President's Letter - Colorado State University-Pueblo

RMAC Honors Former Athletes/Coach
Two former-student athletes, wrestler Chuck Pipher and
women’s tennis player Daniela Ivana, were named their
respective sport’s “Player of the Century” this year as the Rocky
Mountain Athletic Conference celebrated its centennial by
naming all-century teams in each of the sports it sponsors.
Pipher and Ivana headline a list that included 14 former
student-athletes and one coach, Bob Scott, who was named
the coach of the century for women’s tennis.
The ThunderWolves’ list of all-century teamers combined
for 19 all-American honors in their time at the University of
Southern Colorado and Colorado State University-Pueblo.
Robin Hayes, Women’s Soccer
Dan DeRose, Football
Herman Heard, Football
Cal Tatum, Men’s Basketball
Chuck Pipher, Wrestling
(player of the century)
Chris Currier, Wrestling
Sam Christensen, Baseball
Tony Wittmus, Baseball
Kerri Chase, Softball
Niki Toussaint-Whitaker, Softball
Jason Allen, Men’s Golf
Cary Brading, Men’s Tennis
Thomas Calhoun, Men’s Tennis
Daniela Ivana, Women’s Tennis
(player of the century)
Bob Scott, Women’s Tennis
(coach of the century)
SPORTS CENTRAL
SPORTS BRIEFS
Academic All-Americans. Two CSU-Pueblo student-athletes, men’s
soccer player Trevor Martinet and baseball player Jason Fobes,
received the highest academic honor for student-athletes in the
nation when both were named academic all-Americans by the
College Sports Information Directors Association (CoSIDA) and ESPN
The Magazine. Martinet, a 4.0 student, was one of the ThunderWolves’
top offensive players, finishing his career in 2008 ranked 10th on
the school’s all-time scoring list. A second-team all-RMAC selection
in 2008, he majors in business and was named the RMAC Men’s
Soccer Academic Player of the Year. He was a second-team academic
all-America selection. Fobes, who was named to three all-American
teams in 2009 in addition to his first-team academic all-American
nod, balanced a 3.89 grade point average and a .474 batting average,
the second-highest in CSU-Pueblo history and fifth highest in the
nation in 2009. Fobes was also named the RMAC Baseball Academic
Player of the Year this season. The ThunderWolves’ two academic
all-Americans in one calendar year marks the first time since 1983
that CSU-Pueblo athletics programs have produced two academic
all-Americans. Martinet and Fobes are the 19th and 20th academic
all-Americans in school history.
Inaugural Athletics Hall of Fame. The CSU-Pueblo Athletics Hall of
Fame enshrined an 11-member inaugural class on October 30 at the
Pueblo Union Depot. The inductees were honored at halftime of the
“Hall of Fame Game” Oct. 31 when the ThunderWolf football team
hosted Western New Mexico.
Joining charter inductees Harry Simmons (men’s basketball
coach and former athletic director) and Jessie Banks (former
women’s basketball and volleyball coach), are Nadia Fercha (women’s
basketball and women’s soccer), Cal Tatum (men’s basketball), Frank
Grant (football), Freda Hancock (women’s track), Pat Bekeza (baseball
and men’s basketball), Daniela Ivana (women’s tennis), John Martinez
(men’s track), Chuck Pipher (wrestling), James “Spank” Blasing (track
and field coach), Dale Rea (former administrator), and Robert H.
Rawlings (athletics contributor). Also joining the inducted individuals
are the 1960-61 men’s basketball team, which won the National
Junior College Athletic Association national championship, the only
national championship won by a CSU-Pueblo athletics program in
school history.
2009 Student Athlete Awards. The Athletics Department named its
2008-09 “athlete of the year” awards. The CSU-Pueblo Male Athlete
of the Year award was given to all-American football player Chase
Vaughn (Jr., Aurora, Colo.) with female honors shared between
women’s basketball standout Rachel Espinoza (So., Pueblo, Colo.)
and softball player Janine Tyler (Sr., Pueblo, Colo.). Rounding out the
award-winners were men’s soccer player Trevor Martinet (Sr., Pueblo,
Colo.), the recipient of the James “Spank” Blasing Award for top male
student-athlete, while women’s basketball standout Mary Rehfeld (Sr.,
Juneau, Alaska) won the Jessie Banks Award for top female studentathlete.
DeRose Receives Donor of the Year Award. The Officers and Executive
Committee of the National Association of Athletic Development
Directors (NAADD) selected Dan DeRose as their College Division
Donor of the Year award recipient for the 2008-09 year. Award
winners were recognized at NAADD’s 16th Annual Convention, June
18-21 at the World Center Marriott Resort in Orlando, Fla. An alumnus
and former athletic director, DeRose was selected for making possible
the reinstatement of football, wrestling, and women’s track & field
through his generous giving and leadership in establishing the
Friends of Football organization.
10 C O L O R A D O S T A T E U N I V E R S I T Y - P U E B L O