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Six
Selected for Induction into Athletic Hall of Fame
A Cy Young Award-winner, a four-time All-American in soccer and a member of the 1984 Washington Redskins Super Bowl championship team are among six former campus sports stars selected this week for induction into the UMass Athletic Hall of Fame. The nine-member selection committee announced its selections on Wednesday. The honorees are Kristen Bowsher, Mike Flanagan, Bruce Kimball , Sal LoCascio, Jeff Reardon and Anne Vexler. The induction is set for January. Bowsher was a four-year letterwinner for the women's soccer team from 1984-87, earning NCAA All-America honors as a midfielder in each of her four seasons. She helped lead the Minutewomen to four consecutive NCAA Final Four appearances, including 1987 when the team lost to North Carolina, 2-0 in the national championship game, and won a school record 20 games. Bowsher was a three-time NCAA All-Tournament team selection and led UMass to an overall record of 65-9-4 during her four years. A native of Maplewood, N.J., Bowsher received her degree in Engineering in 1988. She now resides in Montgomery Village, Md., and is a bio-medical engineer for the Food and Drug Administration. Flanagan lettered for the baseball team in 1972 and 1973 before turning pro. Flanagan went 9-1 with a 1.52 earned run average and 91 strikeouts in 1973 to lead the team in all three categories. He was the team's MVP in 1973, after leading the team to an overall record of 21-9-1, including a trip to the NCAA Tournament and the Yankee Conference championship. His career ERA of 1.19 and a career winning percentage of .923 (12-1) are still the best marks in school history. Flanagan went on to pitch 18 seasons in the major leagues with the Orioles (1975-1987, 1991-92) and Toronto Blue Jays (1987-90). He had a career record of 167-143 and won the 1979 American League Cy Young Award for the Orioles, going 23-9 with 190 strike-outs and a 3.08 ERA in 265-2/3 innings. He was a member of the Orioles 1983 World Championship team. A native of Manchester, N.H., Flanagan received his degree from the School of Education in 1975. He now lives in Sparks, Md., and serves as a television analyst for Home Team Sports. Kimball earned three letters as a member of the football team from 1976-78, and earned first team All-America honors at guard in 1977 and 1978. Kim-ball anchored the line that helped the Minutemen rush for over 3,000 yards in 1978 en route to the NCAA Division I-AA national championship game. Kim-ball served as captain in 1978, and earned All-Yankee Conference honors in both 1977 and 1978 when the team won back-to-back conference titles. Following his college career, Kimball was picked by Pittsburgh in the seventh round of the 1979 National Football League draft. He played for two seasons in the Canadian Football League before moving to the NFL in 1982. Kim-ball played for the New York Giants in 1982 and the Washington Redskins in 1983 and 1984, and was part of the Red-skins' 1984 Super Bowl championship team. He received his degree in Physical Education in 1979. Kimball now resides in Rye, N.H. LoCascio was a four-year letterwinner on the lacrosse team from 1986-89, earning USILA All-America honors at goalie in each of his four seasons. LoCascio holds the NCAA record for career saves with 931. He was the starting goalie on four consecutive NCAA Tournament and New England Championship teams from 1986-89, including the 1989 team that was the first UMass team to advance to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. LoCascio led the team in saves all four seasons, and his four single-season save totals are the top four in UMass history, including a record 271 in 1987. He served as team co-captain as a senior, and set an NCAA record with 29 saves in a tournament first-round game against Johns Hopkins in 1986. Following the completion of his collegiate career, LoCascio was a three-time member of Team USA, winning three world championships (1990, '94, '98). He was named MVP of the World Games in 1990 and named to the All-World team in 1994. He has never lost a game in international competition. He has played nine years for New York Saints in the Indoor League, and is the active career leader in saves. He earned All-Pro honors six times and was chosen as the Saints' MVP four times (1991-94). A native of Islip, N.Y., he earned his B.A. in Economics in 1989 and now works for Baxter Health-care. Reardon lettered four times on the baseball team from 1974-77, and still holds the all-time team record for career strikeouts with 234. He pitched 253-1/3 innings during his UMass career, setting a record which stood until the 1999 season. Reardon also led the team in strikeouts all four years, and had the lowest ERA on the team as a freshman in 1974. He set a school record with 37 starts on the mound during his career, including 13 complete games, and led the team to a 24-13 record as a junior, setting a then-team record for single season wins. Reardon was drafted in 1977 by the New York Mets. He went on to pitch 16 years with six major league teams. His 367 career saves set a major league record at the time (he currently ranks fourth). Reardon pitched in 880 career games, a mark which still ranks 13th in major league history, and led the majors with 41 saves in 1985. He was a member of the Minnesota Twins 1987 World Championship team. A native of Dalton, Reardon received his degree in Humanities and Fine Arts in 1978. He lives in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Vexler earned four letters as a member of the women's gymnastics team from 1971-74, earning All-America honors in 1973. She was a member of the '73 team that captured the AIAW Intercollegiate Gymnastics National Championship, and tied for first in the all-around at the Eastern Regional in 1972. Vexler was a finalist on balance beam at both Nationals and Easterns in 1972, finishing fourth as a team in the 1972 AIAW National Championship. Vexler finished fourth in the all-around at the 1973 AIAW Nationals and placed fourth on the floor exercise, seventh on balance beam and ninth on the uneven bars. In 1974, Vexler led UMass to the Eastern Championship and a third place finish at the AIAW Nationals. At the 1974 Eastern Championships, Vexler finished second in the all around, first on beam, second on floor exercise and fifth on the uneven bars. She was also invited to participate at the 1973 World University Games held in Moscow. |
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