PACIFIC ATHLETIC HALL OF
FAME
The 2000-01 Inductees of the
Pacific Athletics Hall of Fame
Click
here for the complete list of the Pacific Athletics Hall of
Fame
Mark Gardner
Mark Gardner demonstrated excellence on the
track for Pacific from 1968-1971. He holds school records in the
men's two mile with a time of 9:24.1 and in the 3,000-meter
steeplechase with a time of 9:09.8. Mark was also a member of the
record holding distance medley relay team that finished first at
the Mt. SAC Relays in 1968 with a time of 10:04.8.
As a freshman in 1968, Gardner was nearly untouchable in the
3,000-meter steeplechase. He claimed first place finishes in the
event at five relays that season, including the Fresno Relays, the
Westmont Relays, the Claremont Relays, the Davis Relays and
finished with the fastest freshman time in the nation during the
1968 San Jose Invitational. For his accomplishments during his
freshman season, Mark received All-America honors.
The excellence that began during his freshman season would carry
throughout his career. Gardner was rarely defeated in dual,
triangular and quadrangular meets in the 3,000-meter steeplechase
and two mile event in 1968, 1969 and 1970. During the 1970 season,
Mark placed first in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at both the PCAA
and West Coast Conference Championships.
Gardner continues to remain active in racing and placed first in
the 1994 Masters Team Rose City Relay, ran a 4:54 mile at the age
of 45 and placed 15th in the Portland Marathon in 1984.
Since graduating from University of the Pacific in 1971 with a
B.A. in political science, Gardner earned his J.D. at Hastings
College of Law in 1974. He was elected to the Hillsboro City
Council and served from 1975 to 1977. In 1977, Mark was elected to
the Oregon House of Representatives and again in 1979, when he was
appointed Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. In 1979, he
was appointed as a District Court Judge and remained in that
capacity until he was appointed Circuit Court Judge in 1992. After
17 years on the bench, he became Special Counsel to the Oregon
Attorney General and handled that state's legislation against the
tobacco companies. He returned to the Circuit Court bench in July
of 1999.
Mark lives in Beaverton, Ore. with his wife Sandra.
Mike Haley
Mike Haley was a two-sport standout for the
Tigers in both swimming and water polo. He was a second team
All-Pacific Coast Athletic Association selection his freshman year
and a first team selection every year there after. Haley was a
three-time water polo All-American in 1982, 1983 and 1984. He led
Pacific in scoring all four years he played and was considered one
of the greatest offensive threats in the country. In 1984, his
senior season, Mike led the PCAA in scoring with 77 goals. Haley
was voted most valuable player for the Tigers in 1982 and 1984. He
was named Pacific's Male Athlete of the Year in 1985 and still is
revered as one of the best water polo players ever at Pacific.
Upon graduating from Pacific, Haley did not play water polo
again until 1987 when he returned to Stockton and played with
Pacific's summer program. He became Pacific's men's assistant coach
under John Tanner for the 1987 and 1988 seasons. Mike was invited
to try out for the US National Team following the 1988 Olympics and
played for the US National Team in 1989 and 1990. During his time
on the National Team, Haley was on the gold medal team at the US
Olympic Festival and helped the team win a bronze medal in the
Mexican Olympic Festival in Mexico City. He left the National Team
in 1990 to pursue his career in banking and investment
services.
Mike began playing with the San Francisco Olympic Club in 1990
and has a post college playing career that includes three National
Championships in 1992, 1993 and 1995, seven Masters National
Championships (1994-2000) and two Masters World Championships (1996
and 1998).
Haley also had the opportunity to act as head coach of the
Pacific's water polo team in the fall of 1997 when the Tigers
longtime coach John Tanner left for another position. Haley
successfully bridged the gap between coaches and kept the Tigers on
a path of success and a ranking in the top 10 nationally. He
continues to be active with the aquatics teams at Pacific and
currently serves as president of the Pacific Swimming and Water
Polo Foundation.
Mike resides in Stockton with his wife Hallie (Park '90) and
their three children Anna, Matthew and Sarah. He works for the Bank
of Stockton where he is a vice president in charge of investment
services and internet banking.
Jim Hanny
Jim Hanny will go down in history as one of the best golf
coaches in America, but he first made his mark as a track athlete
at Pacific.
Hanny lettered in track in 1946, 1947 and 1948 and was selected
the West Coast Harrier Runner of the Year in 1948 and 1949. Jim won
the 1948 Pacific Marathon and the 1949 Pacific Association
Championship. In 1948, Hanny placed second in the National 15K and
in the Pacific Association two mile. He ran his third best time at
the Dipsea Handicap and placed fourth in the CCAA Conference one
mile. In 1949, Jim placed third in San Francisco's famous
Bay-to-Bay Breakers race.
Hanny also lettered in cross country in 1947 and 1948. He
received his B.A. from the College of the Pacific in 1949 and M.A.
degree from University of the Pacific in 1957. During the 1957
season, Jim coached the Tigers to a 10-1 record. The 1957 squad,
which is considered to be one of the best Tiger track teams in
history, set four school records.
After graduating from Pacific, Hanny went to Laurence University
in Sarasota, Florida where he received his doctorate of education
in 1972. In 1976, he accepted the job of golf coach at Cal State
Stanislaus after coaching at several California high schools. Under
Hanny's direction, Cal State Stanislaus golf has had 83
All-American mentions, 31 first team All-Conference players, five
academic All-Americans, five national individual champions and 16
first team All-Americans. Cal State Stanislaus golf won 12 NCAA
Division III championships, 47 invitational tournaments, 27 Far
Western Conference Tournaments, nine Northern California Athletic
Conference championships, 13 NCAA District 8 tournaments, an NCAA
Division II West Regional championship and one California
Collegiate Athletic Association championship.
Hanny has a career record of 2,310-1,127-18. He is the
winningest active golf coach in the nation and was elected into the
GCAA Hall of Fame in 1992. In 1986, he was named USA Today's
National Coach of the Year.
Jim lives in Turlock, Calif. with his wife Doris. They have four
daughters -- Virginia, Cynthia, Jane and Kerry.
Jennae Lambdin
Jennae Lambdin was a two-time All-American center fielder for
the Pacific softball team from 1980 to 1984.
In 1983, she led Pacific to its first-ever appearance in the
NCAA Softball College World Series with a record of 42-17-1. The
following year, Jennae helped the Tigers to establish a school
record for most wins in a season, as they went 48-20-1 in 1984.
Lambdin earned All-American honors in 1983 and 1984, and earned
all-conference honors in each of her four seasons at Pacific.
Jennae and her teammate Becky Suttman became the first Pacific
softball players ever to be named to an All-America team in
1983.
In 1983, Lambdin earned All-NorPac Athletic Conference honors as
she hit .327, drove in 27 runs in 56 games, and led the nation in
stolen bases with 33 steals in 37 attempts. In 1982, she hit .343
and was selected to the All-NorPac and the NCAA All-Northwest
Region teams as an outfielder.
Jennae finished her illustrious career at Pacific with a career
batting average of .320, which ranks second in school history. She
also ranks sixth on Pacific's career records list in runs batted in
(66), third in triples (10) and second in career stolen bases
(79).
Lambdin was a two-time USA National Team player and spent nine
years competing professionally at the ASA Women's Major Fastpitch
level. Her amateur team, the Raybestos Brakettes, won the gold
medal at the 1986 World Series of Women's Softball in New Zealand.
In 1992, Jennae was inducted into the City of Lodi Sports Hall of
Fame and, in 1997, she was inducted into the Pacific Athletic Hall
of Fame as a member of the 1983 softball team.
Lambdin graduated from Pacific in 1984 and received her masters
in special education from Pacific in 1987. She spent six years as
an assistant coach at the community college and Division I levels,
and is now in her 11th year as a head coach at the community
college level.
Jennae lives in Castaic, California and is currently the head
softball coach at Moorpark College where she also serves as a
physical education and health instructor.
Jan Saunders
Jan Saunders was one of the greatest setters in the history of
the Pacific women's volleyball program. She was a NCAA and
Volleyball Monthly All-American in 1982, 1983 and 1984, as well as
a CVCA All-American in 1983.
In her four seasons at Pacific, the Tigers were 128-33 and
advanced to three Final Fours. In 1984, Pacific finished third
which, at the time was its second highest finish nationally. Her
1983 team is still tied for the best start in school history as
they ran off 17 straight wins to open up the season.
Jan made the All-NorPac Conference team all four years at
Pacific and she was the MVP in 1982. She was also an All-Tournament
pick at the NCAA South Regionals and NorPac Championships that
year. That same season, she captured MVP honors at the UCLA-NIVT
and the UOP Invitational. She also played in the U.S. Sports
Festival in 1982.
In 1983, Jan was named to the NCAA All-National Championship
team. Saunders was also the MVP of the 1983 NCAA Northwest
Regionals and the Sheraton Invitational that same year. In both
1983 and 1984, Jan was nominated for the Broderick Cup, which
honors the best women's athlete in the NCAA. She graduated from
Pacific in 1985 with a degree in Business/Marketing.
Saunders was Pacific's primary setter for four seasons, and
would undoubtedly rank among the all-time leaders in assists in
school history except for the fact that assists were not an
official statistic until 1985.
Jan ranks second in most career aces with 170, and holds two of
the top four single-game marks in service aces. Saunders also has
two of the Top-10 service ace seasons in Pacific history; the ninth
best coming in 1982 when she had 51 and the seventh best coming in
1983 when she tallied 53.
She joined the Bud Light four person Beach Volleyball team in
1991 and was named MVP at the Women's Nationals in 1994. She played
two seasons for the Colorado Thunder and helped lead them to a
national championship in 1997. She is currently training for a
sprint triathlon, which is set to take place this August.
Jan and her husband, Bruce Gordon, live in Aurora, Colorado,
with their two daughters, Grace who is seven years old and Claire
who is four.
Julie Szukalski
In her four seasons at Pacific from 1986 to 1990, Julie
Szukalski left an indelible mark on the Tigers' women's basketball
program. She holds seven school records and was the first Tiger to
be named PCAA Player of the Week.
Szukalski is the Tigers' all-time leader with a scoring average
of 17.8 points per game and she ranks first on Pacific's career
points scored list with 1,568 points. She also ranks first in
career blocks with 108, first in rebounds with 958 and is third on
the career steals list with 180. In the Big West Conference record
book, Julie currently ranks sixth on all-time scoring list and is
10th in rebounding.
She finished with the most career field goals made at Pacific
with 764 and the most career field goal attempts with 1,568. She
also holds the school record for most free throws made in a single
season with 130 during the 1986-87 campaign and finished with the
most free throws made in a career with 399.
Julie capped her remarkable career by scoring 40 points against
Long Beach State in the 1990 Big West Basketball Tournament which,
at the time, was one point shy of the Tigers' single game scoring
record. She also scored more than 30 points in a game on three
other occasions during her career.
Szukalski earned All-Pacific Coast Athletic Association Second
Team honors following each of her first two years in the orange and
black. She earned Honorable Mention All-Big West Conference
accolades after her junior season, and was a Second Team All-Big
West selection as a senior. In 1990, Julie earned Big West
All-Tournament honors and was selected to the Big West All-Academic
team.
Julie graduated from Pacific in 1990 with a degree in
communication. She currently resides in Sacramento where she is the
recredentialing supervisor for Vision Service Plan.
Brad Vassar
Brad Vassar was a three-time All-America linebacker for the
Tigers football program from 1977 to 1979.
He transferred to Pacific in 1977 after spending his freshman
season at UCLA. While Vassar was at UCLA, the Bruins faced Ohio
State in the 1976 Rose Bowl, and he used this experience to propel
his play at Pacific. In 1977, Brad helped the Tigers to a second
place finish in the Pacific Coast Athletic Association standings,
as Pacific finished with a record of 6-5 that season.
In 1977 and 1978, he received Honorable Mention All-America
honors from the Football Writers Association of America. He was
selected as an Honorable Mention All-American in 1978 and 1979 by
the Associated Press, and earned the same honor from United Press
International in 1979.
As a senior, Brad was voted the Tigers' Defensive Player of the
Year and earned the Douglas Vieira Award as the team's Most
Valuable Player, sharing the honor with Dallas Nelson. Brad was a
three-time First Team All-Pacific Coast Athletic Association
selection. He finished his collegiate career by being selected to
participate in the 1979 East-West Shrine All-Star Classic and he
was named the Northern California Defensive Player of the Year.
Vassar graduated from Pacific in the spring of 1980 and was
drafted in the fifth round of the 1980 National Football League
amateur draft by the Atlanta Falcons where he played for two
seasons (1980 and 1981). He is currently the vice president and
general manager of Southern Wine and Spirits, a wholesale liquor
and wine distributor in Cerritos, California. Brad resides in
Newport Beach with his wife Caroline and their two children Brad
Jr. and Laura.
1990 Women's Volleyball Team
The 1990 women's volleyball team made an indelible mark on the
rich and highly successful tradition of the Pacific women's
volleyball program. The Tigers won 19 of its first 20 matches on
the season, and advanced to the NCAA Championship for the third
time in the program's history. Pacific also claimed one-fourth of
the AVCA All-Americans as Krissy Fifer, Cathey Scotlan and Melanie
Beckenhauer-Heller were honored in 1990.
Pacific finished the 1990 season with a record of 30-7 and a
14-4 mark in Big West Conference play. The Tigers played a total of
16 matches on the season against teams that finished in the final
AVCA Top-10, including three matches against Big West rivals Long
Beach State and UC Santa Barbara. Pacific knocked out the Gauchos
and 49ers in the NCAA West Regional to advance to the school's
eighth Final Four appearance. A quick turnaround sent the Tigers
from Hawaii to Maryland where they earned a victory over Nebraska
before falling to UCLA in the National Championship match.
This Pacific squad was one of the most versatile squads in the
history of the program. Four different players registered over 300
kills, 10 players had 100 digs or more on the year and five
registered over 200 digs. Also, three different players totaled 100
blocks or more for the season.
The Tigers had several players enter the record books during the
1990 season. Beckenhauer-Heller led the way with a school record
1,617 assists on the season. Scotlan added to her career record in
block assists with 152 on the season, which was the second-highest
total in school history. Sharon Kasser had the eighth highest
single season total with 134 block assists during the 1990 season.
Katy Eldridge had the sixth highest dig total at 419 and Vikki
Simonis had 55 service aces for the sixth best single season
mark.
As a team, Pacific authored one of the most successful starts in
school history winning 19 of its first 20 matches. The Tigers won
their first six matches, including the BYU Tournament. After
dropping its first match, Pacific rattled off 13 straight wins
including victories over Nebraska, Stanford, Long Beach State, UC
Santa Barbara and San Jose State. During that stretch, the Tigers
compiled the third longest consecutive games winning streak in
school history with 27 straight from Sept. 25 to Oct. 23.
Pacific racked up many different honors during the course of the
1990 season. Along with having three All-America selections, Fifer
and Scotlan were named First Team All-Big West, while
Beckenhauer-Heller was named to the Second Team and Eldridge earned
Honorable Mention honors. Scotlan was also a nominee for the
Broderick award, which goes to the top female athlete in the NCAA.
Heather Schoeny and Simonis played in the U.S. Olympic Festival,
while Fifer, Scotlan and Schmitt were part of the 1990 U.S. Junior
National Team.
The 1990 team was one of four Pacific squads to play for the
National Title, after an AIAW National Championship appearance in
1980, and NCAA National Championships in 1985 and 1986. The 1990
women's volleyball team will go down as one of the greatest teams
in the history of Pacific athletics.
Members of the 1990 Pacific Women's Volleyball
Team:
Lisa
Barbieri
Melanie Beckenhauer-Heller
Carol Conti
Katy Eldridge
Krissy Fifer
Sharon Kasser
Desiree' Leipham
Robyn Schmitt
Heather Schoeny
Cathey Scotlan
Devin Scruggs
Vikki Simonis
Natasha Soltysik
Head coach John Dunning
Assistant coach Jayne Gibson-McHugh
Assistant coach Perri Hankins
Assistant coach Joe Wortmann
Trainer Stacey Wolf
