Class of 2019: A special commencement for softball team

Four members of the University of Detroit Mercy Class of 2019 were unable to attend Saturday’s commencement because they were busy in Chicago winning the women’s softball Horizon League Conference Championship for the first time since 1992.

So a much more intimate commencement was held for the young women who will travel later this week to Evanston, Ill., to play in round one of the NCAA tournament.

President Antoine M. Garibaldi, Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Pamela Zarkowski and Neal Rosenburg, dean of the College of Health Professions, attended the brief ceremony in the President’s Conference Room on the McNichols Campus Tuesday afternoon.

The student-athletes who attended were:

• Jordan Manno, who graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor of science in biochemistry. The catcher from Rio Rancho, New Mexico is a three-time All-Horizon League player and team captain.
• Ashley Mauser, a summa cum laude graduate of the McAuley School of Nursing with a bachelor of science in nursing. The Shelby Township pitcher was named Pitcher of the Year in the Horizon League and is the Titans’ all-time leader in game, season and career strikeouts.
• Courtney Gilbert, a summa cum laude graduate with a bachelor of arts in developmental psychology. The Delhi, Ontario, shortstop is one of the most feared hitters in the Horizon League and was named three times to the All-Horizon League team.
• Sydney Pollock, a magna cum laude graduate with a bachelor of arts in psychology. The outfielder from Orlando, Fla., leads the team in stolen bases.

Congratulations to these four young women, who joined more than 1,100 other undergraduate members of the Class of 2019 from Detroit Mercy. And good luck this weekend! The Titans will play at top-seeded Northwestern on Friday at 3:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3. Louisville and Southern Illinois meet in the regionals other matchup. The regional is double elimination with the championship game on Sunday.