HALL OF FAME INDUCTS 17

Hall of Fame 2001 inductees: (seated) Penny Waderich-Fuehrer, Pamela Church, Lesa Hojnicki Sayer, Carolyn Misch, John Gersbach, Carl Wren, Craig Smith, John Sullivan, Jr. (accepting for John Sullivan, Sr.); (standing) Jeffrey Wittig, Samuel Shatkin, Thomas Gibbons, David Drummond, Louis Alexander, Jr., Michael Cirrincione, and Atlas Evans. Not pictured: Neil Alexander.

Seventeen former athletes, coaches, and athletic administrators were inducted into the University's Athletic Hall of Fame at the start of Meliora Weekend.

The 2001 batch of Hall of Famers includes two sons of legendary coach and athletic director Louis Alexander-Louis, Jr. '51 and Neil '50-who join their father in the hall, and the group includes Penny Waderich-Fuehrer '90, the first woman athlete cited for winning national championships as a player and a coach.

Inductees are:

Louis Alexander, Jr. '51-Captain and most valuable player of the University basketball team in 1950-51, Alexander set a single-season scoring record in 1951. He was named by Street & Smith's Basketball Yearbook as one of the top 50 basketball players in the East. Before joining the Navy, Alexander coached freshman basketball and baseball at Rochester. The chairman of the Rochester-area College Athletic Directors, he served as varsity baseball and basketball coach and then director of physical education and athletics at Rochester Institute of Technology.

Neil Alexander '50-A basketball and baseball player, he was co-captain and most outstanding player of the basketball team for two seasons. After a long career in the food industry, he retired from Alliance Foods.

Pamela Church '85-A four-year letterwinner in field hockey and lacrosse, Church helped the field hockey team win its first New York State AIAW championship. She was a three-time First Team All-State honoree in lacrosse and was named to the First Team All-ECAC Regional Team in 1985. A member of the U.S. Field Hockey Association from 1985-1997, Church played field hockey and coached lacrosse as well as participated in two marathons after graduation. She is senior project manager at Raytheon Systems Company in El Segundo, California.

Michael Cirrincione '69-A three-year baseball player, Cirrincione finished 28th in batting average in the nation (.388) in 1967 and served as interim head coach of the team during his senior year. He also played three years of football for the University. He spent his career in the Rochester City School District as a teacher and administrator, receiving the Rochester Administrator of the Year recognition in 1998-99.

David Drummond '82-The four-year NCAA Division III All-American in six events for the swimming team set six school records (three individual, three relay). He was the two-time Upper New York State College Swimming Association individual champion. Since receiving his master's in fine arts in acting from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Drummond has acted in more than 80 productions as well as in film and television.

Atlas Evans '71-A four-year letterwinner in track and field, Evans set school records in four events. He captained the track team in 1970 and was a member of the 440 All-America relay team. Evans is chief financial officer of the MGH Institute of Health Professions in Boston.

Penny Waderich-Fuehrer '90-A four-year letterwinner and three-year starter for the women's soccer team, Waderich-Fuehrer played on the 1986 and 1987 NCAA Division III national championship teams and was named to the NCAA All-Tournament Team in 1987. The women's soccer team won three straight UAA titles between 1987 and 1989. As coach of Monroe Community College's women's soccer team from 1993-98, she won the NJCAA national championship and was runner-up twice. The three-time Northeast Region Coach of the Year, she is the only woman to have won a national title as a player and coached a team to a national title. She coaches three youth soccer teams and is pursuing certification in secondary social studies.

John Gersbach '39-Gersbach played football for four years, basketball for three seasons, baseball for one season, and competed in track and field for three seasons. He set the University broad jump record and was the top scorer in freshman basketball his sophomore year. After serving in the Army and working as a psychologist for the U.S. Veterans Administration, he worked for 29 years for Dundee Mills, Inc. in New York City and Philadelphia.

Thomas Gibbons '56-The four-year football player was a member of the school's first unbeaten, untied team in 1952, when he led the team with 680 yards rushing and nine touchdowns. He led the team in rushing each of the next two years and earned the Associated Press Little All-America recognition each year. During his four years playing football, the team had a 24-7 record, the most successful period in the team's history to that point.

Lesa Hojnicki Sayer '89-An All-American in track and field, Sayer helped Rochester to its highest-ranked finish at the national championships-the NCAA Division III national indoor runner-up in 1989. She won four titles at the UAA championships as a senior and finished in the top three at the New York State championships nine times. She broke records in the 800-meter indoor and outdoor run and the 1,000-meter indoor run. A human resource leader for Pizza Hut, Inc., she represented New Jersey on a professional exchange team to Pakistan in 1994.

Carolyn Misch '89-The All-American in cross country and track and field finished 14th at the NCAA Division III cross country championships, the first Rochester female to qualify for cross country nationals and the first to win All-America honors. She was a captain for three teams in 1988-89. Misch works for the Raleigh, North Carolina, planning department.

Samuel Shatkin '79-The Yellowjacket football team's leading rusher in 1978, Shatkin earned the Most Valuable Offensive Back and Most Valuable Team Player trophies and the Stinger Award for most outstanding plays in one season. He has a private practice in plastic and reconstructive surgery in the Buffalo area.

Craig Smith '39-Smith played three different positions in his four years of baseball at Rochester and was captain as a senior, hitting over .400 and leading the team in a one-loss season. He was also a two-year letterwinner with the soccer team. He spent more than 40 years with the Bureau of Municipal Research in Rochester, serving as director from 1955-83.

Merle Spurrier-Spurrier served in the department of physical education for 30 years and was director of the women's program, where she oversaw activities in 10 sports. In 1961, the Department of Athletics and Recreation recognized her contributions and achievements by creating the Merle Spurrier Award, presented annually to a senior woman who has made the most outstanding contribution to women's sports by demonstrating leadership, enthusiasm, and service in her four years at the University. She was inducted into the Hall of Fame posthumously.

John Sullivan '23-Sullivan's brother, George, coached the Yellowjacket football team when John played quarterback. After graduation, Sullivan was an assistant coach for the Yellowjackets from 1923-26 and also an official for the National Football Association. He served as head football coach at Aquinas Institute of Rochester, where he won more than 70 percent of his games. In 1946, he rejoined the Yellowjacket staff and served as an advance scout. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame posthumously.

Jeffrey Wittig '86-A four-year starter at quarterback in football, Wittig was an All-American twice and set 17 University passing records. He was only the fifth player in New York State to surpass 5,000 yards passing. Also a pitcher and shortstop, he co-captained the baseball team for two years and was the team's Most Valuable Player twice, hitting a career .336 average and accumulating an 8-4 record as a pitcher. He is the director of corporate sales for Finger Lakes Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Carl Wren '50-A baseball pitcher with a four-year record of 17-10, Wren played for some of Rochester's most well-known coaches, including Louis Alexander, Sr. in baseball and Elmer Burnham and Spike Garnish in football. He played on both sides of the ball in football, taking over as placekicker in his sophomore year and earning Honorable Mention All-Upstate New York for two years. He taught high school for 32 years and coached baseball, football, and basketball as well.

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