Southeastern Louisiana University will be inducting six new members to the SLU Athletics Hall of Fame at Friday's North Oaks Health System SLU Athletics Hall of Fame Banquet. Each day this week, we'll share an interview with a member of the 2025 class.
9/7: Mack Boatner, Football
9/8: Courtney Donald Sweeney, Volleyball
9/9: Cqulin Hubert, Football
9/10: Ed Nodhturft, Baseball
9/11: Hope Sabadash, Soccer
9/12: Sarah Williams, Women's Basketball
Courtney Donald Sweeney, Volleyball
Donald Sweeney, who competed under her maiden name from 2009-12, was elected last year and chose to put off her induction to 2025. She is the sixth volleyball student-athlete to be named to the SLU Athletics Hall of Fame. The Tomball, Texas native joins former Lady Lions Anne Bauer Peytavin, Sarah Gascon, Denise Kubena Wyninger, Christie Mikolajchak-Cripps and Darci Starr.
Donald Sweeney was the first Lady Lion to be named Louisiana Player of the Year as a senior, setting a new single-season school record with a .330 attack percentage on the way to earning first team All-SLC and SLU Female Athlete of the Year accolades. The four-year letterwinner finished among the program's career leaders with 1,044 kills, a .245 attack percentage, 275 blocks, 1,216 points, 419 sets played and 124 matches played.
Donald Sweeney recently discussed her time at Southeastern and upcoming induction with LionSports.net.
LionSports.net: What were some of your favorite memories from your time with Southeastern?
Donald Sweeney: A lot of my favorite memories come from spending time with my teammates off the court. We were always together and I remember the fun times at practice, hanging out and doing stuff together, lifting weights and traveling to away games.
LionSports.net: Have you been able to keep in touch with any of your former coaches and teammates?
Donald Sweeney: My former coach Geno (Frugoli) reached out when I posted about being named to the Hall of Fame. Our setter Arianne Cruckshank and I were roommates for a few years after college and we've stayed in touch. She and her husband just came and visited us last weekend.
LionSports.net: How did your time as a SLU student-athlete help shape who you are as a person today?
Donald Sweeney: It definitely taught me dedication and hard work. I had a lot of opportunities to persevere. I sell rafting trips now and many of the lessons I learned at Southeastern have translated to by raft guiding career. Getting up early and working hard were all things that were part of my student-athlete experience that I have carried on to my career.
LionSports.net: Have you been able to follow the Lady Lions since you left?
Donald Sweeney: Yes, it was awesome when they made it to the NCAA Tournament a couple of years ago. I was really proud to be a Lady Lion when that happened.
