DePaul University Athletics
DePaul Welcomes BIG EAST To Chicago
6/23/2016 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S TENNIS
June 23, 2016 CHICAGO - All-BIG EAST soccer player Simon Megally and NCAA women's tennis tournament qualifier Yuliya Shupenia are ascending to a whole new level of leadership and accountability.
Megally and Shupenia will represent DePaul University at the BIG EAST Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) meeting Friday-Sunday June 24-26 at the Downtown Marriott-Magnificent Mile.
After a welcome-to-Chicago dinner on Friday night, the SAAC will conduct meetings Saturday morning at DePaul's Lincoln Park campus. They will engage in a three-hour community-service activity with Chicago Special Olympics in the afternoon followed by an hour-long team building exercise. On Sunday, the group will attend meetings at the hotel.
Megally and Shupenia have been selected for this prestigious committee that features 19 student-athletes, BIG EAST Commissioner Val Ackerman, BIG EAST Director of Championships Tania Kennedy, BIG EAST Associate Commissioner Jennifer Condaras and Xavier Faculty Athletics Representative Rose Ann Fleming.
The SAAC directive is to enhance the total student-athlete experience by promoting opportunity, protecting the well-being of student-athletes and promoting a positive student-athlete image. The SAAC focuses on increased communication and networking to better represent the views of all student-athletes.
"When (Senior Associate Athletics Director) Kathryn Statz contacted me about representing DePaul, I was really honored and humbled," Megally said. "I was also glad my leadership and commitment to DePaul has been noticed.
"I had been captain of my academy soccer team in high school and always looked to be a leader. I used to lead primarily through my actions. I began taking on more responsibility for the team my sophomore year and last year I worked on improving my leadership skills to benefit the team.
"There's more pressure to be a leader next year going into my senior season. It has evolved over the years, and this spring, I've been running our captains' practices. The coaches told us how good the workouts went. They said the sessions were intense with guys looking to get better on their own and not just go out there and kick the ball around."
Megally and Shupenia will kick around ideas and interact with Bri Lilly (volleyball) and Eric Leonard (men's soccer) from Butler, Megan Ballenger (volleyball) and Ty Medd (cross country) of Creighton, Georgetown's Aliyah Graves-Brown (field hockey) and Akoy Agau (men's basketball), Marquette's Erin Holland (women's soccer) and Cameron Marotta (men's basketball), Taylor Huntley (softball) and Nick Sailor (men's soccer) of Providence.
Other student-athletes serving on the committee include Alyssa Rusch (softball) and Hope Demel (volleyball) from St. John's, Sarah Kenneweg (volleyball) and Jeffrey Larson (cross country) from Seton Hall, Callie Duliba (women's soccer) from Villanova and Xavier's Mackenzi Humm (volleyball) and Grant Parrelli (cross country).
"This is an amazing opportunity for me because next season I'll be given a lot more responsibility on the tennis team as captain," Shupenia said. "To represent DePaul at such an important event means a lot to me. I'm grateful to Kathryn Statz and everyone at DePaul who gave me the chance to be a part of something like this.
"The SAAC will focus a lot on leadership and give all of us a chance to talk about things that are happening in the BIG EAST. We'll take a look at the NCAA and issues that are pertinent to student-athletes and our communities."
Megally has taken an active role in helping transform the program.
"I want to help mold the team to be disciplined in the way we want to play," he said. "From my freshman year to now, there is a completely different dynamic. We have become a group dedicated to a single purpose, and it began by changing the mentality of the team.
"Starting out last season winning one of our first 11 games, we weren't seeing any positive results from our hard work and effort. I remember talking to freshman John Freitag after a loss and he was really frustrated. He wanted to know if we kept working, would it pay off.
"I told him there was no one on the team more frustrated than me. I told him to keep going strong. Then, we won two in a row and began realizing the hard work is paying off.
"We had a strong finish and qualified for the BIG EAST tournament. During the first 11 games, there wasn't one person outside our team that believed we could do it. We stuck with it, the wins came and we turned the season around."
Shupenia wants to acquire insight into new methods of evolving as a leader. The junior from Belarus recently became the first Blue Demon in school history to compete in the NCAA Women's Tennis Championship in both singles and doubles.
"I am looking forward to learning about the various types of leadership from the other BIG EAST team captains and leaders," she said. "I am a quiet leader who leads by example, and I'm hoping to learn how to lead in different ways.
"Coach Mark Ardizzone and I have talked about how I need to be more vocal. When we're competing on the court, I need to be a little louder in my support of the teammate playing next to me. I want to give my teammates more energy."
Megally will be in lockstep with Shupenia looking to enhance his leadership capabilities.
"At the SAAC event, I want to see how other student-athlete leaders handle their responsibilities," he said. "I hope to build relationships with everyone there and see what I can learn from them. It's not just soccer, but leaders from all different sports with their own leadership styles and techniques.
"This meeting will open your mind to more thoughts and ideas and make you more receptive to something new. No one wants a leader who is closed off.
"Over time, I have learned to become more vocal. When I point out something a teammate is doing wrong, I'm not doing it to make him look bad. It's an effort to make the team better, and that's what really matters. It's the same for me when I make a mistake. If we're all accountable in trying to make the team better, it gets back to us sharing a common goal."
Megally and Shupenia will represent DePaul University at the BIG EAST Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) meeting Friday-Sunday June 24-26 at the Downtown Marriott-Magnificent Mile.
After a welcome-to-Chicago dinner on Friday night, the SAAC will conduct meetings Saturday morning at DePaul's Lincoln Park campus. They will engage in a three-hour community-service activity with Chicago Special Olympics in the afternoon followed by an hour-long team building exercise. On Sunday, the group will attend meetings at the hotel.
Megally and Shupenia have been selected for this prestigious committee that features 19 student-athletes, BIG EAST Commissioner Val Ackerman, BIG EAST Director of Championships Tania Kennedy, BIG EAST Associate Commissioner Jennifer Condaras and Xavier Faculty Athletics Representative Rose Ann Fleming.
The SAAC directive is to enhance the total student-athlete experience by promoting opportunity, protecting the well-being of student-athletes and promoting a positive student-athlete image. The SAAC focuses on increased communication and networking to better represent the views of all student-athletes.
"When (Senior Associate Athletics Director) Kathryn Statz contacted me about representing DePaul, I was really honored and humbled," Megally said. "I was also glad my leadership and commitment to DePaul has been noticed.
"I had been captain of my academy soccer team in high school and always looked to be a leader. I used to lead primarily through my actions. I began taking on more responsibility for the team my sophomore year and last year I worked on improving my leadership skills to benefit the team.
"There's more pressure to be a leader next year going into my senior season. It has evolved over the years, and this spring, I've been running our captains' practices. The coaches told us how good the workouts went. They said the sessions were intense with guys looking to get better on their own and not just go out there and kick the ball around."
Megally and Shupenia will kick around ideas and interact with Bri Lilly (volleyball) and Eric Leonard (men's soccer) from Butler, Megan Ballenger (volleyball) and Ty Medd (cross country) of Creighton, Georgetown's Aliyah Graves-Brown (field hockey) and Akoy Agau (men's basketball), Marquette's Erin Holland (women's soccer) and Cameron Marotta (men's basketball), Taylor Huntley (softball) and Nick Sailor (men's soccer) of Providence.
Other student-athletes serving on the committee include Alyssa Rusch (softball) and Hope Demel (volleyball) from St. John's, Sarah Kenneweg (volleyball) and Jeffrey Larson (cross country) from Seton Hall, Callie Duliba (women's soccer) from Villanova and Xavier's Mackenzi Humm (volleyball) and Grant Parrelli (cross country).
"This is an amazing opportunity for me because next season I'll be given a lot more responsibility on the tennis team as captain," Shupenia said. "To represent DePaul at such an important event means a lot to me. I'm grateful to Kathryn Statz and everyone at DePaul who gave me the chance to be a part of something like this.
"The SAAC will focus a lot on leadership and give all of us a chance to talk about things that are happening in the BIG EAST. We'll take a look at the NCAA and issues that are pertinent to student-athletes and our communities."
Megally has taken an active role in helping transform the program.
"I want to help mold the team to be disciplined in the way we want to play," he said. "From my freshman year to now, there is a completely different dynamic. We have become a group dedicated to a single purpose, and it began by changing the mentality of the team.
"Starting out last season winning one of our first 11 games, we weren't seeing any positive results from our hard work and effort. I remember talking to freshman John Freitag after a loss and he was really frustrated. He wanted to know if we kept working, would it pay off.
"I told him there was no one on the team more frustrated than me. I told him to keep going strong. Then, we won two in a row and began realizing the hard work is paying off.
"We had a strong finish and qualified for the BIG EAST tournament. During the first 11 games, there wasn't one person outside our team that believed we could do it. We stuck with it, the wins came and we turned the season around."
Shupenia wants to acquire insight into new methods of evolving as a leader. The junior from Belarus recently became the first Blue Demon in school history to compete in the NCAA Women's Tennis Championship in both singles and doubles.
"I am looking forward to learning about the various types of leadership from the other BIG EAST team captains and leaders," she said. "I am a quiet leader who leads by example, and I'm hoping to learn how to lead in different ways.
"Coach Mark Ardizzone and I have talked about how I need to be more vocal. When we're competing on the court, I need to be a little louder in my support of the teammate playing next to me. I want to give my teammates more energy."
Megally will be in lockstep with Shupenia looking to enhance his leadership capabilities.
"At the SAAC event, I want to see how other student-athlete leaders handle their responsibilities," he said. "I hope to build relationships with everyone there and see what I can learn from them. It's not just soccer, but leaders from all different sports with their own leadership styles and techniques.
"This meeting will open your mind to more thoughts and ideas and make you more receptive to something new. No one wants a leader who is closed off.
"Over time, I have learned to become more vocal. When I point out something a teammate is doing wrong, I'm not doing it to make him look bad. It's an effort to make the team better, and that's what really matters. It's the same for me when I make a mistake. If we're all accountable in trying to make the team better, it gets back to us sharing a common goal."
Players Mentioned
Midfielder/Defender
/ MEN'S SOCCER
Midfielder
/ MEN'S SOCCER
/ WOMEN'S TENNIS
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