Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Eight Inducted into UCLA Hall of Fame


UCLA Athletics
UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2016
Eight Inducted into UCLA Hall of Fame
By: UCLA Athletics
UCLA Athletics will induct eight new members into its Hall of Fame on Sept. 30, 2016, honoring a distinguished class made up of All-Americans, NCAA champions, Olympic medalists and professional All-Stars. The group will be honored at halftime of the UCLA-Arizona football game on Oct. 1.
The members of the Class of 2016 are: Julie Adams (softball), Jamie Dantzscher (women’s gymnastics), Baron Davis (men’s basketball), Natalie Golda (women’s water polo), Chris Henderson (men’s soccer), Adam Krikorian (water polo), Mike Marsh (track & field) and Wendell Tyler (football).
The group includes six NCAA champions (Adams, Dantzscher, Golda, Henderson, Krikorian and Marsh) who have totaled 26 national team and individual championships between them, three Olympians who have combined to win six Olympic medals (Dantzscher, Golda, Marsh), a Women’s College World Series Most Outstanding Player (Adams), an NBA All-Star (Davis), and a Super Bowl champion (Tyler).
Following are biographies on the 2016 UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame inductees:
Julie Adams (Softball, 1996-2000)
Few things exemplified the heart of a champion more than Julie Adams’ performance at the 1999 Women’s College World Series, where she was named the Most Outstanding Player despite dislocating her left shoulder in the Bruins’ opening game. Adams gutted through the injury and hit .667 in the tournament, driving in two RBI in the 3-2 championship game victory over Washington. She was a two-time All-American, four-time All-Pac-10 selection and the Pac-10 Newcomer of the Year in 1996. Adams finished her career hitting .353 with 40 home runs, 166 RBI, 31 doubles, 116 runs scored and 95 walks and ranked in the Top 10 all-time in RBI, walks and home runs. A three-year U.S. National Team member and a National Pro Fastpitch player in 2000, Adams went on to earn a Masters in Athletic Administration and is currently an assistant principal at Bellflower High School.
Jamie Dantzscher (Gymnastics, 2001-04)
Olympic bronze medalist Jamie Dantzscher cemented herself in Bruin lore the very first time she chalked up for a routine, scoring a perfect 10 on uneven bars right out of the gate in her collegiate debut. She is believed to be the first NCAA gymnast ever to score a perfect 10 on her first routine, and she went on to earn a school-record 28 10.0s in her career, including a national record seven in a row on floor exercise in 2002. Dantzscher led UCLA to three NCAA team titles (2001, 2003 and 2004) and won four NCAA individual titles of her own, including the 2002 all-around, vault and floor exercise crowns, and the 2003 uneven bars title. She also won the Pac-10 bars and floor titles in 2002 and the floor title in 2001 and was the 2002 Pac-10 Gymnast of the Year and a three-time Pac-10 All-Academic honoree. The 15-time All-American and 2004 AAI Award winner was named to the Pac-12 All-Century Team in the all-around and floor exercise.
Baron Davis (Men’s Basketball, 1998-99)
As the No. 1 recruit in the nation at the point guard position, Baron Davis came to UCLA with much fanfare and did not disappoint. As a freshman, he played 32 games and started in 31, averaging 11.7 points and leading the team with 161 assists and 77 steals. His season was cut short due to a torn ACL during the NCAA Tournament’s second round, and the Bruins lost in the Sweet 16 without him. Davis rebounded from his injury with an outstanding sophomore season, leading the Bruins in scoring with a 15.9 points per game average and earning first-team All-Pac-10 and Team MVP honors. Davis turned pro after his sophomore year and was rewarded as the No. 3 overall pick in the NBA draft by the Charlotte Hornets. He averaged 16.1 points, 7.2 assists and 3.8 rebounds during his 13-year NBA career and was a two-time All-Star. In 2004 he was an All-NBA selection and the winner of the Skills Competition at the All-Star Game. Davis has also had success in the entertainment field as an actor and producer.
Natalie (Golda) Benson (Women’s Water Polo, 2001-05)
Considered one of the greatest women’s water polo players of all-time, two-time Olympic medalist Natalie Golda led UCLA to three NCAA titles in her four years at UCLA (2001, 2003 and 2005). Golda was a three-time All-American and NCAA All-Tournament Team selection and was dominant in her senior season in 2005, winning the Cutino Award as the best collegiate player in the nation after leading UCLA to a 33-0 season. She won MVP honors at the 2005 NCAA Tournament after scoring four goals in three tournament games. Golda finished the year with 47 goals and recorded the third-most career goals in UCLA history with 158. On the national team level, she started in two Olympic Games, winning bronze in 2004 and silver in 2008. She also led the U.S. to three FINA World Championship medals, including gold in 2003 and 2007. Golda, who was just hired to lead the newly-formed Fresno State women’s water polo team, was elected into the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame in 2015 and recently named to the Pac-12 All-Century Team.
Chris Henderson (Men’s Soccer, 1989-90)
U.S. National Team standout Chris Henderson is the eighth men’s soccer player to earn induction into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame. Henderson was selected to Soccer America’s All-Freshman team in 1989, and as a sophomore in 1990, he earned first-team NSCAA All-America honors while leading the Bruins to their second NCAA title. He was one of just three collegiate players to earn a spot on the 1990 U.S. World Cup team and was the youngest player in the tournament. Henderson, who totaled 79 caps for the U.S. National Team, was also a member of the 1992 U.S. Olympic team and an alternate for the 1994 and 1998 World Cup squads. After playing professionally in Europe, Henderson played in Major League Soccer from 1996-2001 and retired as the league’s all-time leader in games played with 317. He still shares the MLS single-game assist record with four, and his 80 regular-season assists rank No. 10 all-time. The two-time MLS All-Star won the 2000 MLS Cup with the Kansas City Wizards and was named the MLS W.O.R.K.S. Humanitarian of the Year in 2004. He has been the Sporting Director for the Seattle Sounders FC since 2008 and helped guide the club to four Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup titles, including three consecutive from 2009-11.
Adam Krikorian, Water Polo (1992-95, Student-Athlete; 1999-2009, Coach)
With a total of 15 national championships as a player, assistant coach and head coach, Adam Krikorian is one of the most successful Bruins in history. As a student-athlete, he earned All-America honors as a senior and helped lead the Bruins to the 1995 NCAA Championship, scoring two goals in the title game. As an assistant coach, he helped guide the men’s team to a repeat championship in 1996 and the women’s team to back-to-back titles in 1997 and 1998. He became co-head coach of both programs in 1999 and went on to win three more NCAA titles with the men (1999, 2000, 2004) and eight national titles with the women (2000, 2001, 2003, and a five-peat from 2005-09). Krikorian became head coach of the U.S. Women’s National Team following the 2009 season, and he has been near perfect, leading Team USA to gold medals in nine of 12 major FINA Championships, including Olympic gold in 2012. Krikorian was recently named the Pac-12’s Women’s Water Polo Coach of the Century and was honored in 2013 as the USOC National Coach of the Year.
Mike Marsh, Track & Field (1986-89)
Sprinter Mike Marsh won three Olympic medals, including two gold, as well as two NCAA team titles, three Pac-10 team titles and five Pac-10 individual titles. Marsh still holds some of the best marks in UCLA history, with his 10.07 time in the 100m ranking second and his 20.35 time in the 200m ranking sixth. He was also a member of the 4x100m relay team that set a school record in 1988 with a time of 38.59. He won the Pac-10 100m titles in 1986 and 1988, placed third in the 100m and 4x100m relay at the 1987 NCAA Championships and was fourth in the 100m and second in the 4x100m relay at the 1988 NCAA Championships. Marsh ranked in the Top 10 in the U.S. in the 100m for 11 years in a row (1987-97) and in the 200m for six years in a row (1991-96) and won U.S. titles in the 200m in 1993 and in the 100m in 1995. He set an Olympic record in the 200m to win gold at the 1992 Olympics and ran a leg on the gold-medal winning 4x100m relay team that set a world record. He captured silver in the 4x100m relay at the 1992 Olympics and was fifth in the 100m and eighth in the 200m.
Wendell Tyler, Football (1973-76)
One of the heroes of UCLA’s legendary 1976 Rose Bowl victory over top-ranked Ohio State, Wendell Tyler finished his UCLA career as the school’s all-time leading rusher with 3,181 yards, and his career average of 6.04 yards per carry still ranks second all-time. He also set school records for single-season rushing yards (1,388) and yards-per-carry (6.7 average) in 1975. Tyler rushed for more than 100 yards on 12 occasions during his career, most notably in the 1976 Rose Bowl game, when he totaled 172 yards, including a 54-yard touchdown run to seal the Bruin victory. Following his UCLA career, Tyler went on to play in the NFL for 10 seasons with the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers and helped the 49ers win the 1986 Super Bowl. He finished his pro career with over 6,300 yards rushing, over 1,800 yards receiving and a total of 66 touchdowns.

No comments: