PHOTO GALLERY by Parker Fish '17
BEVERLY, Mass. – In what has become an annual tradition and celebration on the Saturday morning of Homecoming and Family Weekend, the Endicott Department of Athletics & Recreation inducted its newest members into the Hall of Fame, watched as five programs raise championship banners from the 2015-16 season, and recognized three individual student-athletes for achieving career milestones.
WELCOME TO THE HALL
NEMANJA MARINKOVIC '07 HALL OF FAME SPEECH | TRIBUTE VIDEO
An international student native to Belgrade, Serbia, Nemanja Marinkovic took a chance on Endicott and the men's basketball program. Endicott, knowing of the ACL surgeries on both of his knees, took a chance on Marinkovic. Three straight Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) titles in 2004-06, an 80-33 (54-10 CCC) record, four all-conference and numerous academic awards later, both parties seemingly made the right decision.
"Endicott was a perfect fit for me as an international student, a rising college with a great reputation and I felt I was part of a bigger family," said Marinkovic, who ended his career with 1,495 points and 920 rebounds. "I was surrounded by so many talented student-athletes and we all pushed each other to become better as individuals and also as teams. For that matter, I feel extremely privileged to become part of the Hall of Fame, as others helped me strive towards success."
Today, Marinkovic works for the General Magnaplate Corporation, a company he initially did a business case study with during his junior year at Endicott. The case study work parlayed into a full-time position after graduation, and he has been working there for nine years. He has a corporate role in the company, handling all international operations and marketing for the company. He returned to his native Serbia after graduating from Endicott.
MEGHAN HALL '08 HALL OF FAME SPEECH | TRIBUTE VIDEO
California is a gold mine for volleyball talent so when setter Meghan Hall traveled from Corralitos, a suburb of Santa Cruz, to Beverly to attend college, she brought a style of play and skill set that the program had never seen. Over the course of her four-year career wearing the Blue and Green, Hall led Endicott to three CCC Championships in 2004, 2006, and 2007 and her 49-assist, 23-dig performance in the First Round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament lifted the Gulls to their first NCAA postseason victory over Eastern Connecticut State.
"Being named to the Endicott Athletics Hall of Fame is such a special honor," said Hall, the program's all-time leader in assists with 4,934 dimes and the only player to be named a four-time All-CCC First Teamer along with CCC Player of the Year honors in 2006. "Playing volleyball at Endicott gave me some of the best memories of my athletic career."
After a study abroad experience in London her sophomore year, Hall decided to relocate to England where she has been ever since she graduated in 2008. She works in the heart of London in Soho as a social media and content manager for a fashion/lifestyle public relations and communications agency called MODUS.
2015-16 CHAMPIONSHIP BANNERS UNVEILED
WOMEN'S TENNIS – The 2015-16 Endicott women's tennis team successfully executed their fifth consecutive CCC title and appearance in the NCAA Tournament, their fourth under current head coach Jeremy Howard. After going 8-0 against conference opponents during the regular season, the Gulls defended their home court throughout the playoffs by beating Nichols (semifinals) and Roger Williams (championship) to capture CCC glory. Endicott finished the year 14-5 overall.
DANCE – For the sixth consecutive year under head coach Nikki Sao-Pedro Welch, the Endicott dance team came out on top at the Universal Dance Association New England competition by winning both the jazz and pom divisions. This was the fifth straight year of pom wins and the first jazz title since the 2014 season. Endicott also turned in a seventh place performance in pom and 14th in jazz at the UDA College National Championships in Orlando.
MEN'S BASKETBALL – The Endicott men's basketball team won back-to-back conference championships for the third time in their program history after a 2015-16 campaign that saw the Gulls go 19-11 overall and 12-6 in their CCC schedule. After going 4-5 through the first two months of the season, Endicott went 6-4 in January and won eight of their nine games in the month of February including a 75-62 triumph over Roger Williams in front of a capacity home crowd in the CCC Championship. The journey didn't end there with a historic win in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament, dropping No. 22 Catholic 84-76 to claim the program's first ever NCAA postseason win. Head coach Kevin Bettencourt's squad then took Wooster into overtime in ultimately their season-ending loss in the Second Round.
MEN'S VOLLEYBALL – The Endicott men's volleyball program, under head coach and former Gull George Chapell '08, once again asserted their dominance in the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) by going 9-1 in conference play and taking down Elms (semifinals) and Daniel Webster (championship) both in four sets to hoist the NECC trophy. The Gulls drew No. 10 Kean in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament and suffered a 3-1 loss to end their season at 17-11 overall.
WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL – In their seventh appearance in the ECAC New England Tournament, the Endicott women's volleyball team finally captured an ECAC title. Head coach Tim Byram's Gulls swept through Anna Maria and MCLA to win a regional championship. Endicott finished their 2015 campaign at 24-10 overall and 6-2 in CCC matches.
BASKETBALL AND VOLLEYBALL MILESTONES
1,000 POINT CLUB – Last season, junior guards Max Motroni (West Warwick, R.I.) and Kamahl Walker (Worcester, Mass.) eclipsed the 1,000 point plateau for their respective careers becoming just the third and fourth men's basketball players all-time to achieve the milestone in their junior year. Walker's 27-point effort in an 87-83 loss at Salem State on December 29, 2015 and Motroni's 16-point tally in Endicott's 84-76 victory over Catholic in the NCAA Tournament on March 4 marked the 1,000-point games. On the women's side, former standout Kelsey Cuddy '16 (Madison, Conn.) became the 11th player in program history to score 1,000 points after an exceptional season in which she averaged 16.3 points per game. Cuddy scored eight points in an 59-52 win over Western New England on January 9, the game in which she eclipsed 1,000 points.
1,000 KILL CLUB – Outside hitter John Osborne '16 (Freehold, N.J.) became the fourth men's volleyball player to reach 1,000 kills for his collegiate career. In a straight set loss to MIT on March 31, Osborne finished with seven kills to put him over the 1,000-kill threshold.