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Homecoming 2008

2008 Athletic Hall of Famers make history


Stevens Professor Yu-Dong Yao

2008 Athletic Hall of Famers make history
Three generations of athletes, Professor Yao to be honored during Homecoming 2008

By Beth Kissinger - Director of Alumni Publications

Six outstanding Stevens alumni student athletes—from three generations—will be inducted into the Stevens Athletic Hall of Fame this fall, as the Institute recognizes these ground-breakers in Stevens athletics history.

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Alumni to be honored on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2008, at the Stevens Athletic Hall of Fame Brunch at Stevens are the late Winfield S. Stickle ’49, tennis; Kenneth P. Simonson ’73, soccer; Justin T. Brinkerhoff ’02, soccer and lacrosse; Dr. Elena M. Ziarnik ’02, soccer and lacrosse; Jessica M. Soltysik ’03, soccer and lacrosse; and Philip D. Wolf ’03, baseball. The brunch, sponsored by the Stevens Department of Athletics and the Stevens Alumni Association, will also honor Dr. Yu-Dong Yao, an associate professor with Stevens’ Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, with the SAA Outstanding Teacher Award. The brunch will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday and is part of the many activities of Stevens Homecoming 2008.

This year’s Homecoming features an expanded schedule of events that actually begins on Thursday night, as some events are part of the annual Tech Fest for Stevens students. At Homecoming on Saturday—the busiest day of the weekend—alumni can enjoy the Athletic Hall of Fame Brunch, a Fun Run, a campus barbecue, a Performing Arts Showcase, Stevens sports games, an alumni ‘Meet and Greet’ and a comedy show.

The cost of the Hall of Fame Brunch is $12, $5 children 12 and under. For the full Homecoming schedule and to register, please visit http://stevensducks.com/homecoming.asp, or call the Alumni Office at (201) 216-5163.


Gifted student athletes

This year’s 19th Hall of Fame class spans the World War II to the Internet generation, but they share a common gift, says Stevens Director of Athletics Russell Rogers.

“I had the pleasure of watching Jessica, Elena, Justin and Phil perform during their careers at Stevens,” Rogers says. “I know firsthand how hard they worked and how much they contributed to their respective teams. Most certainly, Ken Simonson and Winfield Stickle represented this type of student athlete in their time at Stevens as well.

“I think that the Stevens Athletic Hall of Famers represent the best of both worlds. These are men and women who were not only outstanding athletes but also outstanding students who have gone on to represent Stevens quite well in the areas of work and profession. It’s a nice recognition of people who were able to handle both the academic and athletic rigors and demands of Stevens and handle them well.”

This year’s class will bring the total number of Hall of Famers to 81, among them athletes, coaches and administrators, since the Stevens Athletic Hall of Fame program began in 1990.

Here’s a look at the newest members of the Stevens Athletic Hall of Fame.


Tennis pioneer

In the ’48 Link yearbook, Winfield “Scott” Stickle’s classmates swear that he was “literally born with a racquet in hand” and later grabbed the Silver Cup in the Boys’ National Table Tennis Tournament when he was just 15.

Mr. Stickle would go on to play tennis at Stevens for three years, ranked as the team’s top player in singles and doubles. He led the Stevens tennis team to an outstanding 20-6 record and is certainly one of the greatest players in Stevens tennis history, as these individual career statistics show: first in win-loss percentage, at .960, with a record of 24-1; first in win-loss percentage as an individual in doubles, at .791, with a record of 19-5; and first for the number of wins in a row, 23. He also ranked as high as 25th in the national intercollegiate rankings during his career.

Mr. Stickle started his career with Gibbs & Cox, Inc., in New York City and later moved to California, where he lived in Reseda, CA, and owned The Liquor House in Northridge, CA. Mr. Stickle died on Dec. 16, 1998.


A ‘very strong left foot’

He was arguably one of the best Stevens soccer players of the 1960s and ’70s, and now Ken Simonson ’73 will be the second soccer player from that era to enter the Stevens Athletic Hall of Fame.

This forward and midfielder had many shining moments, including that day in 1971, when he scored four goals against Wagner College in the opening game that season, tying a school record.

He would score 14 goals that year, helping him lead Stevens to its first winning season in nine years. For Stevens, Mr. Simonson ranks first in both goals per game (1.40) and in points per game (3.00) in a season, and, during his Stevens career, ranks second in goals per game (.838) and in points per game (1.87). His Stevens career totals are 58 points on 26 goals and six assists. He was also a member of the tennis team.

“Simonson, with a very strong left foot, took all the penalty shots for Stevens when he played,” said John Lyon, former Stevens sports information director and coach and fellow Hall of Famer. “Quickness and endurance were two of the attributes he brought to the field.”

Mr. Simonson lives in North Ridgeville, Ohio, and owns Bergren Associates, a waste and waste water equipment company in Cleveland. He has three children and three grandchildren and will wed his fiancé Elizabeth in October 2008.


Two-sport powerhouse

Justin T. Brinkerhoff ’02 enters the Hall of Fame as an outstanding four-year player in, incredibly, both lacrosse and soccer. Indeed, he helped both teams reach new heights in Stevens athletics.

In 2001, Mr. Brinkerhoff led the men’s lacrosse team to its first Knickerbocker Conference Championship, which qualified them for NCAA post season play, making the men’s lacrosse team the first Stevens team to qualify for NCAA championship play since the women’s fencing team qualified in the early 1980s. In 2002, Mr. Brinkerhoff and the lacrosse team would again win the Knickerbocker Conference Champion-ship and enter NCAA post season play, accumulating an impressive 22-9 record over that two-year period of 2001 and 2002. In his last soccer season at Stevens, in 2001, the men’s soccer team went 12-8-1, won its first Skyline Conference Championship and became the first Stevens soccer team to qualify for NCAA Tournament play.

Mr. Brinkerhoff, a midfielder in both soccer and lacrosse, holds a number of Stevens lacrosse records. During his Stevens career, he is ranked first in ground balls, at 356; second in ground balls per game, at 6.36, and second in face off wins, at 431. For a single lacrosse season, he ranks second in ground balls, at 129, and second in face off wins, at 151.

“Justin was very fast and not afraid of mixing it up,” said Stevens Men’s Lacrosse Coach Byron Collins, who coached Justin for his last three seasons. “His control of ground balls and face-offs was very important to us.”

Mr. Brinkerhoff is a project engineer with Dominion Home Networks in San Antonio, Texas, and lives in San Antonio with his wife, Gerrah.


National record holder

Elena Ziarnik, M.D., ’02 helped to make history for women’s sports at Stevens. A member of the first women’s varsity lacrosse team at Stevens in 2001, Dr. Ziarnik, in her four years on the women’s soccer team, led the team to four Women’s Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) championships, two Sky-line Conference Championships and to the team’s first-ever Eastern College Athletic Conference Tournament bid. And, in 2001, Ziarnik had 21 assists in one season, ranking her No. 1 in this category among all NCAA Division III schools that year and setting a Stevens women’s soccer record that still stands. This midfielder also holds the career record for number of assists (38) and in assists per game (.056) and the season record for assists per game, 1.71.

“Elena was our vocal leader,” says Women’s Soccer Coach Jeff Parker. “She helped set the tone on how we played.”

Dr. Ziarnik, a graduate of the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, is an intern with Bay State Medical Center, Springfield, Mass, and lives in Chicopee, Mass.


A ‘tenacious’ defender

Jessica M. Soltysik ’03 made her mark in both Stevens women’s soccer and lacrosse history, in her quiet, tenacious way. Ms. Soltysik led the women’s soccer team to a 47-22-4 record over her four years, four WIAC Championships, two Skyline Conference Championships and, in 2002, to the team’s first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament. She was also an important player in the school’s first three years of its women’s varsity lacrosse team, as they compiled an impressive 33-11 record, won their first conference championship in 2003 and earned their first-ever Eastern College Athletic Conference post season bid.

“Jessica was very coachable and always seemed to step in when we needed her most,” said lacrosse coach, Celine Cunningham. “She played tenacious defense.” Women’s soccer coach Jeff Parker called Soltysik “a very good athlete (who) led by example.” For lacrosse, Ms. Soltysik ranks No. 1 in draw controls per game, at 3.75, for a season; and second in ground balls per game, 4.42, in a season. For her career, she also ranks second in ground balls a game (4.09).

The Collingswood, N.J., resident works as a systems engineer with Life Cycle Engineering in Philadelphia.

‘Consummate leader’

A hard-working leader, Philip D. Wolf ’03 also got results. This four-year baseball player led the baseball team during his senior year to its first Knickerbockers Conference Championship tournament and 21 wins, a record at that time. The catcher and first baseman was both a strong fielder and slugger, batting .296 and fielding .958 during his career. Mr. Wolf ranks first in triples in a season (7); second in triples (9), RBIs (104) and homeruns (12) in a career; and second in put outs (617) in a career.

“Phil was a consummate leader on and off the field,” said coach John Crane, who called him a “prolific run producer” who often came through with the big hits.

Mr. Wolf, a project engineer with Tech Group, Inc., in Millersville, Md, lives with his wife, Cheryl, in Baltimore.



Former Stevens Sports Information Director and coach John Lyon contributed to this report.

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For a list of Homecoming events click here
 
Registration form - Homecoming 2008

Checks for the Brunch, payable to the Stevens Alumni Association, should be mailed to: Stevens Alumni Association, Castle Point, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Questions? Call (201) 216-5163.

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Sign up for Stevens Athletic Hall of Fame Brunch
Saturday, Oct. 4, 10 a.m., Bissinger Room, 4th floor, Howe Center $12 adults, $5 children 12 and under
Sign up for Alumni 'Meet and Greet' Reception Saturday, Oct. 4, 6:30 to 8 p.m., Bissinger Room, 4th floor, Howe Center Free, but reservations required.

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