Fordham Holds Second Athletics Gala

New York, N.Y. - On April 27, 1947, the New York Yankees hosted Babe Ruth Day at Yankee Stadium to honor the all-time great slugger. On April 27, 2019, Fordham University hosted the second Fordham Athletics Gala at 583 Park to honor eleven outstanding members of the Fordham program, including ten new Hall of Famers.
 
Over 450 people attended the second version of the Fordham Athletics Gala where the newest class of Athletic Hall of Famers were introduced and the late William D. Walsh, FCRH '51, was honored as recipient of the Victory Bell Award.
 
The night was emceed by Jason Caldwell, GABELLI '10, '17, GSAS '11, a former football All-American who is currently an Associate at Goldman Sachs.
 
The awards ceremony commenced with the presentation of the Victory Bell Award, which is presented to individuals who have brought distinction and honor to Fordham University Athletics through achievements not related to competition, coaching and/or administration. Honorees selected by the Hall of Fame Committee will embody a sense of leadership and passion for Fordham Athletics and serve as inspiration to the Fordham Athletics Family.
 
Mr. Walsh's daughters, Deborah Hirsch, Fordham Trustee and PAR '13, and Suzy Tinsley, accepted the award on behalf of their father with Hirsch mentioning how much the award would have meant to her father. "My father loved Fordham. He loved athletics. He loved excellence and he would be so delighted to be here this evening."
 

 
After dinner, it was time to introduce the newest Fordham Athletic Hall of Famers who were feted  much like The Bambino was some 72 years ago in the Bronx.
 
Here are the newest Fordham Athletic Hall of Famers:
 
TOM DEWEY (Head Coach, Cross Country/Track & Field)
Tom Dewey has served as the men's cross country/track and field head coach for the past 39 years and women's cross country/track and field head coach for the past 34 years, earning the Iron Major Award as the Fordham Coach of the Year in 1983 and 1995 and the Atlantic 10 Indoor Coach of the Year in 2005.
 
Under Dewey's leadership, the Fordham men's track/cross country program achieved its first indoor and outdoor track championship in five decades and the Rams also won two IC4A University Division Cross Country Championships (2012 and 2013) as well as three Metropolitan Outdoor titles and five of the past nine Metropolitan Cross Country championships.
 
The women's program has claimed several titles as well, including the New York State Division I Cross Country Championship, the New York Downstate Cross Country title, and the College Track Conference Cross Country Championship. In 1995-96, the Lady Rams captured their third consecutive ECAC University Division title.

On the men's side, 37 current school records have been set during Dewey's tenure, while the women's squad has set 60 records. He has coached six All-Americans and numerous NCAA qualifiers and All-East honorees.
 

 
 
PAUL DILLON (Head Coach, Golf)
Paul Dillon has served as the head golf coach at Fordham for the past 22 years. In 2004, he guided the team to a fourth place finish at the Atlantic 10 Championship, the best finish in team history, and received the 2004 Atlantic 10 Golf Coach of the Year award as well as the Iron Major Award, as Fordham Coach of the Year
 
More recently, Dillon led the Rams to the team titles at the 2017 Ryan Lee Memorial Invitational and 2016 Lehigh Collegiate Invitational as well as the 2009 ECAC championship.
 
Dillon is very active in the golf community of Westchester County, currently serving as the President of the Metropolitan Golf Association and he having served as President of the Westchester Golf Association and the WGA Caddie Scholarship Fund. He has also been on the Executive Committee of the Metropolitan Golf Association and served as the President of the Halfway Houses of Westchester Foundation.
 
An accomplished painter, Dillon has produced portraits of many famous professional golfers, including Bobby Jones, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, which are displayed at golf clubs and museums around the world.


 
 
RYAN KIRLIN, FCRH '09/DAVE MONTANI, GABELLI '10 (Rowing)
Ryan Kirlin and Dave Montani rowed together for three years at the stern with Montani at stroke and Kirlin at either the seven or three seat. They are the only two rowers in Fordham rowing history to compete on the US National Team at the World Championships or Pan American Games other than John Mulcahy, who rowed on the team at the Olympics in 1904 and won a gold medal, and Frank Sulger who was a Pan Am spare.
 
The pair helped the Rams to an undefeated season in 2006-2007 and were gold medalists at the Dad Vails in the men's lightweight four. They followed that with another undefeated season in 2007-2008, winning the men's lightweight eight at the Dad Vail.
 
In 2008-2009 Kirlin and Montani took third in the lightweight men's collegiate event at the World Indoor Rowing championships (Crash B's, best finish by Fordham rower in history of this event) as a senior
 
Kirlin was a four-year medalist at the Dad Vails (two bronze, two gold) and a two-time All-American. He rowed on the US National Team, stroking the lightweight four without coxswain at the Pan Am Games the year after he graduated. Kirlin is the 6K record holder for Fordham men's lightweights and third all-time in the 2K.

Montani rowed on the US National Team lightweight four without coxswain at the World Championships following his sophomore year and was invited to the men's U-23 national team as a that same year, making the team and competing at the U-23 World Championships in Germany, finishing ninth in the men's lightweight four. He also competed in the world indoor rowing championships for lightweight men as a junior, finishing fifth in Collegiate even.
 
Montani, who was named first team All-Region, Northeast ACRA and second team All-American as a junior, closed out his Fordham career by winning the Head of the Charles as a senior in the men's collegiate four and setting the course record (only Head of Charles win in Fordham men's rowing history). He also earned first team All-Region, Northeast ACRA and second team All-American as a senior.
 

 
 
JEN MINEAU, FCRH '12 (Softball)
A four-year starter, Jen Mineau was named First Team All-American as a sophomore and Third Team as a junior and she garnered First Team All-Region accolades in 2010, 2011 and 2012. She was the recipient of the 2010 and 2012 Claire and Jack Hobbs Award as the Fordham female athlete of the year and led the Rams to their first Atlantic 10 title (2011) and a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances (2010, 2011).
 
Mineau was named First Team All-Atlantic 10 in 2010, 2011 and 2012 and Second Team in 2009 when she was also named to the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team. She was also named Atlantic 10 Championship Most Outstanding Player in 2011 and to the Atlantic 10 All-Championship Team in 2010, 2011 and 2012.
 
Mineau rewrote the Fordham record book, setting 16 records including career marks for wins (101), strikeouts (1,390) and ERA (1.42). A three-time All-Region and A-10 All-Conference First Team honoree, she posted ten no-hitters, including five perfect games.
 
Academically, Mineau graduated Magna Cum Laude and was twice named an Academic All-American® and A-10 Scholar Athlete of the Year.
 
Following graduation she was selected 15th overall in the 2012 National Pro Fastpitch League College Draft, playing for two years with the Akron Racers.
 

 
 
PATRICK MURRAY, GABELLI '13 (Football)
A consensus All-American placekicker in 2012, Patrick Murray was recipient of a prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship as well as the Fred Mitchell Award as the top non-NCAA FBS placekicker in the nation. He was also named the 2012 College Football Performance Awards (CFPA) Placekicker of the Year.
 
An ECAC All-Star and First Team All-Patriot League selection at both placekicker and punter as a senior, Murray led the NCAA FCS with 25 field goals in 2012 and ranked second in the NCAA FCS in punting average that year.
 
Murray set school and Patriot League records for most field goals (25) and points scored (105) in a season in 2012. He holds the school record for punting average in a season (46.0), set in 2012, and is ranked fourth on the Fordham career field goals made list with 36.
 
As a junior in 2011, Murray was named Second Team All-America by the Beyond College Sports Network and Third Team All-America by the Associated Press and The Sports Network after he punted 49 times for 2,160 yards, an average of 44.1 yards/punt. He led the Patriot League and ranked third in the NCAA FCS in punting average in 2011.
 
Murray signed a free agent contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2014 and also served as the starting placekicker for the team in 2017.
 

 
 
DAVID ROSA, FCRH '02 (Track & Field)
A two-time First Team and two-time Second Team All-Atlantic 10 selection, David Rosa also earned All-East honors as a junior and senior, placing fifth in the 400m intermediate hurdles at the 2001 and 2002 outdoor IC4A Championships.
 
On the Atlantic 10 level, Rosa won the 400m intermediate hurdles at the 2001 and 2002 outdoor A-10 Championships to earn First Team All A-10 honors and his winning time of 52.30 in 2002 is still top 15 all-time in A-10 history. He also took second in the 110m hurdles at the 2001 and 2002 outdoor A-10 Championships to earn Second Team all-conference accolades.
 
Indoors, Rosa placed third in the 55m hurdles at the 2000 indoor Atlantic 10 Championship and sixth in the 200m and eighth in the 55m hurdles at the 2001 indoor championships
 
At the prestigious Penn Relays, Rosa took 14th in the 400m intermediate hurdles in the Championship of America race at the 2001 event and 15th in the 400m intermediate hurdles in 2002.
 

 
 
BRIENNE RYAN, FCRH '13 (Swimming)
Brienne Ryan became the first Fordham female swimmer to compete at both the NCAA Championship and U.S. Olympic Trials, competing in the backstroke events as a junior in 2012, and was named a Mid-Major All-American by CollegeSwimming.com in 2012. She finished 20th overall at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials in the 100-meter backstroke, clocking in at 1:02.49, while placing 70th in the 200-meter event in 2:17.42.
 
Ryan also competed at the 2012 Charlotte Ultra Swim in preparation for the Olympic Trials, where she took fourth in the "A" final of the 100-meter backstroke in 1:01.54, while finishing fourth in the "B" final of the 200-meter backstroke in 2:16.98 (12th overall).
 
At the 2012 NCAA Championships, Ryan finished in the top 20 in both the 100- and 200-yard backstroke, taking 17th in the 200 backstroke in a school record time of 1:54.67, while taking 20th in the 100 backstroke in 53.10 seconds.
 
Over her career, Ryan set four individual school records, as well as one relay record, inking new marks in the 50 and 100-yard freestyle, the 100- and 200-yard backstroke, and the 400 freestyle relay.
 
Ryan capped her Fordham career with a bang, becoming the fourth Fordham female swimmer to win multiple events at the 2013 Atlantic 10 Championship. She received First Team All-Atlantic 10 honors by winning the 100 backstroke event in 52.97 seconds and later captured the 200 backstroke title in an Atlantic 10 record time of 1:55.79. Ryan received the 2013 Hobbs Family Award, as Fordham's female-student-athlete of the year.
 
Academically, Ryan was a CSCAA NCAA Division I Women's Swimming & Diving Scholar First Team All-American and was a two-time Atlantic 10 Academic All-Conference selection.
 

 
 
MELISSA SALERNO, FCRH '08, '10 (Track & Field)
In 2009, Melissa Salerno earned Second Team All-Atlantic 10 honors by placing second in both the 800 and 1500 meters at the outdoor championship, setting the school record in both races. She also anchored the 4x800 meter relay that finished third in school record time of 8:55.72, breaking the former record set in 1991. She went on to run the anchor leg on the 4x800 that placed third in the finals at the 2009 ECAC Outdoor Championships in a school-record time of 8:54.18, breaking the former record of 8:55.72 set at the Atlantic 10 Championship (a record which still stands today).
 
Salerno won the 2008 Indoor Metropolitan 1000 meter championship and took seventh in the 1000 meters at the 2008 ECAC/IC4A Indoor Championship. She also was the 2008 Outdoor Metropolitan Champion in both the 800 meters and the 1500 meters.
 
In 2012 Salerno competed at the USATF Indoor Qualifiers in the 800 meters and was a 2012 US Olympic Trial Semi-Finalist in the 1500 meters.
 

 
 
GREG SMITH, GABELLI '06 (Baseball)
Greg Smith, a four-year starter and two-time team captain, graduated with the school record for career hits (241 – currently second) and still holds the career doubles mark (55). He also ranks among top ten all-time at Fordham in total bases (second), RBI (tied for fifth), and home runs (tied for sixth).
 
As a senior in 2006, Smith earned First Team All-Atlantic 10 honors after leading the Atlantic 10 in slugging percentage and tying for the league lead in home runs, while ranking third in the conference in hitting, seventh in RBI and runs scored, eighth in doubles and tenth in hits.
 
Smith was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates following graduation and played professionally for two years.
 

 
Murray spoke on behalf of the Hall of Fame class, noting that the common theme for the eleven honorees is their love for Rose Hill. "No matter where we competed, we were always proud to wear that Block F. We all found exactly what we wanted when attending Fordham. A university that was steadfast in its principles and forward thinking in its classrooms while proving a nurturing atmosphere outside the education sphere by bringing together a diverse environment to share in life's experiences."
 
University President Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., wrapped up the festivities by speaking of what united all of the night's honorees and he came up with two words, Class and Character. "If you listened, not only with your ears but with your heart, to the way each person was introduced, this kept coming up. These were men and women who were honored by the university and loved by their classmates not just because of what they did as athletes but because they lived their time at Fordham, and their time after Fordham, with a great sense of integrity, that they have character. They represent us and all of the values and principles that Fordham has held dear for 178 years."