SCHENECTADY, NY -- Seven distinguished individuals and two outstanding teams will be inducted into the Union College Athletics Hall of Fame on Saturday, Nov. 11.

The Class of 2017 consists of individuals Erika Eisenhut '06, Aaron Galletta '02, Abby Harris 2000, George Cuttita, Dalton Menhall '92, Anthony Valente '86 and the late Ernest Houghton, Class of 1916. The inductees for the Teams of Distinction are the 1982-83 Men's Basketball Team and the 2003 Softball Team. These new inductees bring the total number of individual members in the Hall of Fame, which was first instituted in 2002, to 80. The Teams of Distinction category now features 13 squads, as the honor was instituted in 2007.

The date of Nov. 11 also features two home events on the Union campus. The football team hosts RPI for the "Dutchman Shoes Trophy" at 12 p.m., and the men's ice hockey team hosts Quinnipiac at 7:30 p.m. For tickets to these events, go to UnionAthleticsTickets.com.

UNION ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME 2017 INDIVIDUAL INDUCTEES

GEORGE CUTTITA
Staff
George Cuttita arrived on the Union campus in 1980 and upon his retirement from the sports information profession in 2005, left an indelible mark on the careers of hundreds of student-athletes and coaches. As the first full-time Sports Information Director in Union history, Cuttita was efficient, loyal and proactive in his support of the numerous programs. Long before the internet, Cuttita developed strong and beneficial relationships with the Capital Region media. His highlights included working with the two football teams that competed in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl, two Division III Frozen Fours including one as a host, hosting the NCAA Div. III Cross Country Regionals, recognition work for the 100th meeting on the gridiron vs. RPI, field hockey's 17-1 ECAC title season, and numerous other home and away playoff events. A recipient of CoSIDA's 25 Year Award, Cuttita also coached the softball program for nine seasons. Numerous students received All-American, All-Region and other honors thanks to the tireless work of George Cutttita.

ERIKA EISENHUT '06
Soccer, Basketball, Softball
Erika Eisenhut was a remarkable three sport student-athlete. She started in seven NCAA Championships combined in her three sports. The cumulative record of her 12 teams she played for was 333-53-6. On the court, Eisenhut was the first Kodak/WBCA First Team All-American in Dutchwomen basketball history and an ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American. She was a Josten's Trophy Finalist, the Liberty League Player of the Year and the D3Hoops.com All-East Player of the Year. She is third all-time in scoring with 1,328 points, and the all-time leader in four career categories. She also ranks second in career steals in softball. Eisenhut was a CoSIDA Academic All-American in all three sports in her senior season of 2005-06, including First Team in soccer, the only student-athlete ever at Union to receive that honor in three sports. Also a key contributor to the 2017 Team of Distinction inductee 2003 softball squad, Eisenhut was a Woody Hayes Division III National Scholar Athlete Award recipient in her final season.

AARON GALLETTA '02
Basketball
Aaron Galletta finished his illustrious career as the all-time Dutchman basketball career points leader with 1,949, and ranks second at the time of his induction. His 663 points in a season set a school record and his senior season of 2001-02 produced numerous honors. He was one of 10 finalists for the Jostens National Player of the Year Award, a D3Hoops.com All-American, a First Team honoree for two all-region teams, the ECAC Upstate Player of the Year and the league's Player of the Year. Galletta 's average of 23.2 points per game ranked him 10th nationally in his senior year. He helped lead that team to an NCAA playoff, only the second in program history at the time, and the first 20 win season in 19 years while leading Union to the school's first UCAA (now Liberty League) Championship. Galletta played in all 108 games of his collegiate career and after his squad went 21-8 in 2001-02 when he was a co-captain, he finished his career with 67 victories on the hardwood.

ABBY HARRIS '00
Soccer, Lacrosse
Abby Harris was a direct link to the success of both programs from 1996 to 2000, as her teams combined for a record of 84-36-4 (45 wins in soccer and 39 in lacrosse). Harris was a league all star right from the start, tied for the team lead in points and goals in her freshman soccer season and receiving two first team and one second team all-conference honors. In her sophomore soccer season, Union tied the school regular season wins record with 10 victories. Harris had 46 points in her soccer career, and the Robert Ridings Award winner led both the soccer and lacrosse teams to their first conference titles in the 26 years of women's sports at Union. A starter at attack, Harris scored 141 goals and posted 203 points in her lacrosse career, and both totals rank seventh all-time in Dutchwomen lacrosse history. She was the all-time leader in career lacrosse points upon her graduation in 2000.

ERNEST HOUGHTON Class of 1916
Football, Basketball
Of all the basketball players in the nation in 1915, Ernest Houghton of Union College was deemed the best. His other hall of fame recognition is in Springfield, Massachusetts at the National Basketball Hall of Fame. He received the Helms Foundation College Basketball Player of the Year Award. He was an All-American in both 1914 and 1915, and in 1915 along with players from Kansas, Washington, Virginia and Illinois. He led Union to the Northeastern Intercollegiate League Championship in both seasons. Houghton also was a quarterback for the 1914 football Dutchmen, a team that posted the school's first undefeated season at 8-0. The Dutchmen outscored opponents 121-17 and posted five shutouts. After his collegiate career, Houghton played in the New York State League, one of the earliest professional basketball leagues in the United States.

DALTON MENHALL '92
Ice Hockey
Dalton Menhall was a member of the inaugural NCAA Division I team at Union in 1991-92, and after a distinguished playing career in Division III, he later developed a legacy for the program at the Division I level. Menhall also was extremely instrumental in developing a booster organization for the men's ice hockey team, the Garnet Blades. Through his efforts since the founding of the Garnet Blades, the program has raised significant funds in support of the NCAA Division I program in order to attain competitive excellence. These funds have assisted in student-athlete tutoring, locker room renovations, international recruiting, and other areas similar to Division I programs throughout the country. His grass roots effort to gain support gave him and all others involved in the program over the years extreme pride when Union won the NCAA Division I National Championship in 2014. Helping to plant the seeds and watch the fruits of labor with the success of the men's ice hockey program, Dalton Menhall is a champion in his own right.

ANTHONY VALENTE '86
Football
In the long and distinguished tradition of Union College football, Anthony Valente is one of the best defensive players in the program's illustrious history. He recorded 295 career tackles, including 169 solos and 126 assisted tackles, and his career total ranks second all-time at Union 32 years after his career completed, only surpassed by fellow Hall of Famer Marco Lainez. Valente's tackle total was the all-time best for the Dutchmen when Valente graduated in 1986. In both the 1985 season, Valente received Kodak and Associated Press All-American honors as well as ECAC All-Star honors that senior season. In 1984, he received Pizza Hut and Associated Press All-American recognition. He was the College's Jaffe Award winner for the outstanding male student-athlete. He was a key sophomore for the 1983 team that played in the Stagg Bowl for a national title, a squad that had 10 wins and was named the ECAC Team of the Year. In his career, Union won 88% of his games, 36 of 41 games.

UNION ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME 2017 TEAM OF DISTINCTION INDUCTEES

1982-83 MEN'S BASKETBALL
The 1982-83 Union College men's basketball team, coached by Hall of Famer Bill Scanlon, finished with a 21-5 record, still the most wins in a season at the time of its induction, while tied by the 2001-02 team. Four of the top 14 all-time scorers in Dutchmen basketball history played on this squad, Hall of Famers Joe Wood (498 pts.) and Joe Clinton (379) along with Ken D'Orazio (351) and Kevin Bartlett (248). The team was a second seed in the NCAA Regionals. Union defeated Ithaca in the NCAA tournament. D'Orazio had over nine rebounds a game and had a season high 20 vs. Clarkson. He led the team in field goal percentage at 56% while Clinton shot 83% from the free throw line.

Name	Grad Year / Staff
John Barry	1986
Kevin Bartlett	1985
Thomas Blackburn	1984
Joe Clinton (co-captian)	1983
Jim Doherty	1985
Ken D'Orazio	1985
Jeff Feigelson (co-captain)	1983
Terry Jones	1985
Todd Lafayette	1986
Brian Laux	1985
Joe Wood (co-captain)	1984
Bill Scanlon	Head Coach
Bob Montana	Assistant Coach
Paul Rieschick	Assistant Coach

2003 SOFTBALL
The 2003 Union College softball team became the first team in this sport's nearly 30 year history to compete in the NCAA Championships. Under Coaches Pete Brown and Brian Speck, the Dutchwomen finished 26-7 and advanced to the regional finals in their first trip to the tournament. A perfect mix of veteran talent and fine freshmen produced this remarkable season. Freshmen pitchers Abby Arceneaux and Jackie Coffey combined for 24 victories and 156 strikeouts. Arceneaux and fellow freshman Julie Gawronski hit .408 and .381 respectively. Those freshmen helped set a legacy as they finished their careers with a record of 113-25. Jill Ring, a senior outfielder, hit .364 with 24 RBIs and the 2003 Dutchwomen featured players who would later rank among the top 10 in career statistics. This team also featured Erika Eisenhut, a 2017 individual inductee.
 

Name	Grad Year / Staff
Abby Arceneaux	2006
Beth Carcone	2006
Jackie Coffey	2006
Caitlin DelZotto	2006
Erika Eisenhut	2006
Julie Gawronski	2006
Alicia Gifford	2006
Lauren LaFontaine	2006
Jessica Lawton	2005
Erin Lefkowitz	2003
Melissa Marra	2005
Randi Maurer	2005
Cris Pasqua	2006
Katie Ratner	2006
Karyn Rautenberg	2004
Jill Ring	2003
Stephanie Rubino	2006
Pete Brown	Head Coach
Julie Cardettino	Assistant Coach
Bill Sliwa	Assistant Coach
Brian Speck	Assistant Coach