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Homecoming 2009 |
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An action-packed Homecoming weekend |
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Athletic Hall of
Famers, top professor to be feted during action-packed Homecoming
weekend
By Beth Kissinger - Editor
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A professional racecar driver, a tennis pro, a top foil fencer, a volleyball pioneer and three All-American athletes — including a soccer player with one very strong foot — will join the Stevens Athletic Hall of Fame this fall.
Six alumni athletes, representing classes from the 1950s to the 2000s, will be honored at the Stevens Athletic Hall of Fame Brunch on Sept. 26 at Stevens, during Homecoming 2009. The brunch, which is sponsored by the Stevens Alumni Association and the Stevens Department of Athletics, will be held at 10 a.m. inside the Bissinger Room on the 4th floor of Howe Center.
Athletes to be honored at the Athletic Hall of Fame inductions are: Chester Vincentz ’59, lacrosse; A. Bertan Cikigil ’70, tennis, soccer and squash; Jennifer S. Garner ’98, fencing; William A. Molina ’02, volleyball; Giuseppe Incitti ’04, soccer; and Brian Lalli ’04, lacrosse.
The brunch will also honor Dr. Frank Fisher, an assistant professor with Stevens’ Department of Mechanical Engineering, with the SAA Outstanding Teacher Award. The Hall of Fame Brunch is part of a busy Homecoming 2009 on Saturday, Sept. 26, that includes a barbecue, an alumni “Meet and Greet,” sports games and other activities.
Homecoming 2009 marks the 20th Stevens Athletic Hall of Fame inductions, with this year’s class bringing the total to 87 members inducted since 1990.
“This year’s Hall of Fame class covers a wide range of different eras in the Stevens Athletics program, but the common theme is that each one of these individuals was an outstanding student athlete in every sense of the word,” Stevens Athletic Director Russ Rogers said.
“They had a remarkable impact on their respective teams and will be forever etched in our record books. Most importantly, they have all gone on to be very successful in their lives after college. We are extremely proud of them and the way they have represented Stevens.”
These alumni athletes have found much professional success not only in more typical engineering, science and business careers but also in vocations off the Stevens path. Here’s a look at the 2009 Hall of Famers.
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From lacrosse to auto racing
Beloved retired Stevens Lacrosse Coach and Athletics Department Head Irvin “Buzz” Seymour calls Chet Vincentz the most skilled goalie who ever played for him, in 19 years of coaching. Indeed, Stevens selected Vincentz as one of the top two lacrosse goalies from 1951 to 1983, during the sport’s centennial year at Stevens in 1984. |
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Chester Vincentz ’59, lacrosse |
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A professional racecar driver, a tennis pro, a top foil fencer, a volleyball pioneer and three All-American athletes — including a soccer player with one very strong foot — will join the Stevens Athletic Hall of Fame this fall.
Vincentz ranks first in career saves — 590 — and second in saves per game during his career, at 19.7, among other records. The United States Collegiate Lacrosse Association named Vincentz an All-American, Honorable Mention, for lacrosse in 1958 and 1959.
Vincentz was founder and president of Electrodyne, Inc., a car parts/accessory business, and founder and president of President Racing Dynamic, Inc., both of Alexandria, Va., before retiring in 2008. He started participating in auto racing as a hobby and later received his professional racing license in 1984 and raced Porsches for 12 years.
Vincentz lives in Falls Church, Va., with his wife, Patricia. They have a son, two daughters and seven grandchildren.
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A. Bertan Cikigil ’70, tennis, soccer and squash |
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Multi-talented tennis pro
A. Bertan Cikigil ’70 is perhaps the only Stevens athlete ever to enjoy a career in racket sports. Cikigil has worked as a tennis pro and instructor since 1970 with some of the country’s most prestigious programs, among them the Port Washington (N.Y.) Tennis Academy and the Loxahatchee Club in Jupiter, Fla., which is part of the golf complex owned by golfing great Jack Nicklaus. |
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He also worked as a tennis consultant for the Jack Nicklaus Companies. Cikigil is currently the tennis pro at Sleepy Hollow Country Club in Scarborough, N.Y., where he has worked since 1978.
This multi-talented athlete, who is being honored for tennis, squash and soccer, ranks first in winning percentage for tennis in a season (he was 8-0 in 1969) and second in winning percentage for his career as a singles tennis player (23-3), among other records. He was Stevens’ top-ranked tennis player and also compiled some impressive numbers in just two years of playing Stevens soceer: 19 goals, four assists and 42 points. He also made the dean’s list at Stevens. Cikigil later served as the varsity squash coach at Stevens during the 1972-1973 season.
Former Stevens professor and coach John Lyon, a fellow Hall of Famer, called Cikigil one of the most versatile athletes in Stevens history. “His success, at number one on the tennis courts, helped Stevens to a 20-5 record when he played,” Lyon said.
A native of Zonguldak, Turkey, Cikigil moved to the U.S. in 1964 and lives in Scarborough, N.Y.
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Jennifer S. Garner ’98, fencing |
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‘Classic’ foil fencer
A much-honored foil fencer, Jennifer Garner ’98 was a regional qualifier for the NCAA Championship in 1997 and 1998 and won the Stevens Invitational twice, during the 1996-97 and 1997-98 school years. She was also named Stevens’ New Jersey Association Intercollegiate Athletics for Women Woman of the Year in 1997.
For the record books, she ranks second in wins in foil (51,
two-weapon scoring) for a season (1997-98) and third in career
wins in foil (132 wins, two-weapon scoring), among other
records.
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During the last two years of her fencing career at Stevens, she helped lead the team to a 23-9 record. This dean’s list student graduated with honors.
“Jen entered Stevens with classic technique,” said Women’s Fencing Coach Linda Vollkommer-Lynch, Hon. M.Eng. ’04. “Her lunges and footwork were particularly sound. Yet, she was also very responsive to our teaching and coaching. You could always count on her, very dependable.”
Garner also served as a valuable assistant coach to Vollkommer-Lynch from 1999 to 2002. She now works as a process engineer with Merck & Company in West Point, Pa., and lives in Lansdale, Pa.
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William A. Molina ’02, volleyball |
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Volleyball pioneer
William Molina ’02 makes history as the first men’s volleyball player ever to be inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame. This record-holder brings some impressive numbers: first in career digs (1,223) and first in kills in a season (498, in 2000), among other records.
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The middle and outside hitter was inducted into the Northeast Collegiate Volleyball Association (NECVA) Hall of Fame in 2009 and was All-NECVA from 1998 to 2001, his entire volleyball career at Stevens. With Molina leading the way, the men’s volleyball team won three consecutive NECVA West Championships and competed in the Molten Final Four Championship in 2000.
“Will participated in our first summer camp before entering Stevens and had a huge impact on our program for the next four years,” says Men’s Volleyball Coach Patrick Dorywalski. “He had all the skills, was always focused and was an intense competitor.”
Molina works as a quality engineer with Interpec Corporation in Mahwah, N.J., and lives in North Bergen, N.J., with his wife, Lesby.
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Giuseppe Incitti ’04, soccer |
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Soccer star and ‘50-yard rocket’
The youngest of the inductees — Giuseppe Incitti ’04, M.Eng. ’04, and Brian Lalli ’04, both All Americans — are so outstanding that they’re being inducted in their first year of eligibility. Alumni are eligible for induction into the Athletic Hall of Fame five years after their graduation.
Both of these ’04ers enjoyed shining moments. On one late summer day in 2001, spectators at DeBaun Field stood in awe as Incitti blasted a 50-yard rocket into the goal, upsetting Kean University in Stevens’ men’s soccer home opener.
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“It may be the most remarkable goal ever blasted in by a Stevens player,” John Lyon says.
Incitti was, indeed, remarkable in his three-year soccer career at Stevens: a National Soccer Coaches Association of America All American, second team, for 2002; Skyline Conference Player of the Year for 2001, among other honors.
The striker and attacking midfielder led Stevens to its first NCAA Tournament in 2001 and in 2002 helped the team capture the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Metro Tournament Championship. Among his outstanding records are fifth in career goals (38) and sixth in career points (89).
“Giuseppe was the most skilled player I have coached at Stevens,” says Men’s Soccer Coach Tim O’Donohue. “His influence coincided with the initial success of our program when we won the ECAC Tournament in 2002. He really helped to turn our program around.”
Former Coach Nick Mykulak, who coached Incitti from 2000 to 2001, calls him an “upper echelon player for Stevens.”
“He was skilled, physical and powerful, and could have played at any level of college soccer.”
Incitti is an associate with the Corporate Mergers and Acquisitions Group of JPMorgan Chase in New York and lives in Hoboken.
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Brian Lalli ’04, lacrosse |
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A scholar and an athlete
Meanwhile, his classmate Lalli excelled both on the lacrosse field and in the classroom. He is one of Stevens’ best lacrosse players ever.
Lalli was twice named, in 2003 and 2004, an Academic All American by the College Sports Information Directors; a United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) Division III Academic All American in 2004; All American, Honorable Mention, by the USILA in 2004; and all ECAC, first team, in 2004, among other honors.
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With Lalli taking the lead, the Ducks compiled an impressive 45-18 record during his four years with the team and qualified every spring for NCAA Tournament play.
His lacrosse statistics clearly show him to be one of Stevens’ best in 125 years of lacrosse: second in career goals (142) and third in career points (196), among other records.
“Brian was an outstanding leader on and off the field,” says Men’s Lacrosse Coach Byron Collins. “He had a great shot and was very creative around the cage. I haven’t coached many players like Brian. He was very dedicated to lacrosse and to his studies.” Lalli, who graduated with high honors from Stevens, is an assistant vice president with Barclay’s Capital in New York, in the Fixed Income, Credit Research area, and lives in Hoboken.
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Besides the Athletic Hall of Fame Brunch, Homecoming 2009 will also feature a
free Alumni “Meet and Greet” reception, where alumni can mingle and network, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Bissinger Room, 4th floor of Howe Center; a
Performing Arts Showcase at 1:30 p.m., featuring Stevens student performers, at DeBaun Auditorium; and other activities.
For a list of Homecoming events and to register, click
here.
Former Stevens Sports Information Director John Lyon contributed to this report. |
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