RU ADDS FIVE NEW MEMBERS TO THE CHARLES M. DEWILD HALL OF FAME

CHARLES M. DEWILD HALL OF FAME

NICK COLON ’07 Nick Colon becomes just the second Rockford University football player, and the first defensive player, to be enshrined in the hall of fame. Colon was not only one of the best defensive players in program history, but he also was one of the best and most reliable linebackers in both the conference and region. He never missed a game in his four-year (2003-06) career as a Regent and compiled an impressive list of postseason awards. Colon was selected First Team All-UMAC (Upper Midwest Athletic Conference) South Division as both a sophomore and junior. He was also named Honorable Mention All-Region by Don Hansen’s Football Gazette during his junior year. Colon’s most decorated season came during his senior year where he earned an impressive six postseason

SHAUN DASCHER ’09/’12

Shaun Dascher enters the hall of fame following a highly decorated three-year career as a member of the Rockford University baseball team.

Dascher was one of the top outfielders in the conference and in the region, earning postseason recognition in each of his three years at Rockford. At the national level, Dascher was ranked in the top 30 in six statistical categories combined as a junior and a senior.

As a sophomore, he was named Northern Athletics Conference (NAC) Honorable Mention and Third Team All-Region by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA). Dascher then earned First

PAULA JONES ZIGLER ’06/’09 Paula Jones Zigler enters the hall of fame as one of the best three-sport athletes in Rockford University history. Zigler was a four-year member of the Rockford University women’s basketball, women’s volleyball, and softball programs, each of which saw unprecedented success with her on the team. Zigler was a key component to the most successful four-year span in the history of the Rockford University women’s basketball program. She played in all 111 games over her four years. Zigler was named First Team All-Northern Illinois Iowa Conference (NIIC) three times (2002-03, 2003-04, 2005-06) and NIIC Honorable Mention for the 2004-05 season. She finished her career with 1,172 points, 471 rebounds, 235 assists, and 202 steals. Zigler is currently the ninth leading scorer in program history and is one of only 11 players to score 1,000 points in a career at Rockford.

TIM ROWE ’08 Tim Rowe enters the hall of fame following an incredible four-year career on the Rockford University baseball team. He was a central piece to the turnaround of the program in the mid-2000s.

Rowe was one of the best outfielders in the conference and region throughout his career and would eventually become one of the top outfielders in the country as a senior. As a freshman, Rowe was named First Team All-Northern Illinois Iowa Conference (NIIC) and Third Team All-Region by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA). He was subsequently named NIIC Honorable Mention in 2005, before having perhaps one of the best offensive seasons in program history as a senior. During his senior season, Rowe had a .400 batting average, a .503 on-base percentage and a .750 slugging percentage. He

KRISTI STRUNZ ELGERSMA ’08 Kristi Strunz Elgersma enters the hall of fame following one of the most remarkable two-year careers in the history of the Rockford University women’s basketball program. Elgersma transferred to Rockford after two decorated years at Clarke University where she was both a two-time First Team All-Northern Illinois Iowa Conference (NIIC) selection and a two-time D3hoops.com Third Team All-Region selection. Upon her arrival at Rockford for the 2004-05 season, Elgersma helped lead the Regents to consecutive NIIC Championships, NIIC Tournament Titles, and back-to-back NCAA Division III Tournament appearances for the first time in program history.

In October the Rockford University athletic department inducted five new members into the Charles M. DeWild Athletic Hall of Fame. Established in 1980, the hall of fame currently includes 57 members representing Rockford University’s men’s and women’s athletic teams.

accolades. He was named First Team All-UMAC South Division for the third consecutive season, selected as both the UMAC South Division Defensive MVP and the overall UMAC Defensive MVP, voted Third Team All-Region by D3football.com, selected Honorable Mention All-Region by Don Hansen’s Football Gazette for the second straight year, and named UMAC Academic AllConference. He also helped lead the Regents to both their first UMAC South Division Title and a berth in the UMAC Championship Game. Colon finished his career with 213 tackles, 33.5 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, six forced fumbles, five fumble recoveries, and two interceptions.

Team All-NAC honors in each of his final two years and was once again selected Third Team All-Region by the ABCA during his senior season.

Despite only spending three seasons in a Regent uniform, Dascher still holds multiple school records and is ranked in the top-15 in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) in several career categories. He holds the Rockford University hit-by-pitch records for a single-game (3), a single-season (20), and a career (49). Dascher is also second all-time in the NACC in career on-base percentage (.494) and hit-by-pitches and fourteenth in runs scored (150) and triples (8).

Zigler was also a central piece to the success of the women’s volleyball program in the early 2000s. She played in 113 of the team’s 116 matches. Zigler was selected NIIC Honorable mention as a freshman in 2002, before being voted First Team All-NIIC her final three seasons. She still holds the Rockford University school records for assists in a match (58), assists in a season (1,296), assists in a career (2,877), assists per set in a season (11.27), assists per set in a career (7.12), and digs per set in a career (4.04).

Zigler was also an integral part of the softball team when it had its winningest four-year stretch in program history. The Regents won 87 games from 2003-06, including a school record 28 wins in 2006. Zigler played in 143 of the team’s 156 games, helped lead Rockford to a second place finish in both the regular season and the NIIC Tournament during her senior season, and was named NIIC Honorable Mention in 2006.

finished the year with 56 hits, 16 doubles, 11 home runs, 105 total bases, 52 runs batted in, 31 walks and was a perfect 6-for-6 in stolen base attempts. Additionally, he was nationally ranked in six offensive categories.

Rowe’s incredible numbers led to him being the only player in the conference to be named the Northern Athletics Conference (NAC) Position Player of the Week twice during that year. He was also named First Team All-NAC and First Team All-Region by the ABCA. Rowe capped off his season by being selected an Honorable Mention All-American by D3baseball.com.

The awards and accolades continued to roll in for Elgersma over her illustrious career as a Regent. She was named First Team All-NIIC for the third time in her career and was selected Second Team All-Region by D3hoops.com. Elgersma capped off her career with an incredible senior season. She scored a career-high 459 points on a career-best 50.7 percent shooting, grabbed 130 rebounds, dished out 69 assists, and had 63 steals. She was rewarded with her fourth First Team All-NIIC selection and was named the NIIC Player of the Year. Elgersma was then named all-region for the fourth consecutive year, this time garnering Third Team All-Region status from D3hoops.com.