January 13, 2012

BUFFALO, NY – If you can't make it out toinght, watch the newest Hall of Fame members be inducted online.  The Division of Athletics will be streaming tonight's ceremony free of charge at http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/buffalo.portal#

A star-studded group of enshrinees, including UB’s first Division I male All-American, a three-time All-Mid American Conference choice on the softball field, a long-time coach, staff member and standout football player, an All-American wrestler and three impressive alumni, make up the 39^th University at Buffalo Athletic Hall of Fame class.

            The group will be inducted into the Dr. and Mrs. Edmond Gicewicz Hall of Fame on Friday, January 13 at Alumni Arena at 6 pm. Tickets are $25 for UB Alumni Association and Blue and White Club members and $30 for non-members. To purchase tickets please visit please visit: www.alumni.buffalo.edu/events or contact the UB Office of Alumni Relations at 716-645-3312.

            All-American wrestlers Kyle Cerminara, ’09 and Bill Stanbro, ’91, football standout and later coach Charlie Donnor, MS ’81, BS ’71 and softball great Breanne Nasti, ’04, make up the Hall of Fame Class.

            The Hall of Fame committee chose a pair of distinguished alumni to honor in Art Serotte, EDM, ’66, EDB, ’62, who would become one of the most successful coaches in Buffalo Public High School history, and current NBA Vice President of scheduling and game operations, Matt Winick, BS ’60. The Russell Gugino Award, for outstanding contributions to UB Athletics, will be presented to Drs. Claudia (MD, ’85) and Robert (MD, ’83) Smolinski.

            Here is a closer look at the class that will make up the 39^th class of the UB Athletic Hall of Fame:

HALL OF FAME

 

Kyle Cerminara, ’09, Lewiston, NY. Kyle is UB’s first male Division I All-American, earning that recognition by placing eighth in the weight class in the 2004 NCAA Wrestling Championship Tournament …one of three national championships in which he competed. He is a two-time MAC champion, UB’s all-time wins leader with 137 and has the most dual meet wins, 51, in program history. A two-time team captain and recipient of the 2006 Male Athlete of the Year Award, Kyle compiled the seventh-best career winning percentage ever at UB, a mark of .801 (137-34) despite going up against some of the top wrestlers in the country. 

 

Charlie Donnor, MS ’81, BS ’71, Williamsville. Charlie has worn many hats in his 25 years at UB: three-year starting football center, captain, assistant football coach, assistant compliance coordinator, associate development officer, and friend to many. How does one judge the merits of an offensive lineman?  Certainly not by statistics. Voted frequently to All-ECAC teams, Charlie’s line coach, Jim McNally, regarded him one of the finest centers in the East and former sports information director Dick Baldwin noted he was “one of those guys you said made you glad he plays for us, and not them . . .” Charlie is the major conduit between UB and its alumni football family.

Breanne Nasti, BA ’04, Fullerton, CA. Breanne has been the most dominant offensive player in UB softball history, holding career records in average (.387), hits (197), doubles (46), triples (7), home runs (27), runs scored (93), RBI (113) and walks (66). Additionally, she has 17 placings among the top three in eight other single-season categories. A two-time MAC first-teamer (both softball and academics) and one-time second team softball pick. All-Region first team twice; second team once and a three-time District I second-team academic choice. A three-time UB Scholar-Athlete and a SUNY Chancellor’s Scholar-Athlete in 2004. 

 

Bill Stanbro, BA ’91, Lansing, NY. Finished fourth in the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships as a junior, earning All-America recognition, team MVP and UB male student athlete of the year honors. Also MVP as a senior and the team’s Alumni Award recipient, presented to the wrestler who has contributed the most to UB wrestling and best exemplifies the spirit of the team. As a junior, he won his weight class in three tournaments and was second in another. At graduation, he was UB’s all-time leader in wins (91), was second in career falls (17) and third in single-season wins (30). Captained the squad two seasons.

 

RUSSELL GUGINO AWARD

Drs. Claudia (MD ’85) and Robert (MD ’83) Smolinski, Orchard Park. Significantly generous supporters of UB athletics, both philanthropically and commitment of time in dealing with student-athletes.  Dr. Robert is the chief of UB Sports Medicine and was instrumental in organizing the campaign to create the Michael Reilly Athletic Training Center. The couple provided the lead gift for the project and also has supported the Athletic Scholarship Fund, the Student-Athlete Academic Support Center and the Athletics Golf Outing. The two were recipients of the 2009 Amherst Chamber of Commerce UB Believers Award.

DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD

Art Serotte (EDM ’66, EDB ’62), Buffalo. Art arrived at Grover Cleveland High, considered one of the toughest in the city, as the youngest head coach (24) at that time in the history of the Buffalo Public High Schools system.  And when he retired in 1992, the Presidents captured 12 Harvard Cups (football championships), at one point had a 28-game winning streak and earned five Yale Cup (basketball) titles and 10 Section VI crowns. A coach, teacher, counselor and mentor to his students, under Art’s guidance, almost  Grover 200 athletes were able to attend and graduate from college at all levels of competition.

Matt Winick, BS ’60, Baldwin, NY. Matt has been associated with the National Basketball Association since 1976 and in his current role of senior vice president of scheduling and game operations, has the daunting task of putting the league’s regular season and playoff schedule together. He also oversees the administration of the NBA Pre-Draft Camp. At UB, he was a sportswriter for The Spectrum and the team manager for the basketball and baseball teams. Matt worked in public relations for the New York Mets for 13 years (including a World Series win in ’69) and began his NBA career as director of media information.