Sports

Allegheny Inducts Five Into Hall of Fame

On June 5, Allegheny College inducted its 24th class into the Athletic Hall of Fame during a ceremony held at Schultz Hall. With these newest additions, the total number of inductees grows to 146 individuals and five teams.

The five new members of the Hall of Fame include three dual-sport athletes, including cross country/track runner Laura Moeller '95, football player/track runner Stanley Drayton '93, and basketball/softball player Veronica "Ronnie" Bohm Titus '91. This year's class was rounded out by former Gator football player Mike Mates '88 and the first player from a women's tennis team to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, Victoria "Tory" Thomas '87.

In her time at Allegheny, Moeller was a force on the cross country trails and the track. In cross country, she helped lead the Gators to four consecutive NCAC titles from 1991 to 1994 and a pair of Mid East Regional crowns in '91 and '92. Moeller earned All-NCAC and All-Region honors twice in her career.

On the track, she may have been even better. Moeller was a five-time All-American and eight-time NCAC champion. She earned All-American accolades in the 400 Hurdles on three occasions and ran to All-American status in the 800 on two occasions. Her best finish at NCAAs came in 1995, when she finished fifth in both events.

Drayton earned his spot in the Hall of Fame with a spectacular football and track career. On the gridiron, he set 14 school records and was a two-time All-American. Drayton set nearly every single-season and career rushing record during his time at Allegheny, including single-season (1,375) and career (3,272) rushing yards and single-season (27) and career (54) rushing touchdowns. He was a two-time First Team All-NCAC pick and the conference's Player of the Year in 1992.

On the track, Drayton set seven school records, won seven league championships, and earned All-American status in the 200-meter dash in his junior year in 1992.

While anchoring the Gator offensive line during the mid-1980s, Mates helped the Allegheny football program begin its ascent to national attention. A two-time First Team All-NCAC pick in 1986 and 1987, Mates was instrumental in Allegheny's winning its first NCAC title and first-ever NCAA playoff berth in 1987. That season, the Gators went 6-0 in league action and finished 9-1-1 overall.

Following the campaign, Mates went on to receive First Team Kodak and Pizza Hut All-American honors and a spot on the Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American team. At the end of the year, he was also named the Allegheny Male Student-Athlete of the Year. He was named to the conference's All-10 Year Team in 1995.

The final two-sport star is Titus, who was part of five championship teams at Allegheny. On the basketball court, she scored 1,126 career points, which is still the sixth-best all-time in school history, as she helped the Gators win a pair of conference crowns in hoops. Titus was a two-time All-NCAC pick in 1988-89 and 1990-91.

In softball, Titus was a member of the 1988 Gator team that set the school record for wins and was the national runner-up. A part of three regional championship teams at Allegheny, Titus earned Second Team All-American for her play at second base in 1991.

Rounding out the inductees is Thomas, who had a remarkable career on the tennis court. She was a three-time NCAA Division III National Tournament qualifier. Twice, Thomas finished the year ranked in the top 25 nationally in singles action, and she also earned a Top 25 spot in doubles.

A three-time NCAC champion and the 1985 Conference player of the year, Thomas compiled a record of 115-27 during her career, including 62 singles wins and 53 doubles triumphs. She was also named to the NCAC's All-10 Year Team in 1995.

Members of the 1961 PAC Championship football team were also recognized, with Lynn Hartley, Ken Robertson, and Joe Valentino in attendance.

 

Larry Lee, Mark Matlak Receive Multi-year Contracts

Director of Athletics Larry Lee and Head Football Coach Mark Matlak '78 have been granted extensions on their contracts through June 2009.

Hired by Allegheny in 2002, Lee was previously associate director of athletics at the University of Denver. Under his leadership, Allegheny's teams have captured 17 North Coast Athletic Conference championships, while 13 of the school's 20 programs have been represented at NCAA Championships at least once in the last three years.

In Lee's first year as athletics director, Allegheny placed 95th in the U.S. Sports Academy Directors' Cup standings; last year the Gators rose to 35th in the nation. This year's standings through May 26 had Allegheny in the top 30 among the nation's 424 Division III institutions.

Continuing to work with Lee for the next four years is Matlak, who was hired to head the football program in 2002. Since Matlak—who has a 17-14 career record and a 15-6 mark in NCAC play—has taken over as head coach, 24 school records have either been matched or broken. More than 30 of Matlak's players have earned All-NCAC recognition, with one player earning All-American honors, one earning Academic All-American and two earning Academic All-District accolades.

2004-2005 Another Successful Year for Gator Athletics

Another great year has passed for Allegheny athletics, with remarkable success on the playing fields as well as in the classroom and in the community.

In competition, Allegheny athletic teams won 66 percent of their contests, including 67 percent of match-ups with NCAC rivals. In all, seven teams won conference championships, 10 teams were represented at NCAA Championships through the seasons, and 13 programs finished in the top four of the NCAC.

The student-athletes and coaches of these programs earned numerous accolades through the year, as a total of 141 Gators earned All-Conference recognition, including four Players of the Year and two Newcomers of the Year. Allegheny coaches earned eight Coach of the Year honors from the league.

Allegheny's athletics program is recognized as one of the top in western Pennsylvania, according to the Sports Academy Directors' Cup Standings. After placing 95th overall in 2003, Allegheny rose to 35th last year and the 2005 final standing had the Gators place 41st in the nation out of 430 Division III institutions, the second consecutive year Allegheny finished in the top 10 percent in the nation.

In the classroom, Allegheny teams recorded a 3.05 combined GPA during the spring semester, which is slightly higher than the 3.04 posted by the rest of the student body. Highlighting the academic accomplishments were 11 programs posting GPAs higher than 3.0 during the spring. Senior Kevin Pool, who earned All-American accolades in cross country and indoor track, was a finalist for a prestigious NCAA post-graduate scholarship; and three of the 10 students who graduated with summa cum laude honors at graduation were members of athletic programs.

Allegheny student-athletes also made a difference in the community, with student-athletes logging nearly 2,150 hours of community service. Among the many causes that teams supported were the Special Olympics, local soup kitchens and hospitals, and reading programs in local schools.

New Coaches Join Soccer and Lacrosse

Allegheny College has welcomed two new head coaches: Lynn Zlotkowski in lacrosse and Michael Webber in women's soccer.

Zlotkowski served as the assistant lacrosse coach at Buffalo State College, helping the Bengals lower their goals against average by more than two goals per game in her first season. Buffalo State lowered their GAA again in Zlotkowski's second season with the program, as the Bengals compiled a 17-10 record and the first two winning seasons in the history of the program in her two years with the team.

The Gators have recorded back-to-back 8-6 seasons for the first two winning campaigns in their history. Allegheny reached the NCAC Tournament championship game in 2004 and qualified for the conference tourney again this year before losing to Denison (Ohio) University by one goal in the semifinals.

"I have played and coached against Allegheny in my career and I believe I am getting this program at a terrific time because it's truly on the upswing," says Zlotkowski. "They are just missing a couple of the little things right now, and I am confident that I can help us achieve those and take the next step of winning the NCAC and going to the NCAAs."

Head women's soccer coach at Worcester State since 2001, Webber led the program to three conference tournament appearances in four years. In 2004 he led the Lancers to a 12-7-2 mark, tying the school record for single-season victories. Worcester also captured their first MASCAC tournament championship in school history to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Overall, Webber finished with a 33-31-5 record to finish as the second-winningest coach in Worcester State history.

At Allegheny, Webber will be taking over a program that has tasted national success very recently and contends every season for the NCAC championship. In 2004 the Gators finished 9-7-2 and in fourth place in the conference, the ninth consecutive season Allegheny placed in the league's top four. Just one year earlier, Allegheny posted a 15-2-2 record, won the NCAC regular season title and earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

"I know this is a program that has averaged over 13 wins a year over the last nine seasons and two years ago was ranked 16th in the nation," said Webber. "It's up to myself and my coaching staff to attain our expectation, which is to graduate our student-athletes on time and give them a chance to compete for the North Coast Athletic Conference championship every year."