Allegheny to Induct Six Into Hall of Fame

MEADVILLE, Pa. – The Allegheny College department of Athletics and Recreation is proud to announce its six inductees into the 2007 class of the Allegheny College Athletic Hall of Fame. The 2007 class has combined to earn 15 All-America honors, 16 all-conference awards over 400 wins (403-100-5), for a winning percentage of nearly 80 percent, and a dozen NCAA Tournament berths. The 2007 class consists of football players Nick Reiser and Ron Bendekovic (posthumously), Carolyn Birdsall (diving), Gia Celularo (softball), Joe Musgrove (baseball) and Denise Petrossi (soccer).

Nick Reiser, class of 1997, was widely renowned as one of the top defensive lineman in the history of the North Coast Athletic Conference. In 1993 he became just the third freshman in league history to earn first-team All-NCAC honors, as he recorded 43 tackles, four tackles for loss and three sacks. A year later he led the Gators with 9.5 quarterback sacks and 12 tackles for loss, while finishing fourth on the team with 50 tackles.

As a junior Reiser earned All-America First Team honors from Hewlett Packard and the Don Hansen Football Gazette, and pre-season national honors from Street and Smith’s Magazine. He led the Gators in total and solo tackles that year, while also earning his third first team All-Conference honor. Heading into his senior year, Reiser was named the preseason National Division III Player of the Year by College Sports Magazine and preseason All-American team Street and Smith’s and Football Gazette. His preseason honors were deserving, as he proceeded to earn first team All-America honors from the America Football Coaches Association, Hewlitt Packard and the Football Gazette, while also being named the NCAC Defensive Player of the Year. Topping off his accolades was a selection as a Gagliardi Award finalist, an award that honors the student-athlete for athletic prowess, academics and community service.

Ron Bendekovic, a 1993 graduate, earned All-America honors as an offensive guard during his junior and senior seasons. As a sophomore in 1990, Bendekovic helped anchor the offensive line that won the NCAA Division III National Title. He was named to the Football Gazette All-America Second Team and the College Sports Information Directors Association (CoSida) All-America First Team after the 1991 season, before earning All-America honors during his senior year, all first team, from the American Football Coaches Association, Associated Press, and second team All-America honors from CoSida in 1992. Additionally, he was named to the All-North Coast Athletic Conference squad during the 1991 and 1992 seasons.

After graduating, Bendekovic served on the Ohio Northern coaching staff in 1993, before serving as a graduate assistant at Ohio University in 1994. he then went on to coaching stints at Kentucky State (1995-97), Marietta (1998-2000), Lenoir-Rhyne (2001) and Baldwin-Wallace (2002-03). Most recently, he had been the assistant coach at Ohio Northern University, before passing away on November 2, 2005 at the age of 34.

Carolyn Birdsall was a five-time All-American for the swimming and diving programs at Allegheny. As a sophomore in 2003, Birdsall was a finalist in both the one- and three-meter boards at the NCAA Championships hosted by Emory University, placing eighth in the three-meter board and earning the first All-America honor while placing 23rd on the one-meter board. A year later, as a junior, she placed fourth on both boards at nationals, held at Wesleyan University, giving her three All-America certificates for her career.

As a senior, Birdsall started her championship run by earning NCAC Diver of the Year, after winning her second consecutive league title on the three-meter board. She went on to take fourth in the one-meter board at the NCAA Championships, hosted by Williams College. Later in the competition she finished as the NCAA Division III runner-up, placing second in the three-meter board.

Celularo was a four-year starter on the Allegheny softball team, earning three All-America honors and helping the team to a 133-24 record, including four top-five finishes in the NCAA Tournament. As a freshman in 1985, she batted .274 in 38 games, helping the team to a 31-7 record and a berth in the NCAA Division III World Series. A year later as a sophomore, she led the team with a .341 batting average, hitting two home runs and driving in 24 runs en route to her first of three first team All-America honors, with the team finishing 34-4 and finishing fourth in the Division III World Series.

Celularo’s offense exploded as a junior, batting .467, the fifth highest single season total in school history, and scoring 45 times, then an Allegheny record. The team went 25-12 during her third year, finishing fifth in the Division III World Series. Her strong season earned the junior another All-America First Team honor, the second of her career. As a senior, the team had the best season in program history, finishing 40-5 and ending the year one out away from the NCAA Division III Title. Celularo batted .407 during the season with team highs of 43 runs and 20 walks. For her career, Celularo ranks first in school history in runs scored (145) and has the fourth highest on-base percentage totals (.438) and the fifth highest hits (179), walks (50) and batting average (.378) totals.

Musgrove ended his four-year career with the Gators as one of the most distinguished hitters in the history of the program. He has the career school records in batting average, slugging percentage and runs batted in, with single season records in batting average, doubles, runs batted in and a tie for home runs. He had quite the innocuous start to his career, as he played in just two games as a freshman, and then just 15 more as a sophomore, accumulating just 28 at-bats through two seasons.

Musgrove came into his own in 1996, batting .503 (80-for-159), the single season school record, and also setting records in runs batted in (74) doubles (25) and total bases (139). He finished third on the team in home runs with 10, while scoring 58 times, tied for the fourth highest single season total in program history. For his efforts as a junior, he was named to the American Baseball Coaches’ Association All-America First Team and All-Region First Team, in addition to first team All-NCAC honors. His power numbers increased as a senior, as he hit a school-record tying 16 home runs and drove in 72 runs, the second highest total in school history, behind his previous years’ total. Starting all 48 games, he also scored 63 times, third highest in school history, and tallied 139 total bases, tying his own school record. He was named a first team All-American for the second time in his career, in addition to All-Region and All-Conference First Team. For his career, he owns a .458 batting average, .821 slugging percentage and 156 runs batted in, all school records. He also helped the squads to a 138-43 record during his four years, with a pair of NCAA Division III Regional appearances.

Denise Petrossi graduated as one of the top soccer players in the history of the program. She finished her career ranked third in points and goals, and fourth in assists while helping the team to a 59-17-4 record. As a freshman in 1986, Petrossi wasted no time in making her mark on the program, scoring 15 goals and dishing out 13 assists, leading the team in the latter and finishing third on the squad in the former. Her 43 points is the fifth highest single season total in school history, while her assist total is the second best in program history. Teammates during her first three seasons, Nellie Springer and Georganne Morin were inducted into the hall of fame in 1999 and 2001, respectively. A year later, Petrossi added to her increasingly strong resume by scoring five goals and dishing out five assists for 15 total points.

Petrossi once again finished third on the team in scoring as a junior, scoring eight goals and dishing out six assists for 22 total points. The 1988 team, with the help of Petrossi, scored 86 goals, a school record. As a senior, in her first year without the high scoring duo of Springer and Morin, she poured in 15 goals while dishing out five assists, both team highs, totaling 35 points on the season. For her efforts as a senior, Petrossi was named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-America team, while also earning All-Region and all-league honors. During her career, she totaled 115 points and scored 43 goals, each the third highest total in program history, while dishing out 29 assists, fourth best.

The six athletes will be honored at a ceremony on Sunday, June 3.

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