2010 Athletic Hall of Fame class
Contact:
Bruce Wald, Information Writer
724-938-5898
wald@calu.edu
June 30, 2010
President
Angelo Armenti, Jr., has announced that seven individuals will comprise the
16th class named to the University's Athletic Hall of Fame. These former
Vulcan standouts will be inducted officially at the 2010 Cal U Athletic Hall of
Fame banquet at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 15, in the Performance Center inside the
Natali Student Center. Inductees also will participate in the University's
annual Homecoming Parade on Saturday, Oct. 16. In addition
to individual acknowledgements, this year's banquet will recognize Cal U's
2003-2004 women's basketball team. The Vulcans won the 2004 NCAA Division II
National Championship and finished 35-1 overall. Tickets for
the Hall of Fame banquet are $35 each. For reservations, contact Montean Dean,
of Cal U Alumni Relations, at 724-938-4418. Proceeds from the banquet will
benefit a Hall of Fame athletic scholarship.
2010 Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees
Dr. Michael Duda
was Cal U's third President. He served from 1956 until his untimely death in
November 1968. A four-sport standout at Donora High School, Duda went on to
play football at Saint Vincent College. He returned to Donora to teach, coach
and became the junior and senior high principal. One of the athletes he coached
was Hall of Fame baseball player Stan Musial. He superintendent of the Monessen
School District in 1950 and was inducted into the Mid Mon Valley All Sports
Hall of Fame in 1956. A visionary, he helped California State College transition
from a limited training institution into a four-year liberal arts college. A
Master of Education program was instituted in 1961, enrollment quadrupled and
more than a dozen new buildings were constructed during his presidency.
Jason Foreman
was a four-year starting third baseman and pitcher for the baseball team from
1999-2002. He earned all-conference honors in both positions each of his final
two seasons after earning all-conference pitching honors in 1999 and
all-conference third base accolades in 2000. Foreman, 2001 PSAC-West Player of
the Year, finished as Cal's career leader in doubles (50) and was one of only
two players at the time in school history with more than 200 career hits. On
the mound he made 43 total appearances.
Foreman helped the Vulcans win consecutive PSAC-West titles in 2001 and
2002. He went on to play two seasons for the Washington Wild Things and
Chillicothe (Ohio) Paints of the Independent Frontier League.
Dale Hamer
will
begin his 33
rd
season this season as a National Football League
official and his ninth as an instant replay official this fall. He was the head
linesman in two Super Bowls and past president of the NFL Referees Association
(NFLRA). A generous university
benefactor, he served as the Cal U Foundation's president from 2005-2009 and
has been a board member for 13 years. He was Cal U's interim alumni director
from 1994-96. Hamer
has been inducted into the Western and East Boros chapters of the Pennsylvania
Sports Hall of Fame, the Belle Vernon High School Football Hall of Fame, and
the Mon Valley Hall of Fame. In 1992 he retired as a vice president after a 28-year career
with USX Corp.
John Kovalchick
was a four-year starting shortstop and standout defensive back and halfback for
the baseball and football teams from 1949-53. He was a member of the football
team's 1951 Pythian Bowl team, which won seven games. Kovalchick batted .401
his senior year and the Vulcans went 10-5-1 overall. Also an excellent fielder,
Kovalchick helped California's American Legion team reach the state finals and
was selected to several local all-star baseball teams. He went on to play
semipro baseball in Kansas and enjoyed a distinguished scholastic teaching and
coaching career in Maryland.
Dingding Lu
was a
four-time, first-team, all-conference middle hitter for the women's volleyball
team from 2000-2003. She was also a two-time AVCA and Daktronics all-region
selection. She helped the 2000 team make the program's first-ever NCAA Division
II post-season appearance and win 27 matches. Cal won the Atlantic Regional
championship in its initial NCAA tourney and advanced all the way to the
national semifinals, which remains the deepest a Cal volleyball team has
advanced nationally. Lu led the NCAA Division II in hitting percentage (.446)
that season and finished with career school records at the time in blocks
(463), service aces (156) and kills (1,807).
Sara McKinney
was
a four-year starting guard for the women's basketball team from 2001-2005. She
was a three-time WBCA All-American, four-time all-conference selection and
three-time PSAC-West Athlete of the Year. She earned both PSAC-West Rookie and
Athlete of the Year honors in 2002. During the McKinney years, Cal compiled a
119-15 cumulative record with four PSAC-West titles, three PSAC championships,
two National Four appearances and the 2004 NCAA Division II National
Championship. She was the first Cal U women's basketball player to score more
than 2,000 points and pull down more than 1,000 rebounds (all at Cal). McKinney
finished her career with 2,117 points, 1,204 rebounds, 882 field goals, 423
assists, and 315 steals.
Kerry Novak-Drilak
was a four-time all-conference right fielder
from 1994-97. She was a 1997 NFCA All-American and two-time Academic
All-American who was the 1997 PSAC Scholar Athlete of the Year. Novak-Drilak
helped the Vulcans win four PSAC-West titles, three NCAA Regional
championships, two PSAC titles and the 1997 NCAA II National Championship.
Novak-Drilak finished with a PSAC record 214 games played which still ranks
ninth in PSAC history. She was named to the 1997 NCAA All-Tournament team after
hitting a three-run homer in Cal's opening game and knocking in the winning run
in the title game. Cal compiled a brilliant 184-35 cumulative record during her
four years.
The 2003-2004 Cal U women's basketball team
compiled a school-best 35-1 overall record
and joined the 1997 and 1998 softball teams as Cal U's three NCAA Division II
National Championship teams. Coached by Darcie Vincent, the Vulcans won a third
straight PSAC-West and PSAC championship and advanced to the National Final
Four for a second consecutive season. Cal capped its 6-0 NCAA tourney run with
a 75-72 win over Drury in the nationally televised championship game contested
at St. Joseph, MO.