Mercy College Announces Second Athletics Hall of Fame Class

Friday, September 12, 2008

Mercy College Announces Second Athletics Hall of Fame Class

Induction Dinner and Awards Ceremony to be held on November 7, 2008, at Crowne Plaza in White Plains, NY

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DOBBS FERRY, NY - Mercy College Director of Athletics Pat Kennedy has announced the second class to be inducted into the Mercy College Athletics Hall of Fame.  The program's honorees will be former head baseball coach Rick Wolff, men's soccer player Andrew McGovern, softball player Dayna DeCarlo, men's basketball player Robert Davis, baseball player Pat Geoghegan, and the 2001 women's volleyball team. The class will be honored at a dinner and awards ceremony on Friday, November 7, beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the Crowne Plaza in White Plains, NY.

Mercy College will also present the Dr. Ann Grow Friend of Athletics Award to Nick Bell.   HansPeter Gartner, Chanze Wellington, Christina Pante, and Rose Harper will receive the Neil Judge Scholar Athlete Awards, presented to the male and female graduating student-athletes with the highest cumulative grade point average from the last two academic years.

"These are some of the all-time greats in Mercy College athletics history and we are honored to have them as part of the Mercy College family," Kennedy said. "They have built a great tradition and legacy of pride for the program that we look to carry on and build on for years to come."

Wolff served as head baseball coach from 1978-85, posting the highest winning percentage in program history with a 114-81-3 record (.583). Along the way his teams recorded five straight winning seasons, including a 21-12 mark in 1983. His teams were also nationally ranked and several players went on to play professionally.   In 1986, Wolff launched his on-air career and was hired by ESPN to broadcast college baseball, including the 1986 College World Series from Omaha. Wolff also broadcast college baseball for the Madison Square Garden Network.  Wolff, a former minor league baseball  player in the Detroit Tigers organization, later served as a roving coach for the Cleveland Indians from 1989-95, specializing in skill development and the mental approach to the game. A Harvard graduate, he  currently serves as Vice President, Executive Editor at Grand Central Publishing and has  also authored many books on youth sports. Wolff is a much in demand speaker for community and school groups on sports parenting, and is the host of a popular radio show, "The Sports Edge", that airs every Sunday morning (8am-9am) on WFAN in New York.  He and his wife Trish, an English teacher in the Chappaqua (NY) school district, have three children: John (24), Alyssa (22), and Samantha (18). 

Coached by legendary inaugural Hall of Fame inductee Neil Judge, DeCarlo covered the Mercy outfield from 1981-84. She batted over .500 for her career and is among the program's leaders in nearly every statistical category. She batted .484 as a freshman with six home runs, 22 runs batted in and 18 stolen bases. She followed that up by leading the nation in home runs per game as a sophomore. DeCarlo's senior season was her best of all as she led the nation with a .530 batting average (35-for-66), and in home runs per game with .29 (8 home runs for the season). She still holds the program's single season records for home runs, runs batted in and batting average.

McGovern manned the net for the men's soccer team from 1987-89. As a senior in 1989 he earned First Team All-New York Collegiate Athletic Conference (NYCAC), All-American, and Academic All-American honors, and was selected to participate in the Senior Bowl, held in St. Louis. Posting six shutouts along the way, he helped Mercy to the program's first NYCAC Championship and the team advanced to the NCAA Regional finals. The squad finished 12-2-3 overall and was ranked No. 7 in the nation at season's end. As a freshman in 1987, he recorded nine shutouts as Mercy finished 13-6-3 and advanced to the finals of the ECAC Tournament.  A true scholar-athlete, McGovern graduated with a 3.93 grade point average and is currently a financial manager with Letterkenny Institute of Technology in Dublin, Ireland.

Davis, affectionately known as "The Rocket," is still the program's all-time leading scorer with 2,118 career points from 1983-86. He also ranks fourth all-time with 373 assists and second with 231 career steals.  Davis began his collegiate career by averaging 17.4 points per game and 3.7 rebounds in 1982-83. He was an All-Conference selection in 1983-84, ranking fifth in the nation with 24.2 points per game. Davis also averaged 5.7 assists per game, 3.0 steals per game and shot 49 percent from the field and 81 percent at the free throw line.  He repeated as an All-Conference selection in 1984-85, ranking second in the nation at 22.5 points per game. Davis held the school record for free throws, hitting 15-of-17 vs. Queens in 1984.

A two-time Academic All-America nominee (1981, 83), Geoghegan was a Dean's list student for four years, graduating Cum Laude.  During his four-year varsity career at Mercy, he registered school records of 13 wins and 34 starts. In 1980, he tossed a two-hitter and earned the win versus St. Francis in Mercy's first defeat of a Division I team. He earned All-Knickerbocker Conference honors in 1981 by posting a 5-1 record with a 4.10 earned run average. He defeated New Haven, which was ranked No. 2 in the nation at the time, and was the winning pitcher in Mercy's first playoff victory.  Recruited by Rick Wolff after becoming the only pitcher in Section 1 high school history to throw a perfect game in the sectional playoffs, he served as Mercy's team captain from 1981-83.

The 2001 Mercy College Volleyball team, led by head coach Garvey Pierre, reached new heights as it won the program's first ever Northeast Regional Championship and made it to the NCAA Division II Final Eight. Mercy finished the regular season with a 32-1 record, winning its first 27 matches and capturing a third straight NYCAC Championship. Yulissa Zamudio was named NYCAC Player of the Year, finishing third in the nation in kills per game (6.09) and Monica Herrera led the nation in aces per game (1.65). As a team, Mercy led the nation in hitting percentage (.340), was second in winning percentage (.944), and third in aces per game (3.87).  Pierre was named NYCAC Coach of the Year, while Herrera, Adreann Stevens and Marie France Jean-Francois joined Zamudio as All-Conference selections.

Nick Bell will receive the Dr. Ann Grow Friend of Athletics Award for his commitment to and support of Mercy's athletics programs for the last 15 years.  A graduate of Mercy College, he played four years for the men's soccer program primarily as a goalkeeper.  Bell has gone on to be a successful business owner in the area and contributed to the department both financially and later as an assistant coach.  He took the reigns as head coach of the men's soccer program last fall, leading the Mavericks to a spot in the ECC Tournament.

Rose Harper earns a 2008 Neil Judge Scholar Athlete Award for being the top graduating student-athlete after posting a 3.90 cumulative grade point average. She graduated Summa Cum Laude with a bachelor's degree in Spanish. Harper was a two-time ECC All-Academic selection, appearing in 38 matches during her career with the volleyball team.  She started 16 matches in 2006, averaging 2.44 digs per game and registered 16 service aces. Harper earned a Division II Athletics Directors Association Academic Achievement Award last year. She is currently employed as an education counselor with the Marine Corps Community Services.

On the men's side of the Neil Judge Scholar Athlete Award for 2008 is Chanze Wellington, who graduated with a 3.4 cumulative grade point average and a bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice.  He was honored as a member of the All-ECC Men's Basketball Second Team as he averaged 12.3 points per game to lead the Mavericks last season and also led the team in assists with 2.7 per game. He finished his collegiate career with 1,021 points scored, which is good for 10th all-time among Mavericks. He also finished seventh all-time in assists and eighth in steals. Wellington was a two-time ECC All-Academic honoree and two-time ECC Scholar Athlete Honor Roll member.

The 2007 female Neil Judge Scholar Athlete Award winner was Christina Pante, an English major who finished with a 3.97 grade point average to graduate Summa Cum Laude.  A cornerstone of the Mercy backfield, she played in 42 games during her career with the women's soccer team, starting all but one. Pante also served as a resident assistant at Mercy and is now pursuing a master's of science in Childhood Education.

Men's tennis standout HansPeter Gartner earned the 2007 male Neil Judge Scholar Athlete Award. He graduated Magna Cum Laude, compiling a 3.77 grade point average while earning a bachelor's degree in Psychology.  Gartner was a senior captain, the team's Most Valuable Player and earned a spot on the NYCAC Academic Honor Roll. He was also an All-NYCAC First Team selection, helping Mercy to a third straight NCAA Tournament appearance. Gartner is currently pursuing a Master's of Business Administration at Mercy College.

Tickets for the Hall of Fame and Awards Dinner are $100 and sponsorship opportunities are available. For more information and to reserve seats, please contact Drew Brown at (914) 674-7281 or dbrown@mercy.edu.  Details can also be found at www.MercyAthletics.com.

About Mercy College
Mercy College is a private, nonprofit institution founded in 1950, providing motivated students with the opportunity to earn degrees in over 90 undergraduate and graduate programs, including 25 programs online. An engaging and personalized learning experience is offered at campuses in the Bronx, Dobbs Ferry, Manhattan, Yorktown Heights, White Plains, and Online.