Oct. 5, 2013
Photo Gallery
Oct. 5, 2013
NORMAL, Ill. - The 40th class of the Illinois State Athletics Percy Family Hall of Fame was enshrined Saturday morning at a ceremony conducted at the Bone Student Center during 2013 Homecoming festivities at ISU. Nicole (Kurth) Duncheon (Softball), Jill Hollembeak (Gymnastics), Tom Sipula (Golf), Stacey (Anderson) Stewart (Volleyball) and Sam Young (Football) comprised the talented class of 2013.
Illinois State alum and women's basketball play-by-play announcer R.C. McBride served as emcee for the event, which featured remarks and well-wishes from Illinois State University President Timothy Flanagan and Director of Athletics Larry Lyons. The inductees were celebrated with by family, friends, former teammates and coaches, as they joined the ranks of Illinois State's greatest student-athletes, coaches and administrators.
2013 Illinois State Athletics Percy Family Hall of Fame Class Bios:
Nicole (Kurth) Duncheon, Softball (2000-01)
Pitched the Redbirds to a pair of Missouri Valley Conference Championships and two NCAA Regional appearances ... named a Second-Team All-America Selection by Easton following her senior season in 2001 ... also named a Louisville Slugger/NFCA Great Lakes Region Second-Team selection that year ... 2000 and 2001 MVC First-Team pick ... led the Redbirds to the 2001 MVC Championship and NCAA Regional, after pitching a career-high 12 innings in the MVC title game win over Creighton ... 2001 MVC and NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team selection ... selected as the 2001 Linda Herman ISU Female Athlete of the Year ... 2000 MVC Championship MVP ... set ISU single-season records for shutouts (14) and wins (26) in 2001 ... ISU single-game record holder with 18 strikeouts against Southern Illinois (4/7/01) ... ISU career leader with three no-hitters ... ranks No. 4 all-time with 20 career shutouts and 428 strikeouts ... posted a career record of 43-18, with a 1.32 ERA in 70 appearances ... named a seven-time MVC Pitcher of the Week during her career ...married to former ISU baseball standout Ryan Duncheon.
Jill Hollembeak, Gymnastics (1986-91)
Named the ISU Newcomer of the Year for the 1986-87 season ... capped her career by being named the Linda Herman ISU Female Athlete of the Year for the 1990-91 season and the ISU Laurie Mabry Award winner ... broke the school record on floor exercise each season she competed (9.65 as a freshman, 9.7 as a sophomore, 9.75 as a junior and 9.8 as a senior) ... named to the Scholastic All-America Gymnastics Team during the 1989-90 and 1990-91 seasons ... returned to ISU in the summer of 1996 to take over as the gymnastics head coach, after serving two years on the national coaching staff of USA Trampoline and Tumbling ... helped the program achieve its highest national ranking in school history (No. 6) in 2001 and led the Redbirds to just their fourth-ever appearance in the NCAA Regional that same season ... the 2001 squad finished No. 25 nationally and set five individual and team records ... named Midwest regional coach of the year ... had a successful national and international tumbling career before starting at ISU ... was a three-time World champion (1982, 1984 and 1986), three-time member of a U.S. Team that won world team titles (1982, 1984 and 1986) and a five-time national champion (1982-86) in power tumbling ... was a five-time World medalist (1983-87) and U.S. champion (1983-87) in platform tumbling ... inducted into the World Acrobatics Society Gallery of Legends (2009).
Tom Sipula, Golf (1989-92)
Member of the 1989 and 1992 Missouri Valley Conference Championship teams ... three-time winner of the D.A. Weibring Medalist Award (1989, 1991,1992) ... earned medalist honors as the top individual finisher at the 1992 MVC Championship as a senior ... ranked as high as No. 16 nationally as an individual that season and was No. 3 in the nation in birdies recorded ... posted a career-best scoring average of 73.0 in 13 rounds in 1992, with a low round of 69 ... placed third individually at the 1989 and 1991 MVC Championships ... also took home medalist honors at the 1990 Bradley Fall Classic and the 1991 ISU Invitational ... two-time MVC Golfer of the Week ... at the age of 19, was the youngest competitor in the 1990 U.S. Public Links Championship, where he advanced to the quarterfinals ... qualified and competed in the 1993 and 1998 US Open Championships, making the cut in 1998 ... honored as the 1999 Illinois PGA Player of the Year ... winner of the 2003 National PGA Stroke Play Championship and the 2007 National PGA Match Play Championship ... qualified and competed in six National Club Professional Championships.
Stacey (Anderson) Stewart, Volleyball (1986-89)
Led the Redbirds to Missouri Valley Conference regular-season and tournament titles during the 1988 and 1989 seasons, earning the team bids to the NCAA Tournament in those seasons ... selected as the 1989 MVC Player of the Year and was a two-time First-Team All-MVC pick ... tabbed a First-Team All-District selection by the American Volleyball Coaches Association in 1989 ... 1987 Second-Team All-MVC selection ... ranked No. 18 in the country in set assists (12.02) in 1988 ... ranks No. 20 in MVC history in career set assists with 4,208 ... led the conference in set assists each season from 1987-89, becoming just one of three players in league history to achieve that feat ... ranks No. 4 in career set assists (4,208) and No. 8 in career digs (1,128) in the ISU record book ... finished career playing in 111 matches, recording 237 kills, 122 aces and 198 blocks ... returned to Illinois State as an assistant coach from 1990-91, helping lead the team to a combined 42-22 record.
Sam Young, Football (1998-2000)
Member of the 1998 and 1999 NCAA FCS Playoff teams and 1999 Gateway Champions ... named the NCAA FCS Defensive Player of the Year and a First-Team All-America selection by the Football Gazette in 1999 ... selected as a Third-Team All-American by The Sports Network that same season ... honorable mention All-America selection by the Football Gazette in 2000 ... two-time All-Gateway Conference First-Team selection (1999-2000) ... earned three Rawlings Gateway Defensive Player of the Week honors during the 1999 season ... led the league that year in passes broken up with 21 ... played and started in all 32 games played and finished his career with 201 total tackles, four interceptions and three blocked kicks ... ISU all-time leader in passes broken up in a single game (6), single season (21) and career (46) ... played professional football in the NFL with the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers (2001) and Denver Broncos (2002) ... won NFL Europe World Bowl X in 2002 with the Berlin Thunder and holds the record for most tackles in a World Bowl game (12 unassisted) ... also spent time in the Canadian Football League with the Calgary Stampeders (2003), British Columbia Lions (2004-06), Hamilton Tiger-Cats (2006) and Winnipeg Blue Bombers (2007-08).
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