‘M’ Club and Hall of Fame

BY SAMANTHA BORAWSKI
Sports Editor

Saint Mary’s University inducted alumni into the Hall of Fame and honored current student-athletes for their outstanding achievements at the annual Cardinal ‘M’ Club Awards Program on Sept. 7.

This year SMU inducted three members into its Hall of Fame: Chris Kendall ’79 for Baseball, Anne Erickson ’89 for Women’s Soccer and Alex Kugel ’99 for Men’s Soccer.  Each were selected for being outstanding athletes in their particular sports during their four years at SMU.  The speeches by Kendall and Kugel shared some common themes: be a supportive teammate, put a hundred percent into every practice and game and have pride in your school.

After speaking about his love for sports, especially soccer, Kugel provided the student-athletes in attendance with advice: live in the moment. He said it is important for student-athletes to appreciate their sport and give it their all because that ability can be taken away in the matter of seconds.

Kendall also mentioned the importance of the support and love of family in his speech. Besides immediate family, Kendall talked about the importance of having the SMU family behind him, not only when he was an athlete, but also during his time working at SMU.

Prior to inducting the three stellar athletes into the Hall of Fame, SMU student-athletes were honored for a variety of achievements including being named Academic and Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) All-Conference. This year over 50 student-athletes representing an array of sports teams received awards for one or both of these two categories.

SMU also honors four student-athletes for their achievements. Jake Traxler and Regina Quandt were named SMU’s Outstanding Male and Female Scholar Athletes for their academic success in addition to both of their athletic success in Indoor Track and Field. Kevin Gannon for Baseball and Bailey Edwards for Women’s Tennis were also honored as SMU’s Outstanding Male and Female athletes for their stellar athletic seasons during the 2011-12 academic year.

The Cardinal ‘M’ Club Awards reminds the SMU community of the accomplishments that each student-athlete has earned and continues to be a celebration even in this Centennial year.