SXU Cougars Rack Up Accolades
Over the course of the fall semester, Saint Xavier University (SXU) student-athletes, teams and coaches have piled on the accolades, earning prestigious recognition across the Athletics Department. Here is a look at some of the many impressive awards and accomplishments that the Cougars have gained recently.
For the second consecutive season, the Cougars won the Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) Midwest League championship. The win gave SXU its twelfth MSFA title overall. While SXU went on to lose to Marian University 41-7 in the NAIA Football Championship Series First Round, the Cougars still had a lot to be proud of this season.
Head coach Mike Feminis received his 200th win and was named MSFA Midwest League Co-Coach of the Year. Additionally, Bill McKeon was named Assistant Coach of the Year and senior linebacker Joey Markasovic was named the MSFA Midwest League Defensive Player of the Year.
Women’s volleyball had a remarkable season, as the No. 1 seeded team defeated St. Ambrose University to win their second consecutive Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) Tournament Championship. The team went on to make their third NAIA Women's Volleyball Nationals Championship appearance in the last six seasons.
Sophomore setter Kaleigh Ritter had a breakout year. Named the CCAC Setter of the Year, Ritter is just the third-ever SXU player to achieve this title. During nationals, she set a new career-high with 63 assists, the second-most assists in program history.
Additionally, women's volleyball head coach Bob Heersema was named the CCAC Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season. This is his seventh time earning Coach of the Year honors.
On the women's cross country team, Delilah Delgado competed at the NAIA Women's Cross Country National Championship 5K in Florida and set a new personal record with a time of 19:48.6.
The men’s cross country team placed third overall out of 10, with 111 points at the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) Men's Cross Country Championships. This became the best finish for the Cougars since 2019.
Multiple student-athletes on the soccer team landed their names on the CCAC Second Team recognition list.
Men's soccer senior defender Axel Gongora earned CCAC Second Team recognition. Gongora played in and started in 14 of the team's 18 matches and logged 1,195 minutes of action this season.
Women's soccer junior defender Ailyn Gallardo and freshman midfielder Hope Lewis were both named to the CCAC Second Team. Gallardo and Lewis led SXU to six victories, the most since 2013. This is the first time since 2012 that SXU women's soccer has had two players placed on the All-CCAC Team.
In the SXU esports program's inaugural season, the team finished tied for first place in its Overwatch division with a 6-1 record. Rocket League and Valorant tied for third place with a 4-3 record, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate went 3-4 and finished fifth.
While the women's and men's basketball and bowling seasons are still in full swing, these teams have already had phenomenal performances. Women's basketball player Maia Fawcett became just the 22nd player in SXU women's basketball history to score 1,000 or more career points.
Women's bowling placed tenth out of 35 teams at the Leatherneck Classic. The placement marked the fourth time in four events this season that SXU finished in the Top 10.
Men's bowling senior Alex Acosta was the top individual finisher at the Leatherneck Classic. The Cougars had an overall finish of 11 out of 45 teams.
We are incredibly proud of the prestigious accolades our student-athletes earned this fall, and as we look ahead to the spring semester, we can't wait to see all the amazing things SXU Athletics accomplishes!