODAC first team in singles and earned first-team distinction in doubles for his pairing with Aryanth Chintharlapalli. Shine Tokas was named to the second team for No. 2 singles, and Artem Babaiev earned second-team honors for No. 4 singles.

Shenandoah University's women's tennis team took home two All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference second-team honors in selections announced on May 13, with Olivia Guzzo earning No. 2 singles honors and Leigha Montrief and Kendra Gillette winning the award for No. 3 doubles.

Shenandoah University women's lacrosse team had two players named to the 2026 Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Division III All-Chesapeake Region Team on May 15. Attacker Ayla Jantz and defender Talia Maria represent the Hornets on the second team. It's the second straight season that Maria has earned an IWLCA All-Region accolade.

Shenandoah University announced the winners of the 2026 Student Leadership Awards during a ceremony on Sunday, April 26, at Winchester Country Club. Thirty-five individuals and organizations were nominated for 10 awards, which included two organization awards, six individual awards and two Shenandoah University Leadership Academy (SULA) Awards of Distinction.

Shenandoah University's baseball program earned four All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference honors in selections announced by the ODAC on May 7. Reliever Liam Stewart and outfielder Jaime Padilla led the Hornets on the first team, while JP Williams earned second-team honors as a catcher and Carl Keenan closed out the honorees on the third team as a second baseman.

Shenandoah University's softball team earned six All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference awards, the most since the Hornets joined the ODAC in 2013, in selections announced by the conference on May 7. Brenna Westwood (third base) and Cadence Reig (utility) were named first team All-ODAC, Paige Eagleton (first base) and Makayla Cox (outfield) earned second team honors, and Allison McQueeney (outfield) and Gracie Ravenkamp (pitcher) earned spots on the third team.

Shenandoah University midfielder Cody Griffis earned third team All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference accolades for men's lacrosse in selections announced by the league on May 6. In 10 ODAC games, the sophomore from New Market, Maryland, led the Hornets with 25 goals and 28 points. Additionally, he had three man-up goals in conference play to go along with eight groundballs and one caused turnover. Griffis scored in each ODAC contest and had eight multi-goal games. The midfielder registered a season-high six goals in the team's 16-4 win at Averett University in April.

Shenandoah University's women's lacrosse team earned six All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference selections, while first-year Natalie Opatovsky earned the league's Rookie of the Year award in an announcement made by the conference office on May 5. The Hornets had three first-team selections with Ayla Jantz, Addison Harmel, and Talia Maria each earning a spot. Opatovsky, Emily Ransom, and Alex Ripkin rounded out SU's selections with second-team honors.

Shenandoah University's outdoor track and field program had four student-athletes combine to earn five All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference accolades at the ODAC Championships on April 24-25 at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Sophomore thrower Grady Speer (men's hammer throw, discus) led the Hornets with a pair of all-conference performances over the two-day event, while first-year Molly Donaldson (women's shot put), sophomore Maddy Chorney (women's 10,000-meter), and first-year Roman Bernard (men's 400-meter) also each placed among the top three in their respective events.

The Shenandoah University men's tennis team swept the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Player of the Week awards on April 20, with Dominick Suwak winning the league's award for singles and Lucas Beasley and Shine Tokas earning the honor for doubles. Suwak has won ODAC Singles Player of the Week for the sixth time this season and has also earned two additional Doubles Team of the Week awards. The Hornets' top singles player went 2-0 this week, starting with a win over Randolph College's Jacob Martin (6-4, 3-6, 6-3) on April 15. Suwak followed it up with a victory on April 18 over Bridgewater College's Corey Beshoar, 6-1, 6-1. For the Hornets' doubles team, Beasley and Tokas played at the No. 2 spot in all three matches last week, going 3-0 against Randolph, Bridgewater and Guilford College. The duo won 6-0 over Randolph's Jason Duval and Aksel Tinnes-Rimehaug, prior to defeating Bridgewater's duo of Levi Widelich and Logan Garner by the same score. Beasley and Tokas finished their week with a victory against Guilford's George Hardie and Turner Johnson, 6-2, in Shenandoah's regular-season finale.

Dominick Suwak and Aryanth Chintharlapalli earned the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Doubles Team of the Week accolade for the second time this season following a 3-0 week for the Shenandoah University men's tennis team. The duo played at the No. 3 spot in all three matches for the Hornets, with three wins as a team. Suwak and Chintharlapalli played their way to a 6-2 win in the first match of the week versus Goucher on April 7 before entering ODAC play over the weekend. In conference play, the duo first downed Averett, 7-6, with a 7-2 tiebreaker, on April 11 before defeating Lynchburg's duo, 6-2, on April 12.

Shenandoah University outfielder Cadence Rieg was named the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Softball Player of the Week on April 13, giving the Hornets their second weekly conference award winner of the 2026 season. During the Hornets' 6-0 week last week, the sophomore from Winchester, Virginia, went 12-for-18 at the plate with six doubles, seven RBIs, five runs scored, seven walks and a stolen base. Rieg posted a .667/.760/1.000 slash line in those six games and entered Tuesday ranked fourth in the ODAC in batting average (.459), on-base percentage (.526), OPS (1.222) and doubles (11), fifth in triples (five), and sixth in RBIs (30) and slugging percentage (.694). Rieg posted four multi-hit games last week, with three hits in each of the two games against Mary Washington and two hits in both games at Lynchburg. Additionally, Rieg scored a run in five of the six games. Her week was highlighted by a game-tying double in the seventh inning of Game 2 at Lynchburg. Later in the inning, Rieg came around to score the eventual game-winning run to help fuel the sweep.