POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – The Marist softball senior class of Maureen Duddy, Colleen McWilliams and Kyrsten Van Natta received their degrees in a special graduation ceremony with President Dr. Dennis J. Murray on Monday afternoon.
The ceremony took place inside Greystone Hall, with the new graduates posing for pictures with Dr. Murray, head coach Joe Ausanio and assistant coach Jannelle Iaquinto, family, teammates, and friends outside afterward. The degrees were the final ones handed out by Dr. Murray, who will transition to President Emeritus on July 1.
Marist's 70th Commencement exercises took place on Friday and Saturday. While Saturday's undergraduate ceremony was taking place, the Marist softball team was competing in NCAA Regional play at the University of Tennessee.
Duddy had a double major in Psychology and Philosophy, and a Cognitive Science minor. McWilliams majored in Political Science, and minored in Sociology. Van Natta majored in Communication/Sports Communication/Public Relations, and minored in Interactive Media. She was named CoSIDA Academic All-District this year, and was a three-time MAAC All-Academic Team selection.
On the field, this year's Marist softball senior class is the winningest in program history. Over the last four years, the senior class combined for 130 wins, two MAAC championships, 557 hits, 398 runs, 284 RBIs, 225 stolen bases, and 46 home runs. It was the first class in program history to reach two NCAA Tournaments in its time at Marist, and the Red Foxes set a program record with 45 wins in 2016.
