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HONOLULU – Ranging between two ceremonies in the morning and the afternoon, and representing 18 different programs, 83 current and former Hawai'i student-athletes took the most important steps in their journey at UH during Saturday's Spring Commencement Exercises at the Stan Sheriff Center – walking among their peers as University of Hawai'i at Manoa graduates and members of 106th Annual Graduating Class.
In a significant change to the Spring Commencement program, the exercises were split into two ceremonies, the first at 9 a.m. and the second at 4 p.m., separating the graduates by colleges and schools in a similar fashion to the mid-year commencement exercise held every December.
The 2017 graduating group is represented by 35 student-athletes from men's teams, 42 student-athletes from women's teams and six student-athletes from coed teams. The largest team represented on Saturday was the baseball team, with 10 student-athletes earning their undergraduate degrees – including all seven seniors who finish their eligibility this season. The track and field/cross country program was the most well-represented among women's teams, with eight graduates earning their degrees. The other teams followed with: football (8), men's swimming and diving (7), women's swimming and diving (7), soccer (6), water polo (6), men's volleyball (5), women's golf (4), beach volleyball (3), cheer (3), sailing (3), softball (3), men's tennis (3), men's golf (2), women's basketball (2), women's volleyball (2) and women's tennis (1).
Five student-athletes will be earning dual degrees:
Paula Chillida Esforzado (water polo),
Paulo de Paula (men's swimming and diving),
Jennings Franciskovic (men's volleyball),
Paulina Petriskova (women's tennis) and
Madi Uekawa (women's swimming and diving).
Some of the student-athletes who will attain their degrees during the summer session also participated in the Spring Commencement ceremony.
One team is off campus, as the track and field squad is competing in the Big West Championships, and held their own private ceremony for their graduates in Fullerton, Calif.
Each of the graduating student-athletes received white "H" stoles courtesy of the UH Letterwinners Club and were honored at a pre-graduation reception breakfast along with their families.
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