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Aug. 26, 2013
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Alumna Adds to Softball Legacy
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hristine Dillner ’95 is the 14th softball player to be inducted into the Cal U Athletic Hall of
Track and field standout Brad Rager ’08 won a school record 14 PSAC championships and is one of six individuals who comprise Cal U’s 2013 Athletic Hall of Fame class.
Six Set for Induction into Athletic Hall of Fame
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ix individuals will comprise Cal U’s 19th Athletic Hall of Fame class. The 2013 inductees are Bill Coleman ’61 (football); Christine Dillner ’95 (softball); Kim Kottmeier-Whitlock ’96 (women’s soccer); Seth Martin ’02 (men’s basketball); Tim McCutcheon (football); and Brad Rager ’08 (men’s track and field). These former Vulcan standouts will be inducted officially at the 2013 Cal U Athletic Hall of Fame dinner, set for 5:30 p.m. Oct. 11 in the Performance Center inside the Natali Student Center. In addition to the individual honorees, this year’s banquet will recognize Cal U’s 2008 PSAC champion men’s soccer team. Cal U’s Hall of Fame began honoring past teams in 2005. The inductees will be profiled in University publications and featured on the scoreboard Oct. 12 during the Vulcans’ Homecoming football game against Clarion University. Tickets for the Hall of Fame dinner are $30 each. The public may attend. For reservations, contact Montean Dean in the Office of Alumni Relations, 724-938-4418. Proceeds from the dinner will be used to establish a Hall of Fame athletic scholarship.
Fame. A three-time all-conference and allregion centerfielder, she received NFCA All-American honors in 1995. “This is the completion of my career,” Dillner said. “I’ve thought about this for many years, and to make the Hall of Fame is the icing on the cake for me. I am absolutely very excited.” Dillner’s stellar play helped Cal U softball win four PSAC-West titles and advance to three PSAC finals. During her years with the Vulcans, the team made four NCAA tournament appearances and won the program’s first of five NCAA Division II regional titles, in 1994. Dillner caught the final out in the title game. “I remember catching the ball and going straight to my knees, thankful for where I was at that moment,” she said. “That’s something you never forget.” Dillner played her first two seasons under former coach and 2000 Cal U Hall of Fame inductee Linda Kalafatis ’88, and her final two seasons under current Vulcans coach and 2013 NFCA Hall of Fame inductee Rick Bertagnolli. “They are both incredible coaches, and I owe them so … for driving me hard to make me the player I was,” she said. During her senior year Dillner batted .468, which still ranks as fifth best in school history. Her 80 hits and 54 runs scored that season still rank second for a single season, and her 54 RBI total ranks fourth. She also produced 13 doubles, three triples, six home runs and 11 stolen bases. “Coach B really pushed us and saw
Hall of Fame inductee Christine Dillner ‘95 now coaches her daughter Madison’s youth softball team, which qualified for the state playoffs this past July.
in this program today,” Bertagnolli said. the potential we had,” she recalled. “She was a tremendously feared hitter “Since I was the only senior, I think he at the plate and a great outfielder.” especially wanted the best out of me. Dillner earned her bachelor’s degree He kept pushing and got the results.” in sociology in May 1995. A health care When she finished playing at Cal U, provider for people with developmental Dillner held a .376 career batting disabilities, she currently works for average with 214 hits, 128 runs, 148 Davidson Homes Inc. She lives in RBI, 38 doubles, 10 triples, 11 home Leicester, N.C., with her 10runs, 31 walks, 15 stolen year-old daughter, Madison, bases and 59 extra-base hits. an aspiring softball player, as The team’s cumulative well as three people she cares record during the Dillner for. years was 151-39-1, with a Dillner believes her Cal U 47-3 divisional mark. education prepared her well. Although Cal U softball “What I learned at Cal went on to win consecutive helped me get where I am NCAA national titles in today,” she said. “I remember 1997 and 1998, Bertagnolli Christine Dillner ’95 not wanting to talk in front of believes Dillner and fellow everybody in classes, and now speaking All-American and 2002 Cal U Hall of is all I do. (My professors) told me ‘This Fame inductee Jen Wagner ’97 set a is what you will do one day,’ and they blueprint for the program’s long-term were exactly right. success. “I’m grateful for what I’ve gotten “Christine’s leadership set a tone for that 1995 season and one that still exists from Cal.”
2013 Alumni Association Awards Outstanding alumni and members of the University community were honored June 1 at the annual Alumni Association Awards luncheon. Winners and their awards are: (seated, from left) Janis Zivic ’64 (Professional Excellence Award); Zach Huth ’04 (Young Alumni Award); Randy Tozzie ’89 (W.S. Jackman Award of Distinction); Dr. Lenora Angelone ’90, ’92, ’97 (Pavlak/Shutsy Special Service Award); and Dr. Angela Covert (Meritorious Award). Also (standing, from left): Leslie Fleenor ’08, assistant director, Cal U for Life; Cathy Connelly ’95, ‘96, senior director, Cal U for Life; Geraldine M. Jones ’72, ’80, Interim University President; and Dr. Lorraine Vitchoff ’74, Cal U Alumni Association president. Absent from photo: Dr. Henry Huffman ’65 (C.B. Wilson Distinguished Faculty Award); Joseph Dochinez ’51 (John R. Gregg Award for Loyalty and Service); and Jeff Casteel ’85, ’87 (Michael Duda Award for Athletic Achievement).
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