alumni
Hall of Fame Inducts New Sports Stars
(From left to right) President Brennan O’Donnell, Fran Fraschilla, George Fisher ’74, Sandra Gordon ’88, Travis Lyons ’98, Bo Kucyna ’81, Richard Alexander ’81, James Amandola ’02, Tiffanie Poole Gentles ’00 and Peter Sweeney ’64, chair of the Athletic Hall of Fame Committee, at the Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
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anhattan College held its 34th annual Athletic Hall of Fame induction in November, sponsored by the Manhattan College Alumni Society. The honored inductees were: Richard Alexander ’81, track and field; James Amandola ’02, men’s lacrosse; George Fisher ’74, golf; Fran Fraschilla, men’s basketball coach; Sandra Gordon ’88, women’s basketball; Bo Kucyna ’81, men’s soccer; Travis Lyons ’98, men’s basketball; and Tiffanie Poole Gentles ’00, track and field. Richard Alexander ’81 set or tied at least 10 indoor and outdoor high jump records. His indoor record climbed from 6-10 to 6-11 ½, while his outdoor record of 7-1 ¾ still stands 32 years later. Alexander set an indoor pentathlon record at the Princeton Relays and qualified for the IC4As and then broke the high jump records twice at the 1980 IC4A Championships. He scored in eight New York Metropolitan Collegiate Championships, many as the champion, and six IC4As. He also 36 N spring 2013
competed and qualified in many of the grandscale track events, including the Olympic trials in 1980. At the age of 40, Alexander was ranked No. 1 in the world in the Masters High Jumper category with a leap of 6-6. James Amandola ’02, a lacrosse goalie, had 286 saves in his first season, which gave him a rank of fifth overall in Division I. Averaging nearly 20 saves per game, he received MAAC Rookie of the Week honors three times. As a senior, the team took the Tournament Championship, undefeated in the MAAC. With multiple Defensive Player of the Week titles and a spot on the MAAC All-Tournament First Team, Amandola is the only three-time Outstanding Performer in Manhattan lacrosse history. He received the MAAC Conference Defensive Player of the Year award and was the USILA North/South All Star Team at Johns Hopkins University, a top honor. His actual saves of 1.43 for a career is second in Division I history.
George Fisher ’74 set a school record in golf with a round of 68, unbroken until 2009. As a freshman, Fisher showed his leadership by playing in a snowy match and finished with a round of 81. It gave the Jaspers their first win over West Point at West Point and Fisher a regular tee time. In 1972-73, he earned a medal vs. Seton Hall, shooting an 81, and shot a 78 against Columbia, Cornell and West Point. As a senior, Fisher shot the lowest Jasper score of 80 at the ECAC Tournament and the lowest score among Jaspers at the Metropolitan Golf Association Tournament. He was named Most Outstanding College Performer and an Outstanding College Athlete in America for three years each. Fran Fraschilla has the highest winning percentage (71.6) of any Manhattan men’s basketball coaches. He brought each of his Jasper teams to the postseason, including the first in 35 years to go the NCAA Tournament. In 1995, Manhattan was the first MAAC team to receive an at-large bid for the NCAA. His team knocked off Oklahoma in the first round and became the “Toast of the Town.” A MAAC Coach of the Year, he brought glory to Draddy with a home-winning streak that lasted longer than the season. Fraschilla coached at St. John’s University and the University of New Mexico, ending his college coaching career with a record of 175-100, then ranked 34th winningest active coach in men’s basketball. Sandra Gordon ’88 is the all-time women’s basketball career assists leader with 592 and the all-time season assist leader with 220. Ranking second in assists for the MAAC, Gordon ranked among the top 10 nationally for assist leaders. The point guard also scored 916 points. The team’s steal leader for three seasons, she was named MVP in the Loyola Invitational Tournament in 1986. She was key to the Lady Jaspers’ first ever MAAC Tournament victory in 1987. As a senior, she held nearly all the leading positions, including scoring, assists, steals and foul-shooting percentage, while shooting 50 percent from the field. She was a member of the MAAC First Team, MAAC All-Tournament Team and All-MAAC Second