200 Memories Central
WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Welcome back to our celebration of 200 moments, memories, coaches and student-athletes from the history of Lycoming College athletics. In this eighth series of moments, we take a look at the emergence of women’s sports at the school, the start of the careers of a trio of Lycoming football legends and the career of the men’s basketball team’s all-time leading scorer.
With no more ado, here are moments 71-80 in our series of 200:
71.
Field Hockey added, 1969-72 –Lycoming College participated in several field days, playing several sports in one day against colleges in the area, such as Susquehanna, Bloomsburg and Lock Haven. By 1969, though, the school appeared ready to take the next step, and it did so by slowly bringing field hockey into the fold. The team played two games with Mansfield, falling 8-1 each time, and the program continued to grow until becoming a varsity sport in 1972. During that season, the Warriors practiced and played at the soccer field at the athletic complex and had a coach, Virginia Keiser, for the first time. In 1973, she led the team to a 5-2 record, with the team’s only losses coming to Juniata. The field hockey team struggled for the most part, at the College, though, and the program was cut in 1992 in favor of women’s soccer, which was added in 1994.
71.
Women's Tennis added, 1971 – While field hockey was a club sport for three years before becoming a varsity sport, the women’s tennis team was added as the first women’s varsity sport in the history of the college in 1971. By the next year, field hockey and swimming were added, as the athletic department grew by a quarter with the incorporation of the women’s sports, with men’s soccer, field hockey and football competing in the fall, men’s basketball, men’s and women’s swimming and wrestling in the winter, and men’s and women’s tennis, men’s golf and men’s track and field in the spring. The Warriors competed in just three matches that first season under coach Sally Vargo, posting a 2-1 record with both wins coming over Mansfield. The team improved quickly, as the Warriors completed the school’s only undefeated season in 1973, posting a 7-0 record. Vicki Satterthwait and Sandi Earl led the team, as Satterthwait posted a perfect 7-0 mark and Earl finished with an 11-1 combined record in singles and doubles play.
73.
Fred Winner, 1968-72 – One of Lycoming College’s greatest underdogs story, Fred Winner was the first player in school history to be selected in the Major League Baseball draft when he was selected in the 21
st round in 1972 by the Detroit Tigers. What made it such an impossible story was that the athletic department dropped the sport at the end of the 1971 season for “economic reasons,” according to the student newspaper,
The Bell. So despite not even playing the sport his senior year, the resume that Winner racked up in his first three seasons with the Warriors was impressive enough to get the attention of pro scouts. Of course, after posting an unblemished 0.00 ERA in 28 innings as a sophomore, it’s not that hard to see why he got the attention of the scouts. The left-hander also struck out 35 that season and posted a 2-1 record. As a junior, he posted a 2-2 record and was ranked amongst the national leaders in strikeouts, averaging 12.6 per nine innings.
74.
Vincent Joy, 1971-72 – Vinny Joy, a Harrisburg, Pa., native, was a key member of the football team during his career at Lycoming College. In 1971, he developed into an All-MAC defensive back thanks to two punt returns for touchdowns and one pick-six, becoming the perfect person for a new athletic department award – the Sol “Woody” Wolf Award – which is given each year to the junior who has shown the most improvement in intercollegiate competition in his/her first three years at the College. Joy continued his solid play as a senior in 1972, earning all-conference honors a second time and setting a school record for punt return yardage in a career, a mark that stood for eight years.
75.
Frank Girardi, 1972-07 – After growing up in the shadows of the College, Frank Girardi took the helm of the football program in 1972 after serving as an assistant coach under Budd Whitehill for three years. It took Girardi, a former running back at Williamsport Area High School and West Chester University, three years, but when the team finished 6-2 in 1975, it started a streak of 29 consecutive winning seasons under the coach. In his 36 seasons at Lycoming, Girardi built a record of 257-97-5 – a winning percentage of .723. In 2005, he became only the 17th coach at any NCAA level to reach the 250-win plateau. Girardi won a total of 13 NCAA Division III playoff games. He coached 13 Middle Atlantic Conference championship teams and made 11 appearances in the NCAA playoffs, including trips to the Stagg Bowl, the Division III national championship game, in 1990 and 1997. He was inducted into four halls of fame, including the Lycoming Athletics Hall of Fame, West Branch Valley Hall of Fame, the Pennsylvania State Sports Hall of Fame, and West Chester University’s W. Glenn Killinger Football Hall of Fame. The Middle Atlantic Conference honored Girardi as its Coach of the Year on 12 occasions, and in 1999 he became the Robert W. Maxwell Football Club’s first recipient of the Tri-State Coach of the Year Award. The award is presented to an outstanding college or high school coach from Pennsylvania, New Jersey or Delaware. Following the 2007 season, ESPN Radio 1050/104.1 honored Girardi with a lifetime achievement award and announced that the award will carry the title of “The Frank Girardi Lifetime Achievement Award.”
76.
Robb Curry, 1972-07 – In many ways, the man who formed the powerhouse dynasty of football teams that posted 14 MAC titles was Robb Curry. With a well-formed love of Lycoming College as a 1969 graduate, Curry began his service to the athletic department the next fall, guiding the men’s soccer team to three wins while Nels Phillips took a sabbatical. Three years later, when Frank Girardi took over as head coach, Curry came on board the coaching staff as a recruiting coordinator. Curry became known for his ability to draw recruits from the Philadelphia Catholic League, where he himself was from. He also worked with the men’s basketball program and served as an office assistant from 1972-84, helping the team reach seven conference playoffs during that time and the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history in 1984. From 1984-2006, Curry served as an assistant athletic director, helping oversee unprecedented success by the athletic program, including overseeing 25 conference championship squads and 100 All-Americans.
77.
Randy Cober, 1973 – A junior from Somerset, Pa., Randy Cober helped lead the College’s golf team to one of its most surprising results in school history in 1973 despite a 2-6 dual meet record under head coach David Busey. However, led by the great performance of Cober, the team finished fourth in a field of 19 teams at the Middle Atlantic Conference Championships at Hidden Springs Country Club outside Lancaster, Pa. Cober shot a 149 and finished three strokes away from first place while playing all 36 holes in one day to earn the first First Team All-MAC honors in school history. His third-place finish set the standard for Lycoming golfers for 32 years before a pair of Lycoming golfers finished tied for second at the league championships in 2005.
78.
Tom Vanaskie, 1974 – When Tom Vanaskie came to Lycoming College in 1971 from Our Lady of Lourdes High School in Shamokin, he immediately became one of the top athletes at the school. While he became an important part of the school’s fabric, serving as the president of Omicron Delta Epsilon, the economics honor society and Sigma Pi fraternity, he also became just as important on the football field. He earned two All-MAC honors. After a fine senior year, Vanaskie, a cornerback, earned Honorable Mention Associated Press Little All-American, All-East and All-State honors, as he finished his career with a then-school-record 11 interceptions. He earned the school’s Tomahawk Award and the Chieftain Award, given to the senior who has shown the utmost dedication and leadership qualities. After graduation, Vanaskie went on to law school at Dickinson and after serving in private practice, he moved behind the bench and currently serves on the U.S. Third District Court of Appeals. He was inducted into the Lycoming College Athletics Hall of Fame in 1994.
79.
Steve Wiser, 1974-Present - For the past 42 years, defense for the Lycoming College football team has had one constant - “The Wizard.” Steve Wiser, who is in his 38th year as an assistant coach for the Warriors, is more than a legend at Lycoming College. He was the architect of a defensive corps that changed the fortunes of the football program in the ‘70s before presiding over a damaging defense that has won 14 MAC titles in the last 33 years. Wiser led the Warriors to the No. 1 national ranking in total defense twice during his tenure (1975, 1983). His teams have also posted nationally-leading numbers in rushing defense (1976, ’82 and ’87) and scoring defense (’99). During his time at the College, the Warriors have posted a record of 280-115-5 (.706) while garnering 12 NCAA playoff appearances, including two trips to the national title game. His defense topped the MAC 15 times and has posted a total of 65 shutouts. Along with his coaching duties, Wiser worked hard to organize the football program’s annual golf outing and ad sales for the gameday program, along with serving the community in a number of service and charity events. A 1974 Lycoming graduate, Wiser excelled in wrestling and football, earning elections into the Lycoming Hall of Fame and the Bald Eagle Area High School Hall of Fame. He earned four letters while playing for the Warriors as a hard-nosed linebacker, earning two All-MAC honors. As a wrestler, he placed second and third in the conference and earned a trip to the NCAA National Championships as a senior.
80.
Rich Henninger, 1970-74 – A 6-5 forward from across the Susquehanna River in South Williamsport, Rich Henninger came to Lycoming College in 1970 and from the time that he first stepped foot on campus, he was a difference-maker. An honorable mention All-MAC selection as a freshman after averaging 23.0 points per game, Henninger followed that by leading the conference in scoring for the final three years of his career, finishing in the top 20 in the nation in scoring twice. As a senior, Henninger, who posted 22 30-point games, broke the school’s scoring record set by Vince Leta in 1954 and 37 years later, his mark of 2,184 points still stands. He was one of the most decorated athletes in school history, earning three First Team All-MAC honors and MAC Player of the Year honors after averaging 24.9 points as a senior. He also earned National Association of Basketball Coaches All-District Team honors and Associated Press All-State accolades during his career and is the only three-time winner of the Tomahawk Award (Outstanding Male Athlete) in school history. As a senior, he became the first Academic All-American in school history, earning second team honors as a forward. He is still in the school’s career top five in six categories and he is in the top 10 in 12 single-season lists. Henninger was a member of the inaugural Lycoming College Athletics Hall of Fame in 1986.
We hope you enjoyed our eighth look at 200 Memories. Stay tuned on Friday, Dec. 9, as moments 81-90 will be released, with moments capturing the period from 1976-1981, including a wrestling dynasty, the first football championship in school history and the replacing of the Hilltop Gymnasium.
As always, if you feel we missed an event or two that can be deemed a memorable moment or a memorable student-athlete, please share them. Tell us why they are special and any information you may have about that moment or person by contacting Sports Information Director Joe Guistina at
guistina@lycoming.edu. Special addendums with your feedback will be released following the conclusion of the list in 2012.
