BRYANT TO INDUCT THREE INTO ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME
February 3, 2010
BRYANT UNIVERSITY TO INDUCT THREE INTO ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME IN 2010
SMITHFIELD, R.I. - The Bryant University Athletics Hall of Fame Committee is pleased to announce three new additions to the school's Athletics Hall of Fame for 2010. Former volleyball setter Britta Beckman '04 (Omaha, Neb.), baseball pitcher Mike Florest '04 (Franklin, Mass.) and women's soccer forward Allison Kelly '04 (Trumbull, Conn.) round out this year's Hall of Fame class, bringing the total number elected into the Hall to 84 members. The three will be officially inducted during the summer of 2011 in conjunction with the Black & Gold Golf Tournament, as the Hall of Fame Dinner will move to a biennial rotation.
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| Britta Beckman |
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 Beckman.
A quarterback and floor leader at the setter position, Beckman
helped guide the Bulldogs to an incredible 125 team victories from
2000-2003, including four NCAA tournament appearances, two trips to
the NCAA Sweet 16 and the 2003 Northeast-10 Conference
regular-season and tournament championships.
During her career, Beckman was named the NE-10 Setter of the Year
and First-Team All-Northeast-10 three times and was a four-time
Northeast Region selection by the American Volleyball Coaches
Association (AVCA).
She also earned Honorable Mention All-America honors by the AVCA in
2003. In addition, Beckman garnered Daktronics First Team
All-Region honors in 2002 and was named a second team all-region
selection by Daktronics in 2001 and 2003.
Beckman is currently ranked second all-time in both school history
and Northeast-10 Conference history with
6,274 career assists and also ranks first in single-season assists
in the Bryant volleyball record books with 1,749 helpers in 2003.
She becomes the eighth women's volleyball player to be inducted in the Bryant Athletics Hall of Fame.
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|
Mike Florest |
A team captain and No. 1 pitcher on the most successful Bulldog
baseball team in history, Florest was a two-time Northeast-10
All-Conference selection during his career from 2001-2004.
He was named to the all-region first team by the American Baseball
Coaches Association (ABCA) in 2004 after leading Bryant to the NCAA
Regional Championship and the school's first-ever berth in the
College World Series in Montgomery, Ala.
Bryant won a then-school record 40 games in during the amazing
2004 season, with Florest winning 10 games and striking out 69
batters during the year.
Florest holds Bryant's career records for wins with 26, strikeouts
with 244 and complete games with 14 and 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.
He becomes the 12th baseball player inducted into the
Athletics Hall of Fame.
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| Allison Kelly |
One of the top women's soccer players in school history, Kelly
was a two-time team captain and three-time All-Northeast-10
Conference selection from 2000-2003.
A prolific scorer, Kelly set the school record for assists in a
career with 26 and is second all-time with 34 career goals. She
twice tied the record for assists in a game (3) and led the
Bulldogs in scoring, points and assists for all four seasons.
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 Northeast-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
a total of 38 games during her illustrious career.
Kelly is the first women's soccer player to be inducted into the
Bryant Athletics Hall of Fame.
--BULLDOGS--