New Fordham Athletic Hall of Fame Class to Be Inducted on Saturday

Bronx, N.Y. (January 8, 2014) - The ranks of Fordham University Athletic Hall of Fame will grow by ten on Saturday, January 11^th, as the Rams induct the newest class at the annual Hall of Fame Awards Dinner at 5:00 p.m. in Fordham's McGinley Center Ballroom located on the school's Bronx campus.
 
Joining the likes of such Fordham notables as Frankie Frisch, Vince Lombardi, Vin Scully, Wellington Mara and Peter Harnisch will be Mobolaji Akiode, GSB '04 (Basketball), Ben Dato, GSB '08 (Football), Tom Davis, GSB '08 (Baseball), Bryant Dunston, FCRH '08 (Basketball), Cory Riordan, GSB '12 (Baseball), Allison Twarowski, FCRH '08 (Softball), Robert Valdes-Rodriguez, FCRH '86 (Swimming), and the 1967 Two-Mile Relay team of Jack Fath, FCRH '68, LAW '71, Jim Groark, GSB '67, Brian Hernon, FCRH '67, and Don May, FCRH '68.
 
Here is a brief synopsis for the newest Hall of Famers:
 
Akiode made her mark in the sport of basketball both on and off the court. She capped her on-court career by being named recipient of the 2003 Claire Hobbs Award as the school's top Female Student-Athlete and the 2003 Atlantic 10 Most Improved Player as well as earning Second Team All-Atlantic 10 honors and First Team All-Metropolitan Conference accolades in 2003.
 
Following a professional basketball career, Akiode established the Hope 4 Girls Africa charity, a US-based, nonprofit organization dedicated to the increased participation and empowerment of disadvantaged young African women in sports and education. For her work with Hope 4 Girls Africa, Akiode was featured on ESPN's Her Story: Celebrating Women in Sports and, last October, she was honored by ESPNW as one of the inaugural Everyday Heroes.
 
Dato, a consensus All-American in 2007 was co-recipient of the 2008 Vincent T. Lombardi Memorial Award, presented to the school's top male athlete. That season, he set the school's single season punting yards record with 2,992, a record which still stands, while his 2007 punting average of 44.7 yards/punt is the third best in Fordham history.
           
Over his career, Dato punted 125 times for 5,579 yards, an average of 44.6 yards/punt.  His 44.6 yards/punt average is a Fordham career record, surpassing Barry Cantrell's mark of 39.9 yards/punt set between 1994 and 1997.  Dato also is ranked fifth on Fordham's all-time punt yardage list.
           
Davis saved his best for last, being named Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Year as a senior in 2008, leading the conference with nine wins and a 1.90 ERA. He also earned First Team All-Atlantic 10 honors that spring, as well as being named a Second Team ECAC All-Star.
 
Davis graduated as the Rams' career leader in games started (50) and innings pitched (339.0) and is one of just six pitchers at Fordham to reach 200 career strikeouts. He currently ranks among the top five in school history in four categories: games started (first), innings pitched (first), wins (second) and strikeouts (fifth).
 
Dunston burst onto the scene as a rookie in 2004-2005, being named the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year that season as well the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Rookie of the Year and he earned All-Atlantic 10 honors all four years at Rose Hill. Dunston capped his career in 2007-2008 by earning second team All-Atlantic 10 accolades for the second straight year, as well as being named to the Atlantic 10 All-Defensive team and United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) All-District II. He also was co-recipient of the 2008 Vincent T. Lombardi Memorial Award as the school's top male athlete.
 
Over his four-year career, Dunston appeared in 120 career games, starting 118, amassing 1,832 career points, good for second place on the Fordham all-time scoring list. He also pulled down 993 career rebounds, good for third all-time at Rose Hill following his graduation. Dunston is also Fordham's career blocked shots leader with 294 rejections.
 
Riordan opened his collegiate career by winning the 2005 Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year award as well as being named to the 2005 Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America team and Second Team All-Atlantic 10. He compiled a 10-4 record and a 3.61 ERA with four complete games as a freshman, carrying a 25-inning scoreless streak into the Atlantic 10 tournament, the second longest scoreless streak in Fordham history.
 
In three seasons at Fordham, Riordan was 21-11 with a 4.02 ERA, 201 strikeouts in 246.0 innings pitched, and four shutouts. He is one of six pitchers at Fordham to reach 200 career strikeouts and currently ranks among the top ten in five career categories: wins (tied for fifth), shutouts (tied for fifth), strikeouts (sixth), games started (eighth) and innings pitched (tenth).
 
Twarowski earned All-Atlantic 10 honors all four years with the Rams, leading the Rams to a first place finish in the 2005 Atlantic 10 regular season and a back-to-back appearances in the Atlantic 10 championship game. As a junior she hit a team-high .393, the second highest batting average ever for a Ram, and set then-single season records for hits (75) and runs (58). She capped her season at the Atlantic 10 Championship, hitting .600 (6-10) in the tournament with five RBI and was named to the All-Championship team.
 
Upon graduation, Twarowski held a plethora of school single game and single season records, including hits in a game (5), RBI in a game (7), runs in a season (58  - which was also an Atlantic 10 record) . She held Fordham career records for hits (251), runs (181), doubles (44) and RBI (145) at graduation.  She currently ranks among the top ten in 14 career categories, including runs (first), games played (second), hits (third), RBI (third) and batting average (tenth).
 
Valdes-Rodriguez was a three-time NCAA Division I Eastern qualifier and a four-time MAAC finalist in the pool for the Rams. As a freshman in 1982-1983, he commenced his Fordham career by breaking Tom Gleason's 100 butterfly school record, a record he would reset as both a sophomore and junior. He qualified for NCAA Eastern Championships as a freshman, sophomore and junior.
 
 
Jim Groark, Brian Hernon and Don May join the fourth member of the 1967 two-mile relay team, Jack Fath who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1980, in the Fordham Athletic Hall of Fame for their amazing 1967 season. The four joined forces in 1967 to set a school and Penn Relay record in the two-mile relay at the prestigious meet with a 7:21.4 finish, which was also the top time in the world that spring.
 
The team opened the 1966-1967 indoor season by setting the field house record for the two-mile relay at the Naval Academy and then had an impressive first big meet, setting an indoor school and meet record of 7:30.6 in the Boston Garden.
 
The 2014 Hall of Fame Day will begin with a women's basketball game against the University of Richmond in the Rose Hill Gym at 2:00 p.m. followed by registration for the dinner at 4:00 p.m. in the McGinley Center. Dinner will begin at 5:00 p.m. and the formal induction ceremony will start at 5:45 p.m. in the McGinley Center Ballroom.  New York Yankees announcer, and Fordham alum, Michael Kay will serve as the Master of Ceremony at the brunch. 
 
Following the ceremony, the Hall of Famers will attend the Fordham-Richmond men's Atlantic 10 basketball game in the Rose Hill Gym at 7:00 p.m. with the new class being introduced to the crowd at halftime.
 
For more information on the 2014 Hall of Fame Day or to order tickets, call the Fordham Athletic Office at 718-817-4300.