Murray State University Athletics
Senior Day Set For Sunday As MSU Hosts Morehead State
10/30/2003 6:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
The Senior Day activities will begin at 12:45 p.m., as the Racer soccer program says goodbye to eight important student-athletes.
Abby Baden, Lauren Bazzell, Michelle Fedor, Karen Fitzharris, Lindsey Gustafson, Kristin Robertson, Emily Schaller and Jackie Thomas will be honored prior to the Racers' season-finale.
"We've had other senior days before, but this is the first class that's been here for all four years," said head coach Mike Minielli. "These players are directly responsible for all of the things that we've been able to do in such a short period of time."
The MSU soccer program is finishing it's fourth season of varsity play, and seven of the eight players being honored on Sunday were a part of the Racers' first season in 2000.
"These players have had a great impact on this program and they've been great role models for our young players," Minielli said. "They've been very involved with the youth soccer leagues in the area, and they're graduating on time. To me, that says a great deal about what kind of people they are, on and off the field."
All eight players being honored are set to graduate from MSU prior to next season and will not return to play soccer in 2004.
Baden, Bazzell, Robertson and Thomas are only juniors in terms of NCAA eligibility due to redshirt years, but all four have chosen to move on to their chosen fields of profession or attend graduate school.
"I couldn't have asked for more out of a group to build a brand new program behind," Minielli said. "Starting a program from scratch is not easy, but the success we've had is a direct result of this group of players. What they've done for this program will have a real ripple effect on the future of Racer soccer."
Kristin Becker, Jill Hawanchak, Shauna Kline and Lauren McAdams, who were also apart of the first recruiting class at MSU, will also be honored on Sunday, though all of them will return in '04 after sitting out as redshirts in the past.
