DETROIT (7/17/19) -- From July 10-23, DetroitTitans.com will release the Top 10 Moments of 2018-19 as voted on by members of the Detroit Mercy athletic staff. Each day, a new moment will be posted on DetroitTitans.com as well as on each of the Titan social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram).
Coming in at No. 5 in our Top 10 Moments of 2018-19 is the great year the Titans had in the classroom and the academic honors that followed.
The Titans had three student-athletes named Google Cloud Academic All-American Teams, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) - the most ever in a single season.
Softball senior
Jordan Manno was on the Second Team, as was classmate
Ashley Mauser, who made the Third Team. The selections marked the first female Titans on the academic team since softball's Kaleigh Rafter in 2007.
Men's lacrosse senior
Matthew Vangalen was then named to the Division I Men's At-Large Third Team, the first-ever men's lacrosse player to be named an Academic All-American and one of just three men's lacrosse players in Division I to receive the prestigious honor. He was also a USILA/Warrior and New Balance Division I Scholar All-American.
Ben Kendell was named the winner of the Horizon League's 2019 Cecil N. Coleman Medal of Honor, presented annually to the league's top male and female student-athletes who best exemplify the dignity and high purpose of the league and its membership. The individuals demonstrate outstanding achievements in academics, athletics and extracurricular activities. He was also selected to the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team for cross country and track and field and was the Horizon League Scholar-Athlete of the Year for cross country.
Detroit Mercy's women's golf team earned national recognition with the Women's Golf Coaches Association's All-Scholar Team GPA Award as the Titans recorded a team GPA of 3.814 – the sixth-highest mark in NCAA Division I and 11th-best across Divisions I, II and III. In addition, five of the golfers were tabbed WGCA All-American Scholars.
More than 20 student-athletes were named to the Horizon League All-Academic Team throughout the year and over 80 were tabbed to the HL Fall and Spring Academic honor rolls. The Titans also had 240 student-athletes and spirit squad members on the Athletic Director's honor roll.
The men's lacrosse team led the MAAC with 19 Academic All-League selections - the eighth-straight year they have topped or tied the MAAC - while women's lacrosse saw 13 Titans named Academic All-Conference and nine receive SoCon Commissioner's Medals. The men's golf team was also an All-Academic Team by the golf coaches association and four members of the women's tennis team were ITA All-Scholar-Athletes.
Detroit Mercy saw 18 programs register multi-year scores above the 930 NCAA qualifying mark with seven exceeding the national 983 mark and two perfect scores. The men's fencing team earned the excellent 1,000 score and is one of just 73 teams across the country to receive the honor all 14 years of the award's existence. The women's fencing team also recorded a score of 1,000, the sixth time it has earned the accolade.
For the 14th-straight year, Detroit Mercy ranked among the top-five in the state – second overall – with a GSR of 90-percent, the second-straight year the Titans have reached that mark.
To start the 2018-19 year, the men's and women's track and field programs achieved USTFCCCA All-Academic Team status. In softball, 13 student-athletes were named Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar-Athletes and it was announced that the program posted the ninth highest GPA in NCAA Division I, while the men's and women's soccer teams were honored with the United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award.
#TitanTop10: Moments of 2018-19
1.
Tues., July 23
2.
Mon., July 22
3.
Fri., July 19
4.
Thurs., July 18
5. Titans Raise The Bar In Academic Achievement
6. Detroit Mercy Duo Dominate In The Circle
7. Wiley Dressell Qualifies for NCAA Fencing Finals
8. Antoine Davis Featured in Sports Illustrated
9. Gilbert's Walkoff Homer Propels Titans Past Oakland
10. Women's Soccer Streaks to Semifinals
