The group includes All-American wrestler LES KEMPF ’67, football standouts TYLER CARUSO ’70 and CHRIS FIORE ’86, basketball standout JOHN DOHERTY ’89, volleyball and swimming star MICHELLE MAY PORTER ’96, All-American sailor BILL HARDESTY ’98 and USMMA’s former volleyball coach JIM HETTENBACH. The group will join 99 additional members in the USMMA Athletics Hall of Fame, totaling 106 inductees. (Click Here for Full List)
“I have been very fortunate to be present for every Hall of Fame induction since its inception in 1990,” said long-time Athletics Director Sue Petersen Lubow. “In my 34 years at the Academy, it’s been an honor and privilege to, literally, watch the careers of our accomplished athletes and coaches. This group is no stranger to success and it’s going to be special to celebrate this wonderful achievement with them.”
The Alumni Association and Foundation will host the event on Sept. 27 in Melville Hall (Officers’ Club) on the campus of the United States Merchant Marine Academy. Any person wishing to join the celebration is invited to attend. The cocktail reception begins at 6 p.m., with the dinner and ceremony starting at 7 p.m. This is a semi-formal event, so it’s requested that men wear jacket and tie and women to wear comparable attire. Dinner is $75 per person, with corporate tables and dinner journal testimonials available.
To Register Online: Please click here. From this site you can identify guests, and submit testimonials and payment. To Pay with Check: Complete this PDF form and mail in your check to Gregg Matalas using the address on the form. Please make check payable to the USMMA Alumni Foundation with HALL OF FAME written in the memo. If you have any questions, please contact AAF Director of Marketing / Blue & Gray Gregg Matalas at 516-773-5544 or gregg.matalas@alumni.usmma.edu.
More about Chris Fiore:
Chris Fiore ’86 was a mainstay in the backfield of the USMMA football team as a running back from 1982-85. He was the team’s Offensive Player of the Year in 1983 and 1984 as the Mariners compiled a 15-5-1 record during that span. Fiore served as a tri-captain in the 1985 season, in which he won the Team’s Coaches Award and helped the Mariners capture their first Liberty Conference Championship. During his time in a KP uniform, the Academy celebrated four straight Secretary’s Cup victories and claimed the 1984 ECAC Southern Region Championship. He also tallied up several ECAC Player of the Week nods and was All-ECAC in 1984 and 1985. At the time of his induction, Fiore holds the records for most rushing yards in a quarter of play with 122, most consecutive rushing carries with 13, and most touchdowns and points scored in a career with 40 and 240, respectively. Fiore was also tabbed as a Pizza Hut Division III Football All-American.
Story and photo courtesy of Gregg Matalas