OWINGS MILLS, Md. - Director of Athletics Brett Adams announced today that seven individuals will be inducted into the Stevenson University Athletics Hall of Fame class of 2015 on October 24 at the Hall of Fame banquet during Homecoming and Family Weekend 2015.
This year's class includes Krissy Busse '97, Ricky Sanchez '98, Bryan Gunning '99, Jen Monaldi '99, Nancy Zentz '00, Andy Welling '03 and Carol Zimmerman. Among the seven individuals, the University will also recognize the 1997 women's lacrosse team.
"The first two classes of inductees really made a difference in helping us move forward to where we are one of the national leaders in Division III athletics," said Adams.
The class of 2015 followes the inaugural class who was inducted last year on the 20th anniversary of the University starting its NCAA Division III athletics program in 1994. Nominees for this year's class include those who graduated from Stevenson (formerly Villa Julie College) in 2005 or earlier.
"The Athletics Hall of Fame really adds to the community of the University in general," said Paul Cantabene, Associate Athletic Director and Chair of the Hall of Fame Committee. "It really helps us celebrate the student-athletes and also students that have come to Stevenson University."
Busse was a three-year member and two-time most valuable player of the women's lacrosse team from 1995-97 after transferring from Penn State. She served as team captain all three years, including the inaugural season in 1995.
Busse totaled 121 career points with 80 goals and 41 assists while leading the Mustangs to a three-year record of 24-9, including the program's first 10-win season as a senior in 1997.
Busse played for three different head coaches, including M.C. McFadden in 1997 when she led the team with 61 points and 27 assists, a mark that still ranks third in school history. She totaled 60 ground balls that year which currently ranks seventh.
Sanchez was a two-sport athlete, playing men's soccer in 1995 and 1996 and men's lacrosse in 1996 and 1997. As a standout in lacrosse, he totaled 60 points with 41 goals and 19 assists while adding 173 ground balls, including a team-high 90 as a senior in 1997. The men's lacrosse team annually awards the Ricky Sanchez Best Midfielder Award.
On the soccer field, Sanchez was a two-year team captain while being named the team's most valuable player in 1996 after leading the team with four goals and one assist before an injury ended his season early in 1995. He later played club soccer for the Baltimore Kickers.
Following his graduation in 1998, Sanchez remained a part of the Villa Julie community as an admissions counselor, an assistant coach for men's and women's soccer as well as men's lacrosse, head men's soccer coach and sports information director.
As the head men's soccer coach, he was named the 2004 North Eastern Athletic Conference Coach of the Year after he led the Mustangs to a 10-9-1 record just one year after they posted a 1-15-1 mark in 2003. As an assistant with the women's soccer team, helped guide the team to the 2000 NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship, becoming the first team in school history to reach the NCAA tournament.
Gunning was a four-year team most valuable player selection for the men's cross country team from 1995-98. During his first two seasons, he was the team's top finisher in all 15 races while becoming the first runner in school history to break the 30-minute mark, something he accomplished eight times.
As a freshman, Gunning led the Mustangs to their first-ever NCAA Mideast Region Championship. As a sophomore, he finished first out of 51 runners at the Cabrini Invitational and second our of 33 runners at the Goucher Invitational while posting a personal best 27:57 en route to an 18th-place finish at the Maryland State College Championship.
Gunning was also named most valuable player of the indoor track and field team as a senior during the 1998-99 season.
Following his graduation, Gunning spent one season as an assistant coach with the indoor track and field team during the 1999-2000 season before spending three seasons an assistant cross contry coach from 2000-02. He was the head cross country coach for the 2003 season.
Monaldi played four seasons for the women's soccer team from 1995-98, appearing in 74 games while making 69 starts. She is still the program's most prolific scorer with a school-record 142 points and 63 goals. She also ranks third with 16 assists.
Monaldi led the team in scoring in 1997 and 1998 as the Mustangs totaled a 22-14-1 record, posting the program's first double-digit win season with 11 in 1997. That year, she scored 19 goals and 43 points, marks that rank her third and fourth in school history for a single season, respectively.
In 1996, Monaldi ranked fourth in school history with 18 goals and fifth with 39 points. All four of her single-season point totals still rank in the top-10 for a single season.
Zentz was one of the pioneers of the women's basketball program, playing four seasons from 1996-2000. She is ranked among the top-10 in school history in 15 categories and still ranks fifth all-time in school history with 656 rebounds and eighth with 706 points. Her 8.1 rebounds per game ranks fourth while her 8.7 points per game rank seventh.
Zentz is one of just two players, the most recent coming last year, to average a double double for an entire season when she averaged 10.4 points and 10.1 rebounds during the 1996-97 season. Her 10.1 rebounds per game is the second-best in school history and stood as the record until last season. She still holds the school record for rebounds in a game with 24 against Hood on Nov. 25, 1997.
Zentz was a two-time team most valuable player and recpient of the athletic department's Fighting Heart Award.
Welling played four seasons for the baseball team from 2000-03, becoming the first baseball student-athlete to play four years after playing in 29 games during the team's inaugural season in 2000. He was a two-time American Baseball Coaches Association All-Region selection and two-time team most valuable player as a junior and senior.
Welling is still ranked among the top-10 in school history in 14 categories, including the record for RBIs with 124. He also ranks sixth with 142 games played, 169 hits and nine home runs, seventh with 483 at-bats and eighth with a .350 batting average. He is also fourth with 61 walks, sixth with a .428 on-base percentage and seventh with 34 doubles.
As a junior in 2002, Welling hit .421 which ranks fourth in school history for a single season while ranking third with a .490 on-base percentage and ninth with 39 RBIs en route to earning ABCA All-South Region First Team honors.
Zimmerman has spent 23 years at the University, serving in a variety of capacities, including Coordinator of Athletics, Assistant Athletic Director, Associate Athletic Director, Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Advisor, Physical Education Instructor, Intramural Director and head coach of both men's and women's cross country and track and field.
Zimmerman was instrumental in the University's acceptance into the NCAA as a member of Division III, assisting with the application and representing the school at the NCAA Convention in San Antonio, Texas in 1993.
The 1997 women's lacrosse team posted the first double-digit win total in program history with a 10-3 record. Led by head coach M.C. McFadden, the team won 10 of its last 11 games, scoring 20 or more goals in three of its last four, including a 20-0 shutout over Trinity (D.C.). The Mustangs posted victories over Frostburg, Marymount, Washington College and Hood, twice.
Senior Krissy Busse led the team with 61 points on 34 goals and 27 assists while setting the school record with nine goals in an 18-6 win over Messiah on April 12 that stood until the 2014 season. She also set the school record for assists in a game in back-to-back games with seven against Manhattanville on April 20 and Hood on April 23.
Sophomore Wendy Dieter and freshman Erin Watson added 45 and 37 goals, respectively, while sophomore Jill Franz posted a 6.54 goals against average and 189 saves which is still the second-most in a single season in school history.
