Sports Briefs
2006 Athletic Hall of Fame inductees honored
Clark's 11th Athletic Hall of Fame dinner and induction ceremony was held on Sept. 16 in Tilton Hall of the Higgins University Center. The 2006 inductees include: Tony Aaronson '59, Mike Maltais '91, Becky Sherer '79, Barbara Stevens and Bob Zarzynski '63. In addition, Matt Stepanski '42 received an Outstanding Service Award.
Mike Maltais '91 is the first men's lacrosse player to be inducted into the Clark Athletic Hall of Fame. One of the most dominant offensive players in the program's history, Maltais helped lead the transition of the sport from club to varsity status during his four-year tenure.
Maltais was a three-time Patriot league all-star, an All-New England East/West all-star and two-time team Most Valuable Player. He also set all of Clark's single-game and season scoring records and career marks, many of which still stand today. Maltais earned Clark's Fred Hebert Trophy, presented to a male senior athlete for outstanding contribution to the athletic program. He is Clark's all-time leading scorer with 98 goals, 80 assists and 178 points.
After a short stint as Clark's head lacrosse coach from 1997-1998, Maltais started his own business, servicing exercise equipment in the greater Worcester area. He was also a certified cycling coach and a national ski patrol member. Maltais has been involved in many charity events, including mechanical support for American Diabetes Charity Bike Ride and Courage Classic Charity Ride for a children's hospital in Denver, Colo.
Rebecca Sherer '79 helped lead the Cougars to an impressive 55-18 overall record over her three-year career in women's basketball. In her first season, Sherer helped guide the team to a Massachusetts Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (MAIAW) championship and earned the tournament's Most Valuable Player accolades. In 1978, Clark captured the Stonehill College Invitational title, where the junior forward was also named MVP. Sherer's final season saw the 1979 Cougars claim their second MAIAW championship in three years, followed by a berth in the Eastern Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (EAIAW) regional tourney. Posting a program-best 23-5 mark that season, Sherer closed her collegiate basketball career as Clark's all-time leading scorer and rebounder.
Sherer joined various sports leagues after graduation, including the MsKicks Worcester women's soccer squad and the Northampton Women's Softball League. She was a two-time UMass-Haigis Hoopla women's basketball champion and won the 1993 Boston Reebok women's basketball 3-on-3 title. Sherer became head coach for the Amherst Recreational junior high girls' basketball program in 1995. Also active in charitable causes, she participated in the Ride the Rockies bike ride and PanMass Challenge for the Jimmy Fund.
Sherer, who also played tennis and softball, earned an additional degree in civil engineering in 1987 from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. She is currently senior project engineer for Tighe & Bond, Inc., Civil and Environmental Engineering Consultants. She is also co-chair of the UMass Industry Advisory Council School of Engineering Women and Minority Engineering.
One of the Cougars' top men's basketball players in the 1960s, Bob Zarzynski '63 was a four-year letter-winner with impressive accomplishments on the court. A sharp-shooter, who could cut to the basket and was noted for his outside range, he finished his junior year as the team's leading scorer. Zarzynski's leadership abilities and presence on the Clark court earned the team's respect as he was named captain in his senior year. He was also a UPI All-New England Small College honorable mention and was selected to play on the Greater New England Boston All-Star squad senior season. In addition, Zarzynski was voted by his peers in the Scarlet student newspaper as the 1963 Athlete of the Year and received the Fred Hebert Trophy.
Upon graduating from Clark, Zarzynski coached youth basketball and baseball leagues for many years. He has been a United Way and Red Cross volunteer and served on the Board of Directors for Twin Tier Home Health.
Zarzynski is a human resources director at the Bridgewater Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing.
Outstanding tennis player Tony Aaronson '59 left a lasting impression on Clark's athletic program. A four-year member of the men's tennis squad that had the best win-loss record over four years in Clark's history, Aaronson also compiled the best individual winning percentage of any player in Cougar history. He won the 1956 number one and number two singles titles, and the number one doubles championship in 1958. He also made three appearances in the number two singles championship match from 1957-1959. Aaronson captained the squad as a junior and capped off his career with only one loss in his senior season.
Aaronson has remained actively involved in the sport. He has won various tennis championships, including the Textile Association of Los Angeles (TALA) singles title, the TALA doubles titles, and the doubles and mixed doubles championships at the Warner Center Racquet Club. He has also participated in several charity tournaments in the greater Los Angeles area.
During his Clark career Aaronson shared the spotlight with former teammate and friend, the late Neil Walsh '59. Aaronson founded the annual Neil Walsh Memorial Tennis Tournament in 1991 to honor Walsh's contributions to the Clark tennis program.
Only the third tennis player to be inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame, Aaronson, who received a M.B.A. in 1989 from Pepperdine University, currently works for European and Asian Textile Mills.
During her six-year stint at Clark, women's basketball Coach Barbara Stevens posted an impressive 123-42 (.745) overall record. Since first arriving on campus as an assistant coach in 1976-77, Stevens experienced nothing but success. That year, the previously unknown Cougars captured the MAIAW Division III State Championship and recorded a 14-5 season. The program continued to flourish after Stevens took over in 1977, claiming a trio of MAIAW titles and five postseason appearances over the next six seasons. From 1981-1983, the Cougars earned the NCAA Northeast Regional Championship, advancing to the Final Four in both tries. In her final season, she was named District 1 Converse/WBCA Coach of the Year and coached a Division III Champion Player of the Year. In addition to basketball, Stevens coached softball from 1977-83, acted as coordinator of women's athletics and served as Clark's assistant athletic director.
After three years at the head of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst women's basketball program, Stevens took the head coaching job at Division II Bentley College. Over her 20-year tenure at Bentley, she has posted a 554-102 (.845), earned 19 NCAA Division II tournament berths, captured 10 regional championships and made five consecutive appearances in the NCAA Division II Final Four—including a trip to the 1990 National Championship game. She has posted nine 30-win seasons, 14 Northeast-10 regular season titles, and has been named the conference's Coach of the Year 12 times. She has also been named the WBCA Division II National Coach of the Year three times, received the Division II Coach of the Year by the American Women's Sports Federation following the 1988-89 season and was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in April 2006.
Stevens was also the first women's basketball coach in New England history to earn 500 career wins and the first Division II coach and only the sixth overall to reach 700 career wins. She has held prestigious positions off the court, serving as the 1994-95 president of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association.
Matt Stepanski '42, M.A.Ed. '47 received Clark's Distinguished Service to Athletics Award, given to those individuals who have made a sustained and extraordinary contribution to Clark Athletics through their exemplary commitment and service.
Stepanski was an active member of the athletic department, participating in intramurals and the athletic association, and was a strong supporter of all the teams as a member of the cheerleading squad. Stepanski also wrote for the student newspaper, was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity and served as Class President. He was voted Most Popular and Ideal Clark student.
|
