Men’s lacrosse captain and all-conference selection Ryan Blume was claimed by the Archers Lacrosse Club of the Premier Lacrosse League. The standout defenseman led the Sharks with 22 caused turnovers this past season. During his five-year LIU career, he tallied 186 ground balls, 69 caused turnovers, 15 goals and nine assists.

Dr. Ranekka Dean ’97 was appointed as the senior director of infection prevention and control for NYU Langone Health, where she will oversee activities of infection prevention at all the health system’s hospital and ambulatory locations. In her decorated career, Dr. Dean has risen the ranks from registered nurse to nurse manager to infection control practitioner.

John O’Keefe ’12 was unanimously elected to serve as assistant superintendent of business for Great Neck Public Schools. O’Keefe previously served as an administrator in the Sachem, West Hempstead, and Sag Harbor school districts, and received the School District Business Leader Award from the New York State Association of School Business Officials in 2013.

Keith Scott ’16, professor in the department of social work, was selected as the grants director for Family & Children’s Association, a leading health and human services nonprofit organization. With a proven track record of working to protect and empower vulnerable populations, Scott will lead efforts to secure government funding that is crucial to programs that serve Long Islanders.

Ray Dalio, founder and co-chief investment officer of the world’s largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, moved into the top 30 wealthiest people in America according to Forbes. Dalio’s firm now manages $154 billion, and he is well known for donating $1 billion of his fortune to philanthropic causes supporting microfinance and inner-city education.

Two Sharks won national titles at the Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association National Championships, leading the University to a fourth place finish out of 300 teams in the country. Senior Kara Bromschwig finished first in the individual intermediate flat, and senior Mackenzie Ashe won first place in alumni over-fences.

Michael Masaracchio ’01, chair of the physical therapy doctoral program, was elected as the vice president of the American Physical Therapy Association’s New York chapter. Masaracchio is a 2018 recipient of the David Newton Award for Excellence in Teaching and is an instrumental member of the faculty that developed the University’s Doctor of Physical Therapy degree program.

Esports Junior Marco Castelli was crowned champion of the Eastern College Athletic Conference Xbox FIFA Spring Championship. Castelli will go on to compete in NextLevel’s FIFA 2022 College National Championship, where he will be one of 227 students from around the country competing for a total prize pool of $50,000.

The men’s wrestling team defended its title as the nation’s top Scholar Team All-America with the highest GPA in the country, according to the National Wrestling Coaches Association. The Sharks outpaced Stanford University, Brown University, Cornell University and Duke University in the rankings, and four Sharks earned individual Scholar All-American honors.

Tatiana Melani, ’12, ’13, founder of Beyond Cheer Athletics in New York City, led her non-profit competitive cheerleading program to its first regional championship. With the win, Beyond Cheer Athletics qualified to compete at the D2 Summit national championship competition at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Walt Disney World in May.