The University of Akron Athletics
Zips Athletics Inducts 2016 Sports Hall of Fame Class
October 08 | General, Hall of Fame
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AKRON, Ohio– The University of Akron Department of Athletics inducted its 42nd Annual Varsity "A" Sports Hall of Fame class on Saturday morning at InfoCision Stadium– Summa Field.
The Class of 2016 — Lynn Brant, Bill Hadden, Cameron Knowles, Blake Sattler, Kira Sims Cook, and Tomasz Smialek —was honored during a brunch on the Huntington Club Level. The Team of Distinction— the 1976 football team, and the Mike Krino Varsity "A" Achievement Awardee, Tina Joyner Wallace, were also honored.
The six honorees expands the total in the UA Varsity "A" Hall of Fame to 323 athletes, coaches, and administrators. In addition, there are now 38 Kenneth "Red" Cochrane Meritorious Service Award recipients and 28 Mike Krino Varsity "A" Achievement awardees.
The Class of 2016 was introduced to the Homecoming crowd at the Akron-Miami football game.
2016 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
LYNN JUTTE BRANT '94 (Cross Country/Track & Field) – One of two UA student-athletes all-time to earn GTE Academic All-America honors three times, Lynn Brant earned eight letters in track and cross country from 1989-94. Named UA's Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 1989-90, she finished first in the Cleveland State cross country meet, sixth at the Tom Evans Invitational, and 11th at the North Star Conference (NSC) Cross Country Championship. In 1991, she finished third to help the Zips capture the NSC Cross Country Championship which earned her first-team honors on both the NSC All-Star squad and the All-NSC Academic team. Her last two seasons Brant served as captain for both the cross country and track. Brant resides in Loveland, Ohio.
BILL HADDEN '87 (Football) – A three-year letterwinner during the 1984-86 seasons, Bill Hadden started at outside linebacker in 1985 and 1986. As a junior in 1985, he earned first-team All-Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) honors after racking up 79 tackles, including 19 for a loss of 96 yards. That year Akron earned a bid to post season play in the NCAA Division I-AA Championship with an 8-3 record. Hadden was a 1985 Honorable Mention Associated Press All-American. He resides in Aurora, Ohio.
CAMERON KNOWLES '05 (Soccer) – A four-year starter and four-time All-MAC selection, Cameron Knowles proved to be one of UA's and the MAC's top defenders during his four seasons (2001-04). A native of Auckland, New Zealand, Knowles made an immediate impact as a freshman starting in 14 of 15 games, and his play earned the Zips an NCAA Tournament bid. He was named to the College Soccer News All-Freshman team as well as second-team All-MAC and the team's Newcomer of the Year. In 2002, he again earned second-team All-MAC honors when he was part of a defense that helped secure four shutouts, the team's first MAC tournament title since 1998, and another NCAA Tournament bid. While Akron was compiling an outstanding 15-5-2 record, Knowles' play was part of a defense that allowed only 13 goals and finished fourth in the nation in goals-against-average en route to its second consecutive MAC crown. Knowles earned first-team All-MAC and first-team All-Great Lakes accolades as a junior and senior. The 2004 team captain helped the Zips capture another MAC Tournament title and NCAA Tournament bid. Knowles, who started in 73 of 75 games, was also a three-time All-MAC Tournament team pick, a three-time MAC Honor Roll selection and two-time Academic All-MAC honoree. He was selected in the fourth round by the MSL's Real Salt Lake team. Knowles currently resides in Portland, Ore., where he is an assistant coach for the Portland Timbers.
BLAKE SATTLER '07 (Golf) – By the time he had finished his collegiate career, Blake Sattler had broken 13 school golf records, nine of which he currently still owns. The three-time All-Mid-American Conference honoree began immediately contributing as a freshman in 2002-03, competing in 12 tournaments averaging 75.8 strokes per round. In the fall season as a sophomore, Sattler had a team leading 73.2 average while posting team-best rounds in three of five tournaments. He continued to play well in the spring by firing the best Zip scores in four of seven tournaments while averaging 75.2 and collecting the first of four record-breaking career victories. That first win came in Lincoln, Neb., at the Fairway Invitational when he shot a 1-under 141score. A 30th place in the MAC Championship earned him second-team All-Conference honors. During his junior campaign, Sattler established six new UA records when he won the Marshall Invitational with a 11-under par score of 202 by firing rounds of 69-68-65. The 65 matched the all-time UA low score (previously shot by Hall of Famer Tim Edwards in 1961). He went on to compile a team and career-best 71.9 average and finish seventh with a three-under 285 score, lowest ever by a UA player, in the MAC Championship to earn first-team All-MAC accolades. His performance paced the Zips to a second place and its highest all-time finish in the MAC. An injury caused him to miss the 2005-06 season, but he returned the following year for another banner campaign. He earned two more tournament victories, posting a six-under 204 at The McLaughlin in Bethpage, N.Y., and an all-time UA record of a 13-under par 200 at the Comfort Inn Collegiate in Nashville, Tenn. Sattler had rounds of 70, 63, and 67 to establish two more all-time marks– low round (63) and low 36-hole aggregate (130). His 39 rounds of par or better during his career added another all-time record to his repertoire. Sattler turned professional and has one victory in the 2013 Woodcreek Classic in Columbia, S.C. He resides in New Philadelphia, Ohio.
KIRA SIMS COOK '04, '09 (Track & Field) – A three-time All-American pole vaulter during her four-year career (2001-04), Kira Sims was the only female athlete in MAC history to clear the 14-foot barrier, winning the Conference pole vault indoor championship in 2003 and 2004 and the outdoor championship in 2004. As a senior, Sims jumped 14-feet at the MAC indoor championship, as well as twice during the 2004 outdoor season. She had a school and Conference record-setting jump of 14' 1 ¼". Sims closed her collegiate career as the 2004 NCAA Mideast Regional pole vaulting champion. Recently married, she resides in Washington D.C., with her husband Paul Cook.
TOMASZ SMIALEK '06, '10 (Track & Field) – A two-time All-American and a six-time MAC champion, Tomasz Smialek completed his collegiate career (2002-06) as one of the best high jumpers to ever compete at Akron. He is the current school record holder in both indoor and outdoor competition, clearing 7-03.25 indoors and 7-03.75 outdoors. He ended his collegiate career on a high note, earning his second All-America honor at the 2006 NCAA Outdoor Championships, finishing eighth after clearing a season-best 7-02.25. His first All-American honor came at the 2005 NCAA Indoor Championships where he placed sixth with a jump of 7-02.50. Smialek was a six-time MAC Champion in high jump, indoor in 2002, 2003, 2005, and 2006, and outdoor in 2003 and 2006. He also was named the team's Indoor Most Valuable Performer in 2005. Currently, Smialek, who has overseen the development of six UA All-American jumpers, is in his ninth year as the Zips' jumps coach under 2014 Hall of Fame inductee and head coach Dennis Mitchell.
Mike Krino Varsity "A" Achievement Award
TINA JOYNER WALLACE '82, '84 – One of the early female dual-sport athletes at The University of Akron, Tina Joyner Wallace earned five letters, three in softball and two in volleyball. In softball, she was a member of the last slow-pitch team in 1979 that compiled an 18-12 record. Joyner hit .300 hitter on the first Zips' fast-pitch team of 1980 that had a 12-9 record under the guidance of Hall of Fame coach Joey Arrietta. A back row defensive player in volleyball, Joyner lettered on the 1979 and 1980 squads. As a physical education major, she indicated a desire to become a coach. Needless to say, she achieved that goal after getting her undergraduate degree in 1982 and her master's in education in 1984. Her first head coaching job was at Manchester High School. After two seasons with the Panthers' volleyball team, Joyner took over the volleyball program at Ellet High. One year later she also became the head basketball coach. Fast forward 29 years later and Joyner still heads those two programs at Ellet. During her career, she has guided the volleyball team to 14 City Series titles and the basketball to three league crowns. Five times she was accorded Coach of the Year in volleyball and three times in basketball. She has a record of 429-192 in volleyball. In 2014, Joyner, who teaches health and physical education at the high school, works with autistic students and helps raise funds for the athletic teams and academic clubs, was the 26th recipient and only the second female to get the Clem Caraboolad Memorial Coach of the Year Award from the Akron Beacon Journal and the Touchdown Club of Greater Akron. She resides in Uniontown, Ohio, with her husband Don Wallace and their sons Ryan and Cory.
Team of Distinction
The 1976 football team celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. Since football was first played on the UA campus in 1891, the 1976 Zips produced the most wins–10– in school history under head coach Jim Dennison. Following a regular-season record of 8-2 in Division II play, the Zips made just their second NCAA post-season bid in history on a schedule that included six NCAA I opponents. The 1976 team also played in the most postseason football contests (three). In the 1976 Division II quarterfinal round of the playoffs, complete domination was the theme in Akron's 27-6 win over highly regarded Nevada-Las Vegas. The offense rushed for 419 yards, controlled the ball for 40 minutes, while the Zips' defense limited the Rebels to only eight yards rushing. For Akron, the win marked the first postseason victory in program history.
Akron then hosted the semifinal playoff game, called the Knute Rochne Bowl, at the Rubber Bowl where it defeated Northern Michigan, the defending 1975 National Champions, 29-26, in the first overtime game in NCAA football playoff history. Riding a six-game winning streak against NMU in series history, the Zips were down by 10 points before the Akron rushing machine began to roll. With 2:48 remaining in the first quarter, junior halfback Dave Axner took a Marty Bezbatchencko hand off on the right side and sprinted 56 yards to the end zone. Akron took the lead in the closing minutes of the half. The Zips to a 14-10 lead entering the locker room. Down by three points with 3:29 left on the clock, UA had one final shot. Starting on their own 29-yard line, the Zips drove the ball to the NMU 18-yard line where kicker Jim Embick split the uprights with :01 left to tie the contest at 23-23 and send it into overtime. With each team trading a series from the opponent 15-yard line, the Zips won the toss and elected to defend. They pushed the Wildcats back to the 23-yard line where they hit a field goal. The UA offense then took over and ran three rushing plays to move the ball to the 1-yard line where Bezbatchenko went over on a quarterback keeper to seal the victory.
In the national championship game, called the Pioneer Bowl, in Wichita Falls, Texas, the Zips fell to No. 1 Montana State, 24-13, on a windy and bitter cold day. The day was made for the ground game and ball control offenses, and the opponents did not disappoint. The teams played through a scoreless tie through the first quarter and most of the second. MSU finally broke the ice with a 5-yard pass to cap a 51-yard drive with 5:47 remaining in the half. The Bobcats scored again with :27 left to take a 14-0 lead at intermission. While the Zips fell 11 points shy of a National Championship, the 1976 team provided countless exciting memories for Akron fans for years to come.
"It was a thrilling season, but it did end with a disappointment," said Dennison. "National runner-up is not too bad considering there are 133 schools in the division."
In his fourth season at the helm, Dennison became the school's first and only football coach to be voted Ohio Coach of the Year, American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) District 5 Coach of the Year, and AFCA's National College Coach of the Year. Also for the first and only time in UA football history, two players– linebacker Steve Cockerham and offensive guard Mark Van Horn– earned first-team All-America honors. Two other players– split end Glenn Evans and defensive tackle Al Hodakievic– earned Honorable Mention All-America honors.
