Honorees from women's volleyball and baseball dominate the Class of 2013 for the Rutgers-Newark Athletic Hall of Fame which will hold its 13th induction ceremony on September 28 in the Newark Club.
Eleven Scarlet Raider greats will join the 84 already enshrined in the Hall of Fame which started in 1984. Four women's volleyball players who had a hand in delivering four of the program's five New Jersey Athletic Conference Championships and three baseball standouts who have left their marks in the Raider record book join student-athletes who excelled in softball, men's volleyball, men's basketball and men's tennis.
Donna Del Rosso (1986-89), who was the NJAC Player of the Year as a senior and led the Raiders to their first two leagues titles as a junior and senior under head coach Bob Bertucci, leads the volleyball quartet which includes teammates Gabriela Tacuri and Denise Cadmus Saywack (1992-95) and setter Sheena Eldred (2002-05). Tacuri was a three-time All-NJAC first team selection at outside hitter with left-handed Cadmus earning two first-team nods while playing on the right side during a four-year stretch when the Raiders posted a 20-4 record in conference play. Rutgers-Newark earned its third league title in 1992. Eldred was a two-time All-NJAC first team selection who fueled the Raiders' run to an NJAC title and the first NCAA Championship Tournament appearance by the program in 2003 by dishing out a school-record 1,364 assists.
In baseball, first team American Baseball Coaches Association All-America outfielder Troy Longo (1997-2000) and first-team All-NJAC shortstops Dave Monisera (1991-94) and Dave Sica (2003-06) will enter the Hall. Longo hit .485 as a senior to cap his collegiate career with a .367 batting average. Monisera was a four-year starter and career .358 hitter who formed a record-setting double-play duo with R-N Hall of Famer Jason Celentano. He helped the Raiders to a pair of NCAA tournament appearances. Sica, who started in 145 games, was the cornerstone player as head coach Mark Rizzi constructed an ECAC South Championship team in 2006.
Third baseman Jen Raido (2004-07) became the first Scarlet Raider softball player to be named to the first team All-NJAC squad in the one-division era while notching career standards for hits, runs, double and triples
A two-time first-team All-EAST outside hitter, Dr. Jeremy Hoff (1999-2002) piled up an R-N career high 1797.5 points while also establishing Raider marks for service aces, blocks and digs.
Jim Lopez (1973-75), who was a two-year team captain and three-year standout in singles and doubles play, remains the only Rutgers-Newark men's tennis player to advance through two rounds of the NAIA National Tournament. He posted unbeaten records in singles and doubles in NAIA District 31 competition as a junior to finish with an overall record of 79-12.
Guard Donald Parrish (2000-04) was the cornerstone player as head coach Joe Loughran began to construct a perennial NJAC challenger in men's basketball. He earned All-Met and All-NJAC laurels during his senior and junior seasons. He led the NJAC in assists as a senior as the squad claimed NJAC and ECAC Metro playoff berths while finishing 18-11 overall.
The induction luncheon will begin at 11 a.m. at the Newark Club (1 Newark Center).
