DATE: Oct. 9, 2002
CONTACT: Paul Krome, pkrome@lacrosse.org

National Lacrosse Hall Of Fame To Induct
Class Of 2002 Saturday

Baltimore - US Lacrosse will formally induct 10 individuals into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame at a banquet Saturday at the Grand Lodge in Hunt Valley, Md. The class of 2002 marks the 45th class to be enshrined, and it includes individuals who have made significant contributions to the sport as players, coaches, officials and administrators.

The 10 inductees are: Nancy Vadner Chance, Zack Colburn, Heather Dow, Del Dressel, Eleanor Kay Hess, Sandra Kay Hoody, Roddy Marino, George McGeeney, Bill Tierney, Julie R. Williams. Their induction brings the total honorees of the National Hall of Fame to 293. Their plaques will be located in the Lacrosse Museum and National Hall of Fame at US Lacrosse headquarters in Baltimore.

Candidates for induction must have been out of college for 15 years and are nominated through a questionnaire. The top candidates are included on a national ballot sent to a random sampling of current Hall of Fame members, coaches, officials, reporters, US Lacrosse Board of Directors and US Lacrosse chapter presidents. The men’s and women’s nominating committees use the votes from that sampling to determine a final slate of nominees to submit to the Board of Directors. The Board approved the current class at its June 15 meeting.

More about each inductee:

Nancy Vadner Chance had a distinguished career as a player, coach and official. She was a member of the 1951 U.S. touring team and, while playing with the Philadelphia and Baltimore Lacrosse Associations, was a four-time All-American. She served as Treasurer for the United States Women’s Lacrosse Association, was chair for two National USWLA Tournaments, and was a nationally rated umpire for more than a decade. She served as head coach for Swarthmore College and Goucher College and the Baltimore Club teams. In 1994, she established the USWLA Nancy Chance Service Award and in 1997, was inducted to the Greater Baltimore Hall of Fame. She currently resides in Timonium, Md.

Nancy is being inducted as "an outstanding player, who was also an outstanding coach or official, who has contributed noteworthy service to the game of lacrosse over the years."

Zack Colburn was a standout defenseman at the University of Pennsylvania, helping the Quakers to Ivy League championships in 1983 and 1984. He earned second-team All-America honors in 1984 and then went on to a stellar career at the international and post-collegiate club levels. Colburn was selected to the U.S. Men’s Team three times, helping the United States to International Lacrosse Federation World Championships in 1990, 1994 and 1998. He earned All-United States Club Lacrosse Association honors eight times and received the USCLA's Krongard Award in 1995. He was inducted to the Philadelphia Chapter Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1999 and currently serves on the board of US Lacrosse. Zack resides in Schwenksville, Pa.

Zack is being inducted as "a truly great player."

Heather Dow was an outstanding goalie at the University of Virginia from 1978 to 1982. She was a member of the United States Women’s Team from 1984 to 1990 and played for the United States World Cup teams in 1986 and 1989. Dow has also served as an assistant coach at James Madison, Old Dominion and Virginia and served as an assistant coach for the winning World Cup teams in 1993, 1997 and 2001. She was named the top goaltender on Lacrosse Magazine's All-Century team in 1999. Dow served on the board of the Lacrosse Foundation and the United States Women's Lacrosse Association. She was inducted to the Virginia Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1997 and currently resides in Ruckersville, Va.

Heather is being inducted as "an outstanding player, who was also an outstanding coach or official, who has contributed noteworthy service to the game of lacrosse over the years."

Del Dressel is one of only three players in collegiate lacrosse history to earn first-team All-America honors four times. The midfielder helped Johns Hopkins University to NCAA lacrosse championships in 1984 and 1985. He received the Lt. Donald MacLaughlin Award as the nation's top midfielder in 1984 and 1985 as well. Dressel finished his career with 174 points (99 goals, 75 assists) and is the highest scoring midfielder in Hopkins history. Dressel was inducted to the Greater Baltimore Hall of Fame in 2001 and currently resides in Towson, Md.

Del is being inducted as "a truly great player."

Pete Hess has been an integral figure in women's lacrosse for decades. She played in the Philadelphia Women's Lacrosse Association (PWLA) and had a long and distinguished coaching career. She started the program at the George School and then coached at Swarthmore College, where she also served as the chair of the Department of Physical Education and Athletics for Women from 1965 to 1979, and then the Associate Chair for the Department of Physical Education and Athletics from 1979 to 1991. She was a nationally-rated umpire for more than 30 years and served in a variety of leadership roles, including president, for the PWLA. She was inducted to the Philadelphia Chapter Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2000 and currently resides in Wallingford, Pa.

Pete is being inducted as "an outstanding player, who was also an outstanding coach or official, who has contributed noteworthy service to the game of lacrosse over the years."

Sandy Hoody is one of the best goalies the sport of lacrosse has ever seen. Hoody played at Towson University from 1971 to 1974 and then played more than 20 years of club lacrosse with the Baltimore and South Women's Lacrosse Associations. She played on the United States teams for 15 years, and in the 1982 and 1986 World Cups, earning All-World honors in 1982. She has been a coach at the high school and collegiate levels for nearly 30 years and was active in the BWLA, serving as president from 1975 to 1980. She was inducted to the Greater Baltimore Chapter Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1998 and currently resides in Baltimore.

Sandy is being inducted as "an outstanding player, who was also an outstanding coach or official, who has contributed noteworthy service to the game of lacrosse over the years."

Roddy Marino was a star attackman for the University of Virginia and went on to achieve great success with the U.S. Men’s Team. Marino received the Turnbull Award as the nation's top attackman in 1986 when he earned first-team All-America honors. He also earned second-team honors in 1985 and honorable mention honors in 1984. Marino was named the top attackman at the 1986 International Lacrosse Federation World Championship and earned All-World honors after helping the U.S. to the championship in both 1986 and 1990. He served as a captain for the 1990 team and was also a five-time all-club honoree in the United States Club Lacrosse Association. Marino was inducted to the New England Chapter Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1996, the Long Island Chapter Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2002, and he currently resides in Villanova, Pa.

Roddy is being inducted as "a truly great player."

George McGeeney was a top defenseman for the University of Maryland-Baltimore County and also achieved success on the international level. McGeeney was a first-team All-American in 1982 when he received the Schmeisser Award as the defenseman of the year. He helped the Retrievers to the NCAA Division II Championship in 1980. McGeeney played on the U.S. Men’s Team in 1986 and 1990, helping the team to two International Lacrosse Federation World Championships and he served as a captain for the 1990 team. McGeeney earned all-club honors from 1983 to 1990. He was inducted to the Greater Baltimore Chapter Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2001 and currently resides in Highlands Ranch, Colo.

George is being inducted as "a truly great player."

Bill Tierney is one of the sport's most successful coaches ever. Through the 2002 season, he has compiled a career record of 204-60, including a 173-50 mark at Princeton. He has guided the Tigers to six national championships since 1992. His career winning percentage of 77.2 ranks among the best in the sport's history. Tierney played on a national championship team at Cortland State in 1973, and was an assistant coach for two national championship teams at Johns Hopkins in 1985 and 1987. In 1998, Tierney coached the U.S. Men’s Team to the International Lacrosse Federation World Championship. Tierney was inducted to the Long Island Chapter Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1994, the New Jersey Chapter Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1999, and currently resides in Princeton, N.J.

Bill is being inducted as "a truly great coach."

Julie Williams achieved great success on the lacrosse field as a player and coach. Williams was a two-time All-American as a defender at the University of Virginia in 1985 and 1986 and played on the winning United States World Cup teams in 1989 and 1993. She became the head coach at Penn State in 1989 and coached the Nittany Lions until 1999, leading the school to three semifinal appearances in the NCAA Championships. Julie was inducted to the Virginia Chapter Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2001. Her sister, Betsy Dougherty, a former Penn State standout, was inducted to the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2000, making them the first set of sisters to be inducted to the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame. Williams resides in Philadelphia.

Julie is being inducted as "an outstanding player, who was also an outstanding coach or official, who has contributed noteworthy service to the game of lacrosse over the years."

For more information on each inductee, criteria for selection or the Lacrosse Hall of Fame Induction Celebration, please contact Josh Christian, Director of Museum Services at US Lacrosse, 410-235-6882 x111 or jchristian@lacrosse.org.

US Lacrosse, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is the national governing body of men’s and women’s lacrosse. For more information, visit www.lacrosse.org.

Click here to visit the National Hall of Fame homepage.

# # #