Beckman Now a Hall of Famer
BRYANT INDUCTS 10 MEMBERS INTO ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME
VIEW PHOTO GALLERY FROM THE HALL OF FAME DINNER
SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Spanning an incredible five decades of athletic excellence, Bryant University officially welcomed 10 new members into its Athletics Hall of Fame during a beautiful induction dinner November 11.
Since the first hall of fame class was inducted back in 1987, the total number of members of the hall of fame has grown to well over 100 former athletes, coaches and contributors.
Several alumni and former coaches turned out in support of the class of 2011, including many current Hall of Famers, including Kevin Barletta '03, Beth Connealy-Wandyes '96, Tony DeQuatto '67, Jim Squadrito, F. Robert Else '65, Jon Sjogren '88, Jeff Renga '03, and Joe Goddard.
Hosted by the Voice of Bryant Basketball and radio personality for 98.5 FM the Sports Hub in Boston Jon Wallach, this year's Hall of Fame introduced the first members of the Hall of Fame's Legacy category with such honors going to former tennis player Andy Sundberg '67and women's basketball player Phyllis Cicchelli '51.
This year's Hall of Fame Class included four All-Americans, seven conference player of the year honors, three team Final Four appearances, 10 All-New England and one NCAA Sportsmanship Award recipient for all Divisions across the country.
Hall of Fame Class of 2010
Britta Beckman Durow '04 Women's Volleyball (presented by coach Theresa Garlacy)
The Bryant women's volleyball team dominated conference and regional play during the past decade, and one of the driving forces behind the team's success was the play of Britta Beckman. A floor leader at the setter position, Beckman helped guide the Bulldogs to an incredible 125 team victories from
2000-03, including four-straight NCAA tournament appearances and two trips to the Round of 16, as well as the 2003 Northeast-10 Conference Regular-Season and Tournament championships. During her career, Beckman was named the NE-10 Setter of the Year and a First-Team All-NE-10 selection three times. She was a four-time American Volleyball Coaches Association Northeast Region pick, and she earned AVCA Honorable Mention All-America honors in 2003. In addition, Beckman garnered 2002 Daktronics First Team All-Region honors and was named a Daktronics Second Team All-Region selection in 2001 and 2003. Beckman is currently ranked second all-time in both program and Northeast-10 Conference history with 6,274 career assists and also ranks first in single-season program records with 1,749 helpers in 2003.
Mike Florest '04 Baseball (presented by former coach Jon Sjogren '88)
A team captain and No. 1 pitcher on the most successful Bryant baseball team in school history, Mike Florest was a two-time all-conference selection during his career from 2001-04. Florest's career season came in 2004, when he was named to the all-region first team by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) after leading the Bulldogs to the NCAA Divison II Regional Championship and the program's first-ever berth into the College World Series in Montgomery, Ala. Bryant won a then- school-record 40 games during the dream 2004 season, with Florest earning 10 victories from the mound and striking out 69 batters on the year. Florest still holds a number of Bulldog career records, including the program marks for wins, with 26, strikeouts, with 244, and complete games, with 14. He is currently second all-time with 324.2 career innings pitched. Despite battling injuries throughout his senior season, Florest pitched Bryant to a win in the second game of the NCAA regional and earned all-tournament honors.
Allison Kelly '04 Women's Soccer (presented by coach Chris Flint)
One of the top women's soccer players in school history, Allison Kelly was a two-time team captain and three-time All-Northeast-10 Conference selection in a stellar career that stretched from 2000-03. A prolific scorer, Kelly set the school record for career assists with 26 and is second all-time with 34 career goals. She led the Bulldogs in scoring, points and assists all four years of her career and becomes the first women's soccer player to ever be inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame in 2011. As a sophomore, Kelly set the school record for points in a season with 31 and was named a first team all-New England and second team all-region selection. As a junior, she earned all-conference honors for the second year in a row and ranked in the top-10 in the NE-10 in points. As a senior in 2003, Kelly earned first team all-conference, first team all-region and all-New England accolades, and the Bulldogs won 38 games during her illustrious career.
Hall of Fame Class of 2011
Mark Verille '87 Men's Soccer (presented by former coach Lou Verocchi)
A standout men's soccer player during the mid-1980s, Mark Verille becomes the fourth men's soccer player to be elected into the Bryant Athletics Hall of Fame. Bryant's first men's soccer player to be named a Division II All-American — he was a 1986 NSCAA First Teamer — Verille was a four-time Northeast-10 All-Conference selection and was named the conference player of the year as a senior while earning back-to-back All-New England honors during his junior and senior seasons. Verille was a 1986 NSCAA All-Region First Team selection and helped lead Bryant to a seven-game win streak in 1987. Bryant's all-time career assist leader with 20, Verille ranks third all-time for single-season assists with eight in 1985.
Heidi Chirigotis '04 Field Hockey (presented by teammate Jaime Bess Hocktor)
One of the most successful field hockey players in school history, Heidi Chirigotis becomes the first field hockey player ever elected into the Bryant Athletics Hall of Fame. A 2004 graduate, she finished her career as the all-time leader in points, points per game, goals, goals per game, game-winning goals, shots attempted and shots per game in both a season and a career. Chirigotis helped lead Bryant to four-straight Northeast-10 Conference Tournament appearances, including a berth into the conference championship game in 2002 and a league title in 2003. A key member of Bryant's 2002 and 2003 NCAA Division II Final Four teams, she was selected to the NCAA All-Tournament team and was picked as an NFHCA Senior All-Star in 2003. Chirigotis was a two-time NE-10 First Team selection, also garnering NFHCA All-America honors and Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Year recognition as a senior.
Jon Yuengling '04 Men's Lacrosse (presented by teammate Chris Piscotta)
Jon Yuengling becomes the second men's lacrosse standout to earn induction into the Bryant University Athletics Hall of Fame. A two-time USILA All-American and three-time All-Northeast-10 Conference selection — including garnering the title of 2004 NE-10 Player of Year — Yuengling currently ranks first all-time in school history with 215 career goals scored, the second-most in NCAA Division II history. His 284 career points are only two behind teammate and fellow Hall of Famer Kevin Barletta '03 and rank seventh all-time in NCAA DII history.
Max Good Men's Basketball Coach (presented by former AD Dan Gavitt)
During his seven-year career coaching the Bryant men's basketball team, head coach Max Good posted 133 wins, turning a cellar-dwelling program into a regional, and later, a national power. While at Bryant from 2001-08, Good led the Bulldogs to five NCAA tournament appearances, reaching the Sweet 16 all five times, an achievement highlighted by a memorable run to the NCAA Division II Championship Game in 2005, where Bryant came up just six points shy of a national title. In the Good era, the Bulldog men's basketball program saw a pair of All-Americans and five players move on to the professional ranks abroad. Inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in 2004, Good was named the Rhode Island Coach of the Year that same year. Good is currently the head coach at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.
Michael Williams '04 Men's Basketball (presented by teammate Mike Niedzwiecki)
Arguably the best big man ever to play basketball at Bryant, Mike Williams enjoyed a stellar career at Bryant from 2000-05, playing a key role in the team's run to the NCAA Division II National Championship game as a senior in 2005. Williams led Bryant to its first-ever Northeast Regional Championship with a win over rival Bentley to earn a spot in the NCAA Elite Eight, and the 6-foot-11 center recorded an amazing 35 rebounds and 19 blocks in a trio of regional tournament contests. The 2005 NCAA Division II Sportsmanship Award recipient currently holds all of Bryant's single-game, single-season and career blocking records and ranks third all-time with 987-career rebounds and second in school history with a 7.7 career rebounding average. After graduation, Williams went on to play professionally overseas in the European Professional League and for the Irish National Team.
LEGACY
A category that was created to bridge the gap between past generation of outstanding former student-athletes who did not have the opportunity to compete for NCAA championships and may not have been recorded in record books or archives, but who played an integral role in building the foundation for Bryant Athletics today and were outstanding athletes in their own right.
Andy Sundberg '68 Men's Tennis (presented by teammate Dave Hansen '69)
An inaugural inductee of the Bryant University Athletics Hall of Fame Legacy Class, Andy Sundberg spent four years on the courts, captaining the men's tennis team from 1965-67. Sundberg served a crucial role in the founding the men's tennis program at Bryant all together, establishing the team in 1965 and recruiting the program's first coach. A four-time winner of the team most valuable player award, he spent most of his time competing in the No. 1 singles and doubles positions. After graduation, Sundberg served in the Army and was stationed in Vietman where he rose to the rank of E5 Sargaent. After his discharge, he spent the next 30 years at Amica Insurance, where he retired as an Assistant Vice President. But Sundberg did not forget about the game, starting a tennis program at Amica. Today, Sundberg lives in Tucson, Ariz., where he founded the Quail Creek Tennis Tournament that is still played today.
Phyllis Cicchelli '51 Women's Basketball (presented by granddaughter Evonne Weiner)
A pioneer in the sport of women's basketball, Phyllis Zamiello Cicchelli was a member of the Bryant women's basketball team from 1949-1951. Born in Italy, Zamiello Cicchelli immigrated to Rhode Island at the age of seven, where she was immediately enrolled in first grade without the ability to speak English. But that did not stop her from achieving success. Attending Cranston East, Zamiello Cicchelli took up sports, including basketball, but also found success with various other activities, including various leadership groups and the school orchestra, where she played the violin. Those skills helped her find continued success throughout her collegiate career at Bryant and later as the executive director of the Cranston Housing Authority, where she worked for 25 years.