In winning the Empire 8 Conference tournament title last weekend, the Alfred University softball team qualified for the NCAA Division III championships. The four-team regional the Saxons are competing in at Tufts University outside Boston begins Thursday, May 14, and extends into the weekend, meaning the three seniors on the team will miss Commencement ceremonies set for Saturday.
But, as has been the case in the past when softball team has qualified for the NCAAs, Alfred University stepped up to host a special graduation ceremony. On Tuesday afternoon, a day before the team boarded a bus for Boston, many of the dignitaries who will be on hand for Saturday’s undergraduate Commencement came to the McLane Center, donning full regalia, to honor the three softball team seniors.
“Thank you for joining us to celebrate our softball seniors,” Erin Schurr, interim athletic director, commented to those gathered in McLane Center lobby, including President Mark Zupan and members of his cabinet, a number of university faculty and staff, and, of course, the softball team and coaching staff. “And a huge congratulations to our softball team, making it to the regional round of the Division III championships.”
The three seniors on the team—Destiny Avila, Caroline Courson, and Brielle Wark—were called to receive commemorative diplomas and greeted by Zupan.
“Thanks for doing us so proud,” Zupan said. “We’re delighted to be able to do this. We wish you the best. We’re proud of all of you.”
Alfred University has held similar ceremonies in the past—four times in the last six years, including last season—as Commencement often coincides with four-team double-elimination regionals. The seniors on this year’s team certainly appreciate the gesture.
“I will remember all the time spent with my teammates. They were always people I could turn to and always could count on for a laugh,” said Wark, a mathematics major from East Amherst who transferred to Alfred from Medaille College three years ago. “It means a lot of me that the university was able to set up a little graduation for us.”
Destiny Avila (in cap and gown) gets high fives from her teammates during Tuesday’s special graduation ceremony for three senior members of the Saxon softball team.
“I’m extremely grateful for Alfred University taking the time to do a graduation for me and my fellow senior teammates,” added Avila, a criminal justice studies major from Long Beach, CA, who also transferred to Alfred three years ago after one season at Medaille. She said she was especially appreciative that the university live-streamed Tuesday’s ceremony so her family back home in California could watch. “It meant a lot to me as a student athlete and made me feel seen for my accomplishments in the classroom and on the field.”
“This is an opportunity for me to continue to play the sport I love so much,” said Courson, an early childhood/childhood education major from Erie, CO, who played two seasons at Corning Community College, earning as associate degree, before transferring to Alfred. “I was very honored that the school did a special ceremony to honor us. It truly meant a lot because it is a big accomplishment to graduate. Also, the small ceremony felt very personal, which made it even more special.”
The trio of seniors said they chose to transfer to Alfred in large part because of the culture of the Saxon softball team.
“The program is big on winning, pushing each other the fullest, ambitious, and being held at a high standard, all while being a family. Everyone plays for each other, It’s a program that stood out to me along with the fact that there are other girls with similar backgrounds as me, like being from Southern California,” said Avila, who said her fondest memory as a student-athlete was winning the Empire 8 Conference championship, which validated the team’s hard work. She also cited the support she received from her professors in helping her succeed in the classroom.
Avila plans to return to California after graduation to pursue a master’s degree in legal studies, with an eye on working in the legal profession.
Wark said she chose to transfer to Alfred from Medaille after playing against Alfred. “While at my first school my team played Alfred and I was able to see the type of environment the team had. After touring campus, I knew that it was the place for me,” she commented.
“I will remember all the time spent with my teammates,” said Wark, who plans to pursue a master’s degree in athletic administration from SUNY Brockport. “They were always people I could turn to and always could count on for a laugh.”
“I wanted to come to Alfred for the softball. Hearing about the team culture I knew that was something I wanted to be a part of,” added Courson, who has plans to return home to Colorado after graduation and begin teaching at an elementary school in the fall. She will also help her father coach a girls’ travel softball team. “I will forever and always remember my time with my team and being around the culture of the team. Anytime I have spent with my team has brought me so much joy and laughter.”
Courson said the coaches played a big role in her decision to transfer to Alfred. “You could tell how much the coaching staff cares about their players both on and off the field. They were invested in you as a people and being far from home I knew it wasn’t important to me to have the support of my coaches.”
The three seniors on the Alfred University softball team—from left: Brielle Wark, Destiny Avila, and Caroline Courson—with their commemorative diplomas following Tuesday’s special graduation ceremony.
Avila, Courson, Wark and their teammates opened play in the NCAA regional this morning against Tufts, the top seed in the region. If the Saxons win the double-elimination regional, they will advance to one of eight super-regionals, the winners of which will play in the Division III College World Series in Salem, VA, later this month.
