Photo Gallery
SCHENECTADY, NY -- Six distinguished individuals and an outstanding team were inducted into the Union College Athletics Hall of Fame on Saturday, November 12 at College Park Hall.
The Class of 2011 consists of
Guy Claveloux '87, John Denio '76, Melissa Matusewicz Ferraro '01, Sheila O'Donnell '81, Lee Schneider '68 and
Ronald Westbrook '75. The inductee for the Team of Distinction category is the
1989 Football Team. These new inductees bring the total number of individual members in the Hall of Fame, which was first instituted in 2002, to 63. The Teams of Distinction now feature seven squads, as the category was instituted in 2007.
Union College President Stephen C. Ainlay made remarks prior to the dinner and Director of Athletics
Jim McLaughlin read a testimonial from a former teammate or coach prior to a video tribute for each inductee. Mario DeLoreto, a tight end with the 1989 football team, spoke representing the Dutchmen as they were inducted as a Team of Distinction.
Here are highlights of this year's inductees, who were inducted alphabetically, with the Team of Distinction closing the evening.
UNION ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME 2011 INDIVIDUAL INDUCTEES
GUY CLAVELOUX '87
Soccer
Guy played from 1983 through the 1986 soccer seasons. He was a Division III All-American in his senior year, and led that team to a record of 13-2-1 for Coach Bob Magee. He joined his coaches and his teammates back on campus in 2009 as the 1986 Dutchmen were inducted as a Team of Distinction. Claveloux's senior team was ranked 12th nationally, and he was one of three players on that team to earn NSCAA All-New York State honors. He was named the Pike Award Winner in his senior year. His teams were 49-10-5 with NCAA appearances in each of his four seasons. In his junior year, Claveloux's squad went 12-3-1 and reached the NCAA Quarterfinals.
JOHN DENIO '76
Basketball, Soccer
John played basketball for four seasons, from the 1972-73 season through 1975-76, and was a three year member of the soccer team, 1973-75. His basketball coach, Bill Scanlon, said Denio was "the best defensive player that I have seen in my years at the college. He was perhaps the best defensive player that I have seen at this level." Denio had the ability to control the game from a defensive standpoint. The Dutchmen won the ECAC Div. III basketball title and were 20-4 in 1974-75. Denio was named to the New York State Soccer All Star Team in 1974. Union was 75-20 during his career on the hardwood, and 28-8-1 on the soccer pitch, thus his teams had a combined winning percentage of 78%.
MELISSA MATUSEWICZ FERRARO '01
Soccer, Track & Field
Melissa played for the Dutchwomen from 1997 through the 2000 season. She became the first ever Dutchwomen to be named an All-american when she was selected to the National Soccer Coaches Athletic Association Second Team in January of 2001. Matudewicz played in all of Union's 72 games and scored 69 goals with 23 assists for 161 points, all records. Her teams combined for a record of 56-11-5 (81% winning percentage). She was the 2000 Co-Player of the Year in the Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association (now Liberty League), and helped lead Union to apperances in the NCAA Division III National Championship in both the 1999 and 2000 seasons. Melissa also competed in track & field, and she had a third place finish in the triple jump at the New York State Championships.
SHEILA O'DONNELL '81
Basketball, Softball, Volleyball
Sheila was a starter for the volleyball team in the fall, the basketball squad in the winter, and the softball team in the spring, for each of her four years from 1977 through 1981. She led the basketball team in scoring three times and was the team's Most Valuable Player twice. O'Donnell was named the Robert Ridings Award winner awarded to Union's outstanding senior female student athlete. She was named to numerous all-tournament teams during her volleyball career and on the softball diamond, O'Donnell was a power hitting catcher and four year starter. "Sheila has done a lot for women's athletics at Union," said basketball coach Lynne Barta in 1981. "She has been a top athlete in every sport she plays."
LEE SCHNEIDER '68
Lacrosse
Lee played three seasons for Coach Bruce Allison's men's lacrosse team, from 1966 through 1968. He scored a total of 70 goals and dished out 77 assists for 147 points. He led the team in his senior year with 23 goals and 34 assists for 57 points. He had 48% of the team's assists that season. Schneider set a modern day school points record with 59 in his sophomore season of 1966, and was named to the W. Kelso Morill Division All Star Team. He was named an All-American for that squad, which was inducted as a Team of Distinction in 2010, and the 10-1 record was Union's best win-loss percentage mark from the 1930's through the 2000 season. The Dutchmen went 27-6 in Schneider's three seasons, for a winning percentage of 82%.
RONALD WESTBROOK '75
Baseball, Football
Ronald played four years on the gridiron from 1971 through 1974 and started all four seasons on the baseball diamond from 1972 through 1975. He was considered the best overall player for the Dutchmen football team, starting at running back while also returning punts and kicks during his career. In his junior year he broke the career rushing yards record (finishing with 1,504 after his senior year) and ran for 209 in a game against Tufts. His rookie baseball season featured a .361 average to lead the team and his 22 RBIs led the team even though he batted leadoff for the 11-3 Dutchmen. Ronald's sons both have played in the NFL, Brian (with the Philadelphia Eagles) and Byron (with the Washington Redskins).
UNION ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME 2011 TEAM OF DISTINCTION INDUCTEE
1989 FOOTBALL
The 1989 Union College football team finished with a record of 13-1 and played in the Stagg Bowl, the NCAA Division III National Championship Game (losing to Dayton, 17-7 in Alabama). Union was the ECAC Div. III Team of the Year and won the Lambert Meadowlands Cup. The Dutchmen recorded one of only nine undefeated regular seasons in the program's history, and won home playoff games over Cortland and Montclair State by a combined score of 87-20. Team MVP and linebacker Tom McMahon posted 132 tackles, and Union led the nation in pass defense. The Dutchmen defeated Ferrum in the national semifinals, and that team featured future NFL Pro Bowl player Chris Warren. Other stars included All-American DE Bill Deakins, DE Greg Hallas (record 22 sacks), TB Ryan Mason (records of 1,545 yards and 22 TDs), QB Brett Russ (2,670 yards), along with ECAC All Stars TE Mario DiLoreto, NT Bill Smith, OL Jack Catanzaro, and McMahon. This team still hold the school single season records for turnovers caused (53) and fumble recoveries (25).
For history and nomination information for the Union Athletics Hall of Fame, click here.
