University of Delaware Athletics
University of Delaware Student-Athletes Honored as Part of UD?s 165th Commencement Ceremony
6/1/2014 8:59:00 AM | Delaware Athletics
NEWARK, Del. -- Over 125 student-athletes were among the 5,564 who were honored Saturday morning as part of the University of Delaware's 165th annual Commencement ceremony at Delaware Stadium.
A crowd of nearly 25,000 family and friends was on hand to witness the conferring of degrees under beautiful sunny skies.
United States Vice-President Joe Biden, a 1965 Delaware graduate, delivered the commencement address. Forgoing the offering of advice, Biden noted that no class ever gets to choose the world into which it graduates.
“When every class enters into the history of the nation, that history up to that point has been written by others,” Biden said. “Once every couple of generations, a graduating class will enter a point in our history where they actually have a chance to change the trajectory of their country.”
Biden, who played football at UD as a freshman, recognized former Blue Hen football head coach and College Football Hall of Fame member Tubby Raymond, who was present on stage at the ceremony.
“When I came to UD, it was to play football,” Biden said. “Coach, I want you to observe that I finally made it into the end zone.”
Following his address, Biden was presented with a framed Delaware football jersey with his name 
and the number 1 on the back. The presentation was made by Raymond, UD Director of Athletics Eric Ziady, and UD football student-athletes Andrew Pierce and Justin Burns.
Pierce, a four-year starting running back and a two-time All-American, and Burns, a quarterback who will return this fall for his final season, were among the over 125 current and recent UD student-athletes who earned their degrees on Saturday.
An unofficial list of the graduating student-athletes is below:
Football: Sean Baner, Justin Burns, Pat Callaway, Stephen Clark, Joe Furlong, Kyle Gayle, Jake Giusti, Rob Jones, Julian Laing, Mike Milburn, Andrew Pierce, Irv Titre, Laith Wallschleger, Rauley Zaragoza, Derek Coleman, Walter Davis, Travis Hawkins, Brandon Heath, Eddie Herr, Mike Hirt, Bobby Kennedy, Erle Ladson, Trevor Sasek, Troy Catalano, Brandon Favro, Sam Feleccia, Cody Magill, Alex Pihakis, Alessio Azzari, Jake Geiser, Anthony Kush, Cody Cipalla
Rowing: Holly Dodge, Angela Quinn, Meredith Murphy, Maria Bellumori (Doctorate)
Track & Field/Cross Country: Bethany Fox, Emily Gispert, Michele Lambert, Emma Sidoriak, Aretah Ettarh, Erica Addonizio, Nijah Dupiche, Kellye Foulke, Francine Gebbia, Paige Morris, Jessica Olsen, Alana Pantale, Lindsay Prettyman, Nicole Rittman, Courtney Sniscak, Karys Whitehead (Doctorate)
Men's Basketball: Carl Baptiste, Brendan McNulty, Tommy Williams
Men's Lacrosse: Garrett Johnson, Danny Keane, Nick Diachenko, Chris Herbert, Grant Kaleikau, Jackson Keeler, Trip Ashley, James Connelly, Connor McRoy, Brandon Worrall
Field Hockey: Clare O'Malley, Heather Hartman, Toni Popinko, Kasey Prettyman, Carli Shutter (Doctorate), Sarah Scher
Softball: Michelle McKinnon, Brittney Noons
Men's Soccer: Moses Adjieteh, Eyal Gruber, Luke Oostdyk, Prince Nartey, Drew Colletti, Vince Mediate, Evan Reed
Women's Lacrosse: Alex Alois, Brittany Griel, Tori Zorovich, Bridget Burns, Rachel Dooley, Kelsey Dlugos
Women's Basketball: Lauren Carra, Akeema Richards, Kelsey Buchanan, Chelsea Craig
Women's Tennis: Olivia Heim, Dorothy Safron
Baseball: Jake Clark, Dan Gatto, Chad Kuhl, Cameron Travalini, Chris Branigan, Stephen Richter, E.J. Stoltzfus, Eric Buckland, Connor Gibbs, D.J. Long
Men's Swimming & Diving: Brian Coonce, Cole Clark, Matthew Marquez, Zach Lowe
Men's Golf: Dan Costenbader
Women's Golf: Frida Nilsson
Women's Swimming & Diving: Courtney Raw, Shea Solt, Kaitlin Wolla, Megan Northshield, Victoria Gillespie, Kendall Poole
Women's Soccer: Kim Dahl, Tania Domingos, Chelsea Duffy, Brittany Bonzano, Shannon Kearney, Jessica Levy, Dianna Marinaro, Anna Lenczyk
Volleyball: Karina Evans, Jessica Chason (Master's Degree), Katie Hank, Rachel Oemcke, Kori Reigel
