Hounds to add FOUR to Alumni-Athletics Hall of Fame

October 7, 2006

WORCESTER, Mass. --- Assumption College formally inducted four new members to its Alumni-Athletics Hall of Fame Saturday, October 14. The event was held in conjunction with Fall Homecoming in the Hagan Campus Center. A fifth former student-athlete, BRIAN K. KELLY '83 (Mount Pleasant, MI), was formally inducted as part of Football Gala Weekend, Saturday, August 26. Members of the Class of 2006 include DAVID E. BENOIT '76 (nee Arlington, MA) for baseball, MICHELLE J. COTE '95 (nee Taunton, MA) for softball, STEPHANIE J. MARTIN '00 (nee Arlington, MA) for softball and soccer and LEONARD C.G. SMITH '66 (nee Middletown, CT) for contributions to the Greyhounds program. Chairman of the selection committee and Alumni Board Member TIM CONNOLLY '78 (Worcester, MA)---also a former basketball player---will serve as Master of Ceremonies. Inductees were also introduced at halftime of the football game with American International (see picture right). Inductee biographies follow:

David E. Benoit '76, BASEBALL

Presented by Dr. Jack Maguire, his American Legion coach & longtime friend

One of the outstanding baseball players in Greyhound history, David E. Benoit '76 finished his career with a .360 career average as one of the premier second basemen in the region---both offensively as a leadoff hitter and defensively for Coach Bill Granahan '68. He also stole 44 consecutive bases (still a team record) and was later drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1976. David graduated from Arlington, MA High in 1971 and played two years of basketball earning all-Suburban League and Boston Globe All Scholastic honors. He also prepped at Worcester Academy and captained the New England Prep School Basketball finalist in 1972. He was named all-New England in both 1975 and 76 and team Most Valuable Player in 1976. He also served as assistant women's basketball coach for two years (1975-76, 76-77) and earned the athletics department's service award in 1976. He batted .394 as a senior with 30 stolen bases leading the team to a 17-10 record its second straight E.C.A.C. postseason tournament. He served as social studies teacher, head baseball and junior varsity basketball coach at St. Bernard's High (Fitchburg, MA) from 1977-79. He moved to Roselle, NJ Catholic High as the head baseball coach before being promoted to Director of Athletics at age 25. After leaving education and coaching, David moved into the corporate sector advancing to senior management positions with several major insurance companies. He currently serves as a Senior Benefits Consultant for a major Health & Welfare Employee Benefits consulting firm in New York City. In 2005, David started Professional Coaching Associates, a professional development company, providing college students as well as young professionals with key information and strategies to assist them in managing the corporate environment. He received a B.A. in Psychology in 1976. He resides in Roselle, NJ with his wife, Shaun Dooley-Benoit '75. They have two sons Ryan, 27 and Timothy, 25.

Michelle J. Cote '95, SOFTBALL

Presented by Dan Santerre, Head Softball Coach (1990-94)

One of the superb power hitters in Asumption College history, Michelle J. Cote '95 is among the career and season leaders in many offensive categories and has now returned to her alma mater as an assistant coach. She played at Coyle and Cassidy High School in Taunton, MA and was a standout performer for Coach Victor Augusto. Cote, also a superb defensive first baseman for the Greyhounds, finished with a career batting average of .457 and .690 slugging percentage and was also ranked among the leaders in runs (113), hits (205), singles (143), doubles (35), triples (9), home runs (18), stolen bases (52), runs batted in (128) and batting average (.457) for Coach Dan Santerre. She was selected a first-team all-star four times by the coaches in the Northeast-10 Conference and three times (1993, 94, 95) by the E.C.A.C. Division North and New England Intercollegiate Softball Coaches Association. She was team Most Valuable Player and captain in 1995. She batted .393, .547, .470 and .475 as one of the premier offensive players in the region and hammered nine homers with 47 runs batted in during a banner senior year. She has served as an assistant softball coach at Nichols (1999), an assistant basketball coach with the South Central Sharks (Oxford, MA) (2000 01) and with the South Central Xplosion (Thompson, CT) (2006) softball team. She received her B.A. in Psychology in 1995. She is currently a Program Manager in Business Development for Charles River Laboratories in Worcester and previously served as a Surgical Techician at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center for the U.S. Army Reserves in Washington, DC. She currently resides in Shrewsbury, MA.

Stephanie J. Martin '00, SOFTBALL & SOCCER

Presented by Jack Driscoll, youth coach & longtime friend

One of the great female student-athletes in the history of the College Stephanie J. Martin '00 left her imprint on two sports---either one of which would have earned her Hall of Fame honors. She was named the winner of the Andrew Laska Award as the Female Athlete-of-the-Year at the College in both 1999 and 2000. She earned all Northeast-10 Conference honors eight times in two sports and was a three time all-New England performer in softball as well. She earned third-team all America honors in softball in 2000 and played on teams that posted a amazing cumulative 177-84-6 record . . . most for any student-athlete in Assumption College history. She captained both sports as a senior. She is the career scoring leader for the women's soccer program with 46 goals, 28 assists and 120 points for Coach Jim Gondek. She scored 12, 11, 9 and 14 goals in her four seasons---the only player in Hounds history to lead the team four times and also have double-figure totals in three. She also holds career marks for games played (81), most goals (46), most points (120) and most shots (270). She led the soccer Greyhounds to to Northeast-10 Conference finals and the 1999 E.C.A.C. postseason championship. She assisted on the game winning goal in each of the three on-the-road wins in the E.C.A.C. tournament. In softball she led batted over .400 four times for Coaches Dan Santerre and Ralph Delucia helping the Greyhounds win a pair of Northeast 10 Conference championships and the 1999 E.C.A.C. postseason title. She is listed among the career leaders in games (180t), at bats (561), runs (147), hits (241), singles (221), stolen bases (52), sacrifices (58) and batting average (.430). She batted .413, .442, .445 and .411 in her four seasons. Defensively she made just 18 errors in nearly 700 chances including an amazing one error in 180 chances in 1999. She received her B.A. in Management with a minor in Education in 2000. She is currently a third-grade teacher at the Cyrus Dallin Elementary School and still resides in Arlington, MA.

Leonard C.G. (Geoff) Smith '66, SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT

Presented by Ted Paulauskas '67, Director of Athletics

One of the driving forces behind the construction of the recently opened Multi-Sports Stadium, Leonard C.G. (Geoff) Smith '66 has long been a supporter of the College and especially its athletics program. A former two sport student-athlete during his undergraduate years, Smith is now a member of the College's Board of Trustees (since 2001), the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees (since 2004), member of the Centennial Campaign Steering Committee (since 2005) and chairman of the Athletics Capital Campaign (since 2004). He was a standout soccer player for the Greyhounds in 1963, 64, and 1965 for Coaches Bill Ferrie and Tom Curtiss '62. He finished second on the team in scoring in 1964 (2-2--6 points) and in 1965 (5-4--14 points) and captained the 1965 team. He also played baseball for the Greyhounds in 1963, 1964 for Hall of Fame Coach Joe O'Brien '57. A native of East Hampton, CT he was a standout performer/captain of both the baseball and basketball teams at East Hampton High. He later served in the U.S. Air Force (Intelligence Service). He played midfield for the U.S. Military European Soccer champions in 1969. He received a B.A. in Economics from the College in 1966. He is the former President of The Hartford Financial Services Group Commercial Affinity Operations (1970-2000) and Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer of ePolicy, Inc. (2000-04). He is a Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU). He is now retired in Simsbury, CT and Naples, FL and working on his tennis backhand. He is married to the former Erika Schmidt of Bad Kreuznach, Germany and they have two sons, Oliver and Gregory, two daughter-in laws, Heidi and Theresa and two granddaughters.

Brian K. Kelly '83, FOOTBALL

Presented by Ted Paulauskas '67, Director of Athletics

As a player Brian K. Kelly '83 demonstrated that size was no factor playing stellar middle linebacker for the Greyhounds. As a coach he brought the level of confidence to new heights as the defensive coordinator of the mid 80s. As the softball coach he ushered the team into previously unchartered territory---the postseason regional rankings and 20-plus wins. He has won two national championships while coaching at Grand Valley State, made 19 tackles in the final game of 1981, and raised the softball program to a new level which included two postseason appearances and the first of what is now an annual southern trip. Kelly captained argumentatively the two most successful teams in Hounds' history for Hall of Fame Coach Paul Cantiani '73. He earned all conference honors in the New England Collegiate Football Conference as both a junior and senior and left with a school-record 314 tackles (currently seventh). His record 214 assists stood until this past season when broken by Chris Grogan '06. The Hounds posted an 8-3 record in 1981 opening the season with seven straight wins and finishing in the national 'club' playoffs---beating Fairfield before bowing to St. John Fisher in the semifinal. The following year the team finished 7-1-1---again winning seven straight in midseason. Kelly then coached for four seasons under Hall of Famer Bernie Gaughan who had served as his coordinator as a player. Gaughan was instrumental in landing Kelly a position with Grand Valley. He was also affiliated with the softball program for five seasons, one as an assistant (1983) and four more as head coach. He left after the 1987 season as the winningiest coach (64-54) with two Northeast-10 Conference playoff appearances and a then-record 23 wins. In his final year he coached six first-team Northeast-10 all-stars along with the Player- (Barbie Barrett '88) and Rookie-of-the-Year (Shonda Becker '90). He joined the Grand Valley staff in 1987 as a graduate assistant and secondary coach. He was promoted to defensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator in 1989 and to head coach two years later. He finished his 13 seasons at Grand Valley (1991-2003) with a 118-35 2 overall record, including 103-22-2 in the Great Lakes Conference. Grand Valley won two national titles (2003, 04) and advanced to the final a third time (2002). He was named the American Football Coaches Association Division II National Coach-of-the-Year in both 2002 and 2003. He coached in the Hula Bowl in both 2003 and 2004. In two seasons at Central Michigan he has instilled new energy into the program---the team had its first winning season since 1998 posting a 6-5 record last year. A native of Chelsea, MA, he was graduated from St. John's Prep (Danvers, MA) where he starred in three sports---football, hockey and baseball. He was graduated from the College with a B.A. in Political Science in 1983. Brian and his wife, Paqui, have three children - Patrick Liam (10), Grace Marie (7) and Kenzel Michael (6). They reside in Mount Pleasant, MI.