GREENVILLE, Pa. – Graduate student Andrew Giesey (Penn, Pa./Penn Trafford) and senior Alex Geraci (Garrettsville, Ohio/Crestwood) were announced as Thiel College's Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Scholar-Athletes of the Year Friday morning.
A native of Garrettsville, Ohio, Geraci was a three-year member and two-year captain of the women's lacrosse team. Named to the PAC Sportsmanship Team following the 2021 season, she tallied 23 points (17G, 6A), 42 ground balls, 31 draw controls, and 28 caused turnovers during her career. Geraci was a member of Chi Alpha Sigma, the National College Athlete Honor Society, and was recognized as the senior female student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average.
Geraci graduated magna cum laude with departmental honors in May, with a bachelor's degree in environmental science. A five semester Dean's List student, she minored in wildlife biology and carried a 3.6 cumulative grade-point average. In April 2021, Alex was named one of Thiel's Students of the Month, one of only six students to earn the honor in the semester.
Geraci was active in the Environmental Club and served as the club's vice president. She took part in hometown environmental clean-ups as well as clean-ups at Riverside Park in Greenville. Alex was a representative of the lacrosse team at fundraising walks such as Light the Night for Leukemia and Lymphoma and the Heart Walk for the American Heart Association. Alex plans to pursue a career in environmental health and safety in the Pittsburgh area.
A native of Penn, Pa. Giesey was a five-year member and three-year captain of Thiel's baseball team. He was an All-PAC Second Team selection in 2018 after recording 43 hits, a .309 batting average and 20 RBIs. He was named to the PAC Sportsmanship Team in 2021 and was a 2020 Academic All-District 4 First Team honoree, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Giesey was also named the PAC Rookie of the Week on April 24, 2017 after hitting .411 with a pair of doubles and three RBIs.
Giesey graduated summa cum laude with bachelor's degrees in business administration and international business in May 2020. He carried a 3.85 cumulative grade-point average as an undergraduate, earned a Dean's Key as an eight-semester Dean's List honoree, earned departmental honors, and was named to the PAC Academic Honor Roll four times.
Giesey was a member of the Dietrich Honors Institute, Lambda Sigma (sophomores), Les Lauriers (senior service), Chi Alpha Sigma (student-athletes), and Chi Eta Sigma (business). He was also a resident director, a resident assistant, an ACE Fellow, and worked with the Thiel Student Support Network. Giesey earned his master's degree in business administration this spring and plans to pursue a career in marketing.
With overwhelming support from conference's presidents and athletic administrators, the PAC launched its Scholar-Athlete of the Year Banquet in 2014 as another way to recognize the league's student-athletes for their athletic achievements, excellence in the classroom and outstanding efforts in and around their campus and home communities.
*Portions contributed by the Presidents' Athletic Conference
