Six to Be Enshrined in Athletics Hall of Fame
天美传媒视频无限制观看 will induct six new members into its Athletics Hall of Fame on Monday, May 2 at the historic Brooklawn Country Club. The class features Ben Andrews '11 (men’s rowing), James Brown ’69 (men’s basketball), Michael Bocklet ’07 (men’s lacrosse), Amy Hanson Ostella ’97 (women’s tennis), Paul Sheehy ’85 (men’s rugby) and Sabra Wrice ’08 (women’s basketball).
The Hall of Fame ceremony is a part of the .
Ben Andrews
A cornerstone in the history of Fairfield men’s rowing, Ben Andrews ’11 arrived on campus as the program was elevated to varsity status and was the team’s first four-year varsity oarsman. He has won the most individual medals in program history, rowing in both the lightweight and open-weight divisions and in both sweep and scull races.
In his freshman season, Andrews was a part of the team that won the first-ever varsity medal for Fairfield at the Knecht Cup and the Stags’ first MAAC Championship gold, both in the lightweight four. He also helped propel Fairfield to gold at the Spring Metropolitan Regatta, New England Rowing Championships and the Murphy Cup.
In the next two seasons, the formidable team of Andrews and James Jessup ’10 collected a pair of MAAC Championship gold medals and also earned hardware at the Spring Metropolitan Regatta and Knecht Cup. Most notably, the duo also won bronze medals at the Dad Vail National Championship in both of those campaigns. Andrews and Jessup are the only two oarsmen in program history with two Dad Vail medals to their names.
Though inclement weather cancelled the MAAC Championship in Andrews’ senior campaign — robbing him of a chance to earn four gold medals at the event — he paired with a new partner in Matt McNeill ’13 to reach a grand final at the Dad Vail National Championship Regatta for the third time, something no other Fairfield rower has done.
Since graduating from Fairfield, Andrews has coached at the Saugatuck Rowing Club, St. Andrew Rowing Club and Atlanta Juniors Rowing Association.
Michael Bocklet
A starting attackman for four years for Fairfield men’s lacrosse, Michael Bocklet ’07 is one of the most potent offensive threats in program history. His 147 career points are the fourth-most all-time and the most by any player to have taken the field for the Stags since 2000. He ranks sixth all-time with 95 career goals and eighth in program annals with 52 assists.
Bocklet began his career as a Second Team All-Great Western Lacrosse League pick in 2004, where he was edged out as GWLL Rookie of the Year by his teammate and classmate — and now fellow Fairfield Athletics Hall of Famer — Greg Downing ’07. He followed up with a career-best 40 points as a sophomore in 2005, helping guide the Stags to a GWLL Championship and the second NCAA postseason appearance in Fairfield men’s lacrosse history. Bocklet was an All-NEILA and Second Team All-GWLL selection as a part of that historic season.
A consistent performer throughout his career, Bocklet was the Stags’ leading scorer as both a junior and senior with 37 and 39 points, respectively, in the 2006 and 2007 seasons. He capped his career with his second All-NEILA selection.
Bocklet was selected by the Long Island Lizards in the 2008 Major League Lacrosse Supplemental Draft, but did not play in the MLL until 2015, where he racked up 32 goals and 16 assists for the Denver Outlaws en route to MLL First-Year Player of the Year honors from Inside Lacrosse .
Bocklet is currently the head men’s lacrosse coach at Purchase College, which will begin its first season of NCAA Div. III competition next spring. He has previously coached at Dartmouth, SUNY Cortland and his high school alma mater, John Jay High School in Cross River, N.Y.
James Brown
James Brown ’69 scored 1,199 points his career with Fairfield men’s basketball. He needed just 71 games to rack up his point total – not only playing during an era in which freshmen were ineligible but also taking two years off before his senior year to serve in the military.
Brown was an All-State performer out of New Haven’s Hillhouse High School and continued to wow the Connecticut crowds when he donned the Fairfield red. In his sophomore season of 1964-65, he nearly averaged a double-double with 20.2 points and 9.5 rebounds per game en route to All-Catholic honors. Brown’s first year with the Stags included scoring a then-program record 39 points in a win over Southern Connecticut State. He followed up as a junior with 17.4 points per contest for Head Coach George Bisacca in the 1965-66 campaign.
After two years of military service, Brown returned to the court as one of the leading scorers on first-year head coach James Lynam’s squad with 13.7 points per game. This run included Brown becoming just the 10th Stag to eclipse the 1,000-point mark for his career.
Amy Hanson (Ostella)
The most decorated women’s tennis player in program history, Amy Hanson (Ostella) ’97 led the Stags to the MAAC Championship in each of her four seasons, winning an individual conference title in each season along the way.
Hanson teamed with Athletics Hall of Famer Melissa Gassler ’95 in 1993 and 1994 to win her first two MAAC crowns then followed up with a singles title in 1995. She capped her career with her third doubles title in 1996, this time teaming up with Nancy Searle ’00.
After leading Fairfield to one of its most successful four-year stretches, Hanson was the recipient of the Arthur Ashe Award, presented by the University to the tennis student-athlete who best epitomized the sportsmanship and quality of play exhibited by the award’s namesake.
Hanson later returned to Fairfield as an assistant coach for two seasons.
Paul Sheehy
Paul Sheehy ’85 was one of the key contributors to two of the finest seasons in the history of Fairfield rugby. Playing as a wing and fullback, he helped guide Fairfield to a total of the 23 wins over those two campaigns. He was the side’s leading scorer as a senior in 1985.
After graduation, Sheehy joined the highly-touted Washington RFC. He had a seven-year career with the club in the highly competitive Potomac Rugby Union, primarily as a first team player for Washington. In 1991, Sheehy was named the Most Valuable Back of the National Club Championship as his squad reached the championship game of the national tournament. Sheehy also played 20 matches representing Eastern Rugby Union, an all-star team comprised of the top players from throughout the entire Eastern seaboard and spanning nearly as far west as the Mississippi River.
Sheehy was named a United States Eagle seven times. He earned four caps representing the United States in international competition, including games in the 1991 World Cup. He also merited five caps as a member of three seven-a-side tournaments as a United States Eagle.
Today, Sheehy is a coach at Gonzaga High School in Washington, D.C., where his sons have been standout players.
Sabra Wrice
The seventh all-time leading scorer in Fairfield women’s basketball history, Sabra Wrice ’08 scored 1,577 points in her career with the Stags. She also ranks fourth all-time in steals (221) and ninth in points per game (13.3). Wrice holds the program’s single-game scoring record, coming off the bench to net 36 points against Siena on Feb. 19, 2007.
As a senior in 2008, Wrice became the 11th (and most recent) Stag to score 500 points in a single season, netting 501 tallies (16.2 points per game) to go along with 4.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists per outing. Fairfield finished that 22-9 campaign – the team’s best record in seven years – with a trip to the MAAC Championship Semifinals.
Wrice was an All-MAAC honoree in each of her four seasons with the Stags, garnering All-Rookie laurels in 2005, a Second Team selection in 2006 and back-to-back First Team All-MAAC honors to cap her career in 2007 and 2008. She was also a Second Team All-Met pick in her senior campaign as well as Fairfield’s Female Athlete of the Year.
After graduation, Wrice played professionally for the City of Sheffield Hatters in Sheffield, England. She returned to Fairfield as an assistant coach for the 2013-14 and 2014-15 campaigns before resuming her playing career in the United Kingdom.
Tickets for the 2016 Hall of Fame induction portion of the event are $150. Tickets include a cocktail reception beginning at 5:30 p.m. with dinner and the induction ceremony to follow.
Questions regarding the 2016 Fairfield Athletics Hall of Fame Golf Outing can be directed to Zach Dayton, Associate Athletics Director/Marketing & Communications at 203-254-4000 ext. 3457 or zdayton@fairfield.edu .
