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Five to be inducted into UB Athletic Hall of Fame
By MICHAEL JANKOWSKI
Reporter Contributor
Five UB alumni athletes have been selected for induction into the Alumni Association Athletic Hall of Fame.
The 33rd Hall of Fame Celebration dinner will take place at 7 p.m. Feb. 6 in the Center for Tomorrow, North Campus. The dinner will be preceded by a reception at 6 p.m.
The five inductees, along with an alumnus who will be honored at the dinner for his commitment to the UB Division of Athletics, also will be recognized the following evening prior to tip-off of the UB-Marshall men's basketball game in Alumni Arena, North Campus. The inductees are:
Rasaun Young, B.A. '98, and Mike Martinho, B.S. '99, were teammates who formed the backcourt that one publication touted as one of the best in Division I in 1997-98. They are the Nos. 1 and 3 leading scorers, respectively, in UB basketball annals and were the starting backcourt mates for three years.
Young completed his career with 1,908 points, eclipsing long-time career leader Jim Horne, Ed.B., '55, by 75 points. Young averaged 19.8 points as a senior, 19.6 his junior year and 17.2 for his career (he was red shirted one season). A three-time first-team All-Mid-Continent Conference pick, he also is the UB statistical leader in 10 other game, single-season and career categories. As a junior, Young was one of six recipients of the National Association of Academic Advisors for Students Achievement Award, presented to student-athletes "who have overcome great personal academic and/or emotional odds to achieve academic success while participating in college athletics."
Young and Martinho were ranked the eighth-best Division I backcourt in the country by Athlon Sports College Basketball's (pre-season) annual in 1997-98. That came on the strength of a 17-11 record the season before in which the Bulls swept each game against the area's other three Division I programs. Martinho's three-pointer in overtime gave UB a 78-77 overtime victory against Niagara University that year in the first college game ever played in Buffalo's HSBC Arena.
Martinho finished 200 career points behind his teammate, and averaged 15.4 points during his four years of competition, including a high of 17.7 as a sophomore (the year in which Rasaun was red shirted). He is the career leader in nine UB game, single-season and career statistical categories. A total of 984 of his points, 58 percent, were scored from beyond the three-point arc, where he holds six UB marks. The two-time, first-team All-Mid-Continent selection holds the UB game records for most points (44 vs. the University of Rochester) and three-pointers made (10).
Fittingly, Young and Martinho are tied for second place in career games played (111).
Lynette Bubel DelFavero, B.S. '93, was a guard who graduated as the all-time leading scorer in women's basketball history and now ranks third. DelFavero was a key component of the 1991-92 squad that entered Division I play that season and posted a 23-6 record (UB's best ever) and earned the East Coast Conference's regular and post-season championships.
She scored at a clip of a team-high 13.6 points per game on a well-rounded squad that averaged a then UB record 75.2 points per game (currently the third-highest mark in women's basketball annals) and also sank a team-high 106 free throws (third most for UB) and led the team in steals. She also ranks among the top 10 in 22 team statistical categories.
Kathleen Brinkworth, M.S.W. '02, B.A. '98, was the NCAA Division I volleyball leader in blocks per game during the 1995-96 season. Brinkworth maintains seven UB volleyball records, and was a two-time All-Mid-Continent selection (junior and senior years) and led all of Division I in blocks per game (1.843) during the 1995-96 season. That figure also represented a UB team record, one of three she established that season (total blocks, block assists). UB's female student-athlete of the year as a senior, Brinkworth also stands second in two team categories. The Bulls advanced to the Mid-Con Tournament's semifinal round in each of her last two seasons.
Marcus Hutchins, M.S. '98, B.A. '96, is the only UB grappler to have represented the university in three NCAA Division I wrestling championships. He wrestled at 158 and 167 pounds, and competed in the NCAA his first, third and final seasons of competition.
A two-time champion (1991-92 and 1993-94) in the prestigious East Coast Wrestling Association Championships, Hutchins earned the 167-pound title in the 1994 New York State Intercollegiate Wrestling Championship and also was named the most outstanding competitor in the event. A two-year captain, he compiled a 28-8 record as a senior.
In addition to the five inductees, Richard L. Friend, M.B.A. '70, B.S. '68, will be the fifth recipient of the Gugino Award, named in memory of the past president of the UB Alumni Association and staunch supporter of UB athletics.
Friend is a former board member of the UB Alumni Association, past chairman of its athletic committee and volunteered on several other committees. He has participated in numerous UB activities, is a Blue and White Club member, has held season tickets for basketball and football for many years and currently volunteers 30 hours per week in the Division of Athletics.
In 1998, Friend made a $250,000 gift commitment to the Division of Athletics to establish an endowed scholarship fund in honor of his parents, Dick and Doris Friend.
WKBW Sports Director John Murphy will serve as master of ceremonies for the dinner for the third consecutive year. Tickets, at $60 each, may be obtained from the Office of Alumni Relations at 829-2608.