May 22, 2011

WASHINGTON - There were All-American selections, Academic All-American selections, All-Region honorees and All-BIG EAST selections. There were those who filled roles and maybe didn't get the headlines, but they were every bit as important to the team as the starters. And there were managers, the glue that can hold a team together.

On Saturday, more than 1,700 students graduated from Georgetown University. Of those students, more than 150 participated in intercollegiate athletics at Georgetown.

The Georgetown Class of 2011 left its mark on the Hilltop in varying forms, the most notable when each of them walked across a stage at varying graduation ceremonies and earned their degree from University President John J. DeGioia. More than 30 student-athletes earned degrees from the McDonough School, more than 50 earned degrees from Georgetown College and there were also student-athletes earning degrees from the School of Nursing & Health Studies and the School of Foreign Service.

The athletic highlights for the Class of 2011 were many.

The Fall of 2010 started with the men's and women's soccer teams each advancing to the NCAA Tournament and the women's cross country team finishing in fourth place at the NCAAs. The football team, after going winless in 2010, won four games in 2011. The winter saw the men's and women's basketball teams again advance to the NCAA Tournament. This spring, women's lacrosse won the BIG EAST Regular Season title, And the sailing teams are again posed to compete for more national championships.

In 2009-10, the men's golf team won the BIG EAST Championship and advanced to play in the NCAA Tournament. They weren't the only team to reach postseason play, as both the men's and women's basketball teams reached the NCAA Tournament, with the men's team advancing to the championship game of the BIG EAST Tournament. The women's lacrosse team won the BIG EAST regular season and tournament championships, while the men's team fell just short of an NCAA bid while competing in the first year of the BIG EAST Conference for the sport.

As sophomores, fans of Georgetown saw the cross country teams finish among the top in the BIG EAST and then compete in the NCAA Championship. And when they were freshmen, they were treated to the women's soccer team reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first time. They also were able to see the men's basketball team capture its second-straight BIG EAST Regular Season title and advance to the championship game of the league tournament.

Some of the highlights over the last four years were not simply team championships, but crew and rowing teams winning medals at events, field hockey, volleyball and softball players earning All-BIG EAST honors and several baseball players getting the ultimate phone call when they found they were selected in the Major League Baseball Draft.

The last four years have been filled with many great memories, too many to count in some respects, but the lasting impression will be the ones from Saturday, with more than 150 of them walking across a stage for a simple handshake and earning their degree.