Richmond, Va. - As a culmination of the Colonial Athletic Association's 25th Anniversary Celebration, a committee of administrators from each of the CAA’s 12 member institutions was given the task of selecting 25 CAA “Silver Stars” – the 25 student-athletes who have had the greatest impact on the conference over the past 25 years. Drexel's Kate Hynes was selected as one of the 25 as she is the only Drexel athlete and only men's or women's swimmer or diver chosen for the elite honor. Hynes was a four-time CAA Diver of the Year and won the CAA Championship on both the 1-meter and 3-meter board in each of her four seasons. Hynes and 24 others were selected out of more than 50,000 student-athletes who have competed in the CAA over the past 25 years, including thousands of all-conference performers, hundreds of All-Americans and numerous athletes who have gone on to compete and excel at the professional level and in the Olympic Games.
In addition to her conference dominance, Hynes was a two-time All-America on the 3-meter board and qualified for the NCAA Championships three times on both boards. Hynes finished her career undefeated in dual meets while establishing pool records at schools throughout the east coast.
Hynes stood out in the classroom as well as she collected College Swimming Coaches Association of America Scholar All-America accolades and was a three-time Philadelphia Inquirer Women's Swimming & Diving Academic Performer of the Year as well as a three-time Academic All-District honoree.
In addition to Hynes, the following athletes were also recognized as Silver Stars by the CAA: Daniel Andersson (VCU – men’s tennis), Istvan Bagyula (George Mason – men’s track & field), Brett Blizzard (UNC Wilmington – men’s basketball), Adin Brown (William and Mary – men’s soccer), Sean Casey (Richmond – baseball), Marina DiGiacomo (Old Dominion – field hockey), George Evans (George Mason – men’s basketball), Diane Guthrie-Gresham (George Mason – women’s track & field), Kelli James (Old Dominion – field hockey), Kellen Kulbacki (James Madison – baseball), Matt Lane (William and Mary – men’s cross country and track & field), Kayleigh Lotti (Hofstra – softball), Clarisse Machanguana (Old Dominion – women’s basketball), Jon Masa (Hofstra – wrestling), Eric Maynor (VCU – men’s basketball), Megan Moulton-Levy (William and Mary – women’s tennis), Natalie Neaton (William and Mary – women’s soccer), Johnny Newman (Richmond – men’s basketball), Ticha Penicheiro (Old Dominion – women’s basketball), Aline Pereira (George Mason – volleyball), David Robinson (Navy – men’s basketball), Alex Smith (Delaware – men’s lacrosse), Carole Thate (James Madison – field hockey) and Justin Verlander (Old Dominion – baseball).