Three Athletes, Team, Inducted into Hall of Fame

MEADVILLE, Pa. – The Allegheny College Department of Athletics and Recreation honored three individuals and a team in the silver anniversary class of the Hall of Fame. Kim (Huber) Cook, Carol (Frederick) Devlin and Laurie (Machuga) Grile were the three individuals honored, while the 1981 men’s tennis team became the sixth team inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Hosted in the new Tippie Alumni Center, the 2006 class is the 25th class to be inducted, as the addition takes the Allegheny College Hall of Fame to 149 individuals and six teams.

Huber, pictured left with Director of Athletics Larry Lee and President Dr. Richard Cook, a 1996 graduate was a four-year member of the women’s basketball team ending her playing career as the all-time leading scorer in North Coast Athletic Conference history, 2,053 points, a record that has been surpassed by just one player. She has the top three single-season point totals in school history with 593 in 1995-96, 534 in 1993-94 and 490 in 1994-95, while her freshman year tally of 436 in 1992-93 is the sixth best total. Her 44 points against Oberlin in 1996 is seven more than the next highest total in school history, as she also tallied 36 points against Wittenberg in the same season.

Kim is second in school history in career rebounds with 825, and is third in career field goal percentage, hitting 822-of-1,738 shots (47.3%) in her career. She also holds school records in free throws made in a career (563), season (210) and game (17). She was named First Team All-NCAC in 1993-94, 1994-95 and 1995-96, earning NCAC Player of the Year honors in 1994-95 and 1995-96. Kim was named a Kodak Honorable Mention All-American in 1994-95 and 1995-96.

“This is definitely exciting to be nominated,” said Cook. “I can’t believe that it is ten years out already and this is going on. I had an amazing experience, and I didn’t know how it would turn out with the injury that I had and coming back and everything working out as well as it did. I am very pleased with how it all turned out.”

Frederick, right, a 1989 graduate, was an outstanding three-sport athlete for the Gators, participating in volleyball, basketball and track & field during her tenure at the school. She was a three-time All-NCAC performer in volleyball, earning First Team All-League honors in 1987 and 1988, while being named the 1987 NCAC Player of the Year. She was named All-East Region in 1987 and 1988 and was named to the NCAC’s 10th Anniversary team in 1997.

At the time of her graduation, Frederick held the school record for service aces in a career with 164 and ranked fifth in the NCAC record book for kills in a season with 599 and in a career with 1,482. She appeared in four different NCAA Tournaments during her career, two with basketball and two with volleyball. In addition, she was a two-time All-NCAC performer in the javelin in 1986 and 1987.

“I feel tremendously honored,” said Frederick. “It is very nice to be recognized for the sports that I played. I played hard and I played to win. It is nice to be recognized for the abilities that I showed. I was very fortunate to have a strong coaching staff that was supporting of the team. They really utilized each players individual abilities to create something that was successful.”

Laurie Machuga Grile, left, a 1996 graduate, finished her career as one of the most distinguished pitchers in Division III softball history. She holds the Division III record for career strikeout ratio (10.7), a total that is tied for second in the NCAA All-Division record books. She is also the NCAA Division III career record holder for consecutive scoreless innings with 75, while second place is seven innings behind with 68. Laurie is second in career strikeouts, as she is one of just two Division III softball players with over 1,000 career strikeouts at 1,025, a total that ranks her 32nd among all divisions. She had 46 career shutouts, second best in Division III and was a three-time Division III strikeout champion (1993, 1994 and 1996) and led the nation three times in strikeout ratio (1993, 1995, 1996).

This three-time First Team All-American (1993, 1994, 1995) also earned Second Team All-America honors in 1996. She is tied for fifth in Division III history with 19 strikeouts in a game, while striking out 18 batters twice, tied for 10th. She is ninth in career wins with 81, against just 19 losses, while her winning percentage of .810 is 27th best in the Division III annals.

“It is an honor and it is still very surreal,” said Grile. “I’m still trying to come to grips with it all. It is quite an honor. I just did what I loved. I got lucky - I was good at it.”

The 1981 men’s tennis team, pictured at right, ended its season as one of, if not the, greatest tennis team in school history. The squad ended the year with a 17-2 record, with its only losses coming to Edinboro University and Grove City. At the conference championships that season, the Gators won 26 of 27 matches, winning five of the six singles championships and all three of the doubles events. Head coach “Pinky” Bates earned the Presidents Athletic Conference Coach of the Year that season, as the team was regular season and tournament champions. The PAC Championship was the last event for the squad, as the following year the NCAA instituted a national tournament.

John Mercer, the #1 singles player, ended the year with a 12-3 singles record and 13-2 doubles record. Steve Kaufman finished the year 13-1 at #2 singles and 13-1 at #1 doubles, while Ed Pritchard (#3 singles), finished the year 11-4 overall and 11-4 at #2 doubles. Mark Phillips was 12-1 on the year, 11-1 at #4 singles. He teamed with Pritchard to go 10-2 at #2 doubles, while sporting a 10-3 overall doubles record. Bill Ashbaugh was 10-2 at #5 singles and 11-4 overall, while going 13-2 in doubles. Greg Finnerty was 12-2, predominately at #6 singles, where he was 10-1, teaming with Ashbaugh to go 12-1 at #3 doubles. Doug Sedlak, the alternate for matches, was 4-0 at #6 singles. Other members of the squad include Jim Casselberry, Barry Enterline, Tom Koenig and Joe Hallos, Jr.

“For us, we had talked about it for years,” said Ed Pritchard. “This is my 25th reunion, and it was a great experience for us, the team and individually. We have all kept in contact with each other, we are all successful in our own ways. I hadn’t been back to the school for a while, and it is amazing the development of the athletic facilities, not to mention the hall we are in now. It is all great.”

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