HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College Athletics Department is pleased to announce the newest inductees into the department's Thomas Glasser '82 Hall of Achievement.
The inductees in the Class of 2016 are J. Howard Morris '30, Peter Steenbergen '77, Howard Morris '86, John Loughnane '87, Sarah Zinn '97, Donna Kaminski '98, and the 1945 men's soccer team. The group will be inducted on Friday, May 27 in an on-campus ceremony during the College's Alumni Weekend.
J. Howard "Egg" Morris '30 competed in three sports during his time at Haverford. He made his greatest contributions to the track & field team where he was a two-time conference champion in both the shot put and discus. He finished runner-up at the Middle Atlantic States Conference in these events during his freshman and sophomore seasons. Widely considered one of the best "weightman" in the east, he was described as the best athlete Haverford ever had at the time of his graduation and held the College's shot put and discus records all the way up until the 2005 season. He was also a four-year starter and senior captain on the football team where he scored 11 of the team's 19 touchdowns from his fullback position in his final season. He also played on the men's basketball team for one season.
Peter Steenbergen '77 was a three-time All-American for the men's tennis team. He won the Middle Atlantic Conference singles championship in 1976 and was the conference runner-up the following season. His junior season was the first year the NCAA hosted a separate tournament for Division III and Steenbergen advanced all the way to the national semifinals. He made it to the NCAA Quarterfinals the following year before losing to the eventual national champion. He was also an All-American in doubles with Mike Hoffman '81 during his senior season. Steenbergen played No. 1 singles in each of his last three years, plus the final match of his freshman season, and No. 1 doubles all four years.
Howard Morris '86 was the first Middle Atlantic Conference Player of the Year in the history of the men's soccer program. He earned that distinction during his junior and senior seasons. During his four seasons, the Fords won the MAC South Division twice. He was named a second-team NSCAA All-American following his junior year. Morris was also a member of the track & field team where he set the school record in the outdoor triple jump with a leap of 45 feet, seven inches. He now ranks fifth in school history in that event.
John Loughnane '87 was a standout behind the plate for the baseball program during his four seasons. He earned second-team ABCA All-America honors during his senior season. During that historic year, he earned first-team All-MAC honors as he batted .432 with eight home runs and drove in 43 runs. Those home run and RBI totals were both school records at the time and still rank among the top 10 single-season outputs in program history. Loughnane also won the Archibald MacIntosh '21 Award and Varsity Cup during his athletic career. Additionally, he was a three-year member of the track & field team.
Sarah Zinn '97 was the first NCAA qualifier in the history of the women's fencing program. Zinn, who was a four-year member of the team and served as captain during her senior season, went on to place 19th at the NCAA Championship in 1997. An epee fencer, Zinn also placed third at the National Intercollegiate Women's Fencing Association Championship during her senior season. She led her team to a fifth place finish at that year's championship meet, a result the Fords would not replicate until six years after her graduation.
Donna Kaminski '98 was the catalyst for sabre fencing on the women's side at both Haverford College and the NCAA. She became the first female sabriste to compete at the NCAA varsity level, but she had to join the men's team to accomplish that feat. NCAA bylaws allow women to fence with the men if there is no women's team available and that is exactly what Kaminski did. The attention Kaminski received became the catalyst for women's sabre competition, which was approved by the NCAA for the 1999-2000 season.
The 1945 Haverford College men's soccer team, under the direction of head coach Ray Mullen, completed the first and only undefeated season in program history. The team finished unbeaten and untied in its eight matches to win both the Middle Atlantic Conference Intercollegiate Soccer League and Middle Atlantic Conference Overall Championship. The team's schedule included a pair of 4-3 victories on the road against Penn and Cornell, along with a 2-1 defeat of Princeton on its home field to clinch the MAISL championship. The team was bolstered by three All-Americans in Robert Clayton '46 (first team), Charles Matlack '45 (first team) and Evan Jones '49 (second team).