TOWSON, MD. - The 1980 Tiger women's lacrosse team will be honored as a "Team of Distinction" at the annual Towson University Athletic Hall of Fame Induction Dinner, set for Friday, October 29 in the Susquehanna Room of the University Union. In addition, former lacrosse defenseman Carl Beernink (1989-92), Dan Crowley (1991-94), record-setting gymnast Nancy Kearns (1973-77) and cross country standout Maureen Shaneman Hall (1986-89) will be inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame.
Senior Brandi Gervais of the Tiger cross country and track teams will also be honored as the winner of the Doc Minnegan Scholarship Award, presented to an outstanding senior student-athlete at Towson University.
The cocktail hour prior to the Hall of Fame Dinner will start at 6:00 p.m., followed by dinner at 7:00 p.m.
In 1980, the Tiger women's lacrosse team competed in the days before there was NCAA lacrosse. The Tigers were part of the United States Women's Lacrosse Association (USWLA) and the Maryland Collegiate Women's Lacrosse Association (MCWLA). The MCWLA included every school in the state ranging from community colleges to small colleges and universities.
Coached by Dr. Maggie Faulkner, the 1980 Tigers were among the elite teams in the USWLA and the MCWLA. Dr. Faulkner entered her tenth year with a talented team that had 19 letter winners. The Tigers had lots of local talent as 16 players were from the Baltimore area while 22 of 24 players were Maryland natives.
Facing a difficult early season schedule, the Tigers dropped two of their first three games, losing to Harvard and falling to Maryland. However, the Tigers responded to their slow start by winning their next eight games in a row. Highlighting the eight-game winning streak was a convincing 8-4 victory over Virginia in late March.
Hosting the seventh annual MCWLA Tournament in April, the Tigers rolled into the championship game. In the quarter-finals, Towson dealt a 16-1 loss to Johns Hopkins as sophomore Laurie Hardesty scored five goals. Junior Lynne Regier and sophomore Pat Stokely each added four goals.
In the semi-finals, the Tigers took a 6-1 lead over Loyola and reached the title game with an 11-6 win. Freshman Jill Minnick led the Tigers with three goals while junior goalkeeper Mary Bartel made 17 saves.
Facing undefeated Maryland in the championship game, Towson lost to the Terps, who captured their fourth straight title with an 11-2 victory. Bartel kept the Tigers in the game by making 14 saves. In three MCWLA Tournament games, Bartel made 50 saves and allowed only 18 goals.
At the conclusion of the MCWLA Tournament, the All-MCWLA teams were announced and Towson was well-represented. Sophomore Lindsay Townsend, senior Janet Houck joined Regier and Bartel as Tigers who were named to the first team. Juniors Wendy Galinn, Elise Ennis and Dee Downey earned second team notice along with Minnick. Hardesty was an honorable mention pick.
By finishing second in the MCWLA Tournament, the Tigers improved their record to 9-3 and earned a berth in the USWLA Division II Tournament scheduled for mid-May at the University of Maryland Baltimore County.
After back-to-back losses at Delaware and Penn State, the Tigers closed out the regular season with a 9-3 victory over Glassboro State.
As a result of their 10-5 record which included two losses to top-ranked Maryland and one loss to number two Penn State, the Tigers were the number one seed in the 16-team field at the USWLA Tournament.
On the opening day of the tournament, the Tigers had to overcome a pair of upset bids. In a first round game against Delaware, Towson built a 10-6 lead early in the second half. But, the Blue Hens answered by scoring five straight goals to take an 11-10 lead with less than five minutes left in regulation. A pair of goals by senior D'Ann Williams gave the Tigers a 12-11 advantage before Delaware's Lisa Blanc sent the game to sudden death overtime by scoring with 11 seconds remaining.
Once they reached overtime, the Tigers wasted no time winning the game. Just 40 seconds into overtime, sophomore Angel Cotsoradis took a pass from Townsend scored on a 20-foot shot to lift them to a 13-12 victory. It was her only goal of the season. Williams and Hardesty led the Tigers to the win with six goals each.
In the quarter-finals, the Tigers overcame another second half deficit to pick up another one-goal victory, nipping Slippery Rock, 10-9. Regier and Hardesty paced the Tigers by scoring three goals apiece.
Facing #5 Trenton State in the semi-finals, the Tigers used a dominant second half to earn a 9-5 come-from-behind win. Trailing by 5-3 at halftime, Towson outscored the Lions 6-0 after intermission. Bartel led the Tigers to their best defensive effort of the tourney by making 15 saves while allowing only five goals. Williams led the Tigers with three goals while junior Katie Glose and senior Sandy Lisek chipped in with two goals each.
However, the Tigers ran out of gas in the championship game against Lafayette. The Leopards took a 4-1 lead and extended their lead to 6-1 midway through the second half. When Townsend scored her second goal of the game, the Tigers trailed, 6-2. But, senior Pam McCall scored her fifth goal of the contest just 17 seconds later, giving Lafayette an insurmountable 7-2 lead. Williams and Regier added late goals but it wasn't enough.
Offensively, Williams and Hardesty led the Tigers in the tournament. Williams scored 12 goals in four games while Hardesty tallied ten goals.
Despite the loss in the finals, the Tigers dominated the all-tournament team. Three of their top defensive players, Glose, Houck and Bartel, were honored. They were joined on the all-tourney team by Regier.
The Tigers, who ended the season with a 13-6 record, outscored their opponents by a 208-136 margin. Townsend, a Towson High School graduate, led the Tigers by scoring 33 goals with 17 assists. A product of Martin Spalding High School, Hardesty led the Tigers with 42 goals while Regier, a former Hereford High School standout, had 39 goals with six assists. A product of Randallstown High School, Williams added 25 goals and two assists. Minnick, another Hereford graduate, had an impressive freshman year as she scored 23 goals with one assist. Stokely, who attended Loch Raven High School, added 16 goals.
A Perry Hall High School graduate, Bartel anchored the Tiger defense by averaging just under 19 saves per game. While making 360 saves in 19 games, she allowed only 7.16 goals per game.
Bartel's 360 saves set a single season record at Towson, a mark that still stands 30 years later.
A graduate of Notre Dame Prep, Glose teamed up with Galinn, a Pikesville High School product, and Houck, a Towson High School alum, to lead the Tiger defense.
After the season, Bartel and Glose were named to the prestigious 44-member USWLA team. They were two of four Tigers invited to try out for the squad. Houck and Regier barely missed joining their teammates on the USWLA team.
Three members of the 1980 Tigers have been inducted into the Towson University Athletic Hall of Fame.
A former president of the Towson Athletic Hall of Fame and the first woman president of the Tigers, Janet Houck Kines was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1995. She was a two-sport standout for the Tigers who played volleyball and lacrosse. She was also named as Towson's Senior Female Athlete of the Year. In 1980, Bartel and Houck were the Tiger co-captains.
The winningest coach in Tiger women's lacrosse history, Dr. Faulkner compiled a record of 105-70-5 in 16 seasons as the Tigers' head coach. A long-time member of the faculty at Towson, she also coached the field hockey team for six years. She also served as the first chair of the NCAA Women's Lacrosse Committee from 1981 to 1987 and was inducted into the Greater Baltimore Chapter of the Lacrosse Foundation and Hall of Fame in 1997. Inducted into the Towson Hall of Fame in 1997, she was the Associate Dean for the College of Liberal Arts at Towson when she retired.
Inducted into the Towson Hall of Fame in 2000, Bartel was a two-sport standout for the Tigers who also played volleyball. Since graduating from Towson, she has been a faculty member and coach at Notre Dame Prep. One of the most successful scholastic girls' lacrosse coaches in the nation, she has coached NDP for the last 29 years. Currently the Athletic Director at NDP, she was honored as the Baltimore Metro Coach of the Year in 2001 and 2004. She also coached the field hockey team at NDP for many years.
CARL BEERNINK, '92 (Lacrosse): A three-year starter on defense for the Tigers, Beernink was named as a University Division All-American three times in his career. After earning honorable mention All-America honors in 1990 and 1991, he was a second team All-America honoree in 1992.
A product of nearby Loyola Blakefield High School and a Baltimore County native, Beernink was an aggressive defenseman who was recognized for his consistent play. During his four-year career at Towson, he helped the Tigers compile a 41-14 record and earn the first three NCAA Division I post-season appearances in school history.
As a freshman in 1989, Beernink was a reserve defenseman for the Tigers' first-ever NCAA Division I Tournament team. He appeared in all 14 games, mostly as a defensive midfielder. In addition to scooping up 27 ground balls, he scored the first goal of his college career on a fast break against Drexel. He helped the 11th-ranked Tigers post a 9-5 record, a mark that included a 9-8 overtime victory against number one-ranked Johns Hopkins. The Tigers lost to North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament quarter-finals.
As a sophomore, Beernink started all 13 games on defense for Coach Carl Runk. In addition to leading the 12th-ranked Tigers to the East Coast Conference championship, he helped them finish the season with an 11-2 record, just missing out on a second straight NCAA Tournament berth. Beernink, who earned All-ECC honors for the first time, led all Tiger defensemen with 48 ground balls.
In his junior year, Beernink played a vital role on one of the greatest teams in school history. A starter on close defense in 15 games, he helped the Tigers win their second straight ECC title and earn an NCAA Tournament berth with a 9-3 regular season record. Seeded 11th in the 12-team NCAA field, the Tigers reached the national semi-finals with a 14-13 win at Virginia and a dramatic 14-13 victory over Princeton in triple overtime. In the NCAA semi-finals at Syracuse, the Tigers handed Maryland a 15-11 loss to reach the championship game. However, it was a costly win as Beernink sustained a sprained ankle that sidelined him for the championship game. Without Beernink in the lineup, the Tigers lost to number one-ranked North Carolina, 18-13. Named as an honorable mention All-American for the second time, Beernink ranked among the team leaders with 86 ground balls. He also scored a goal and an assist.
As a senior, Beernink was one of the co-captains for Coach Runk and he enjoyed another amazing season. A starter in all 12 games, he led the fourth-ranked Tigers to a 9-2 regular season record and a first round bye in the NCAA Tournament. Highlighting the season was a dramatic 14-13 win over Johns Hopkins in the regular season finale. However, the Blue Jays exacted a measure of revenge in the NCAA quarter-finals with a 15-7 victory over Towson. Beernink, who was third on the team with 49 ground balls, was named second team All-American on defense, only the third Tiger to be named second team All-American at the University Division level.
Beernink, who finished his career with 210 ground balls, ranks among the Tigers' career leaders. The winner of the Joseph Ferrante Award in 1991, he also played in the North-South Classic after his senior year. A three-time All-ECC selection, he was honored as Towson University's Male Unsung Hero Award winner at the 1992 Sports Awards Banquet.
A 1992 Towson graduate with a degree in Sport Management, Beernink is currently an investment consultant. After playing club lacrosse for five years, he joined the Southern Lacrosse Officials Association and has been a lacrosse official for nearly ten years.
He and his wife, Michele, are the parents of three daughters. The Beerninks reside in Towson.
DAN CROWLEY, '01 (Football): A four-year starter at quarterback for the Tigers, Crowley graduated with virtually every school passing record. In his career, he completed 617 of 1,169 passes, setting records in both categories. He also set school records with 81 touchdown passes and 8,900 passing yards. He also set the school record with 8,803 yards of total offense.
A starter in 35 of 40 career games from 1991 to 1994, the Bowie, Md. native had a 22-13 record as a starter as he led the Tigers through a dramatic turnaround. During his freshman year, the Tigers were 1-10. They improved to 5-5 in his sophomore season. In his final two years, he guided the Tigers to consecutive 8-2 records as the Tigers were nationally-ranked at the NCAA Division I-AA level for the first time.
An All-State performer at DeMatha High School, Crowley became the Tigers' starting quarterback midway through his freshman season. He threw for 1,783 yards and 16 touchdowns and guided the Tigers to their only win of the year, a late-season victory over Howard.
During his sophomore year, he led the Tigers to a 5-5 record, a mark that included dramatic wins over Indiana (Pa.) and Northeastern. At IUP, Crowley directed a comeback that saw the Tigers overcome a 33-13 deficit with 5:34 remaining in the fourth quarter to pull out a 35-33 victory. The following week, he threw a dramatic ten-yard touchdown pass to Mark Orlando on the final play of the game as Towson edged Northeastern, 32-30. As a sophomore, Crowley passed for 2,322 yards and 14 touchdowns.
As a junior, Crowley passed for 1,882 yards and 23 touchdowns while throwing only four interceptions in 217 attempts. The Tigers, who finished the season as the 24th-ranked team in NCAA Division I-AA, nearly qualified for the I-AA playoffs after posting impressive wins over Connecticut and Delaware. Towson finished the season with an 8-2 record and Crowley was named as the Tigers' Offensive Player of the Year.
Crowley enjoyed his finest season as a senior in 1994. One of the co-captains for Coach Gordy Combs, he earned honorable mention All-American honors for the second time after passing for a school record 2,913 yards while throwing a record 28 touchdown passes. In a win over Charleston Southern, he set a school record by throwing five touchdown passes in one game.
The winner of the Doc Minnegan Award as the Tigers' Most Valuable Player as a senior, he was the seventh-rated passer in NCAA Division I-AA in 1994. He was also named as Towson's Male Athlete of the Year award winner.
Signed as a free agent by the Baltimore Stallions of the Canadian Football League, he was a member of the first American team to win the Grey Cup in 1995.
He enjoyed a very productive eight-year career in the CFL while playing for four different teams, including the Stallions, the Montreal Alouettes, the Edmonton Eskimos and the Ottawa Rough Riders.
Crowley also played for the Bergamo Lions in the Italian Football Federation for two years, leading the Lions to back-to-back championships in 1998 and 1999. He was the championship game Most Valuable Player twice.
A 2000 graduate of Towson who earned his B.S. degree in Kinesiology, Crowley was very active in community service work during his years in the CFL. He made regular trips to hospitals to visit young cancer patients. In addition, he participated in the CFL's reading program which involved regular trips to elementary schools.
A very active supporter of the Tiger football program, Crowley is currently the Sales and Marketing Manager for TRC, Inc., The Reproduction Company.
The son of Dan and Kathleen Crowley of Bowie, Md., he has one older sister, Cindy, and one younger brother, Timmy. He is the proud uncle of two nieces, Mariah and Hailey, and two nephews, Jason and Kyle.
NANCY KEARNS, '00 (Gymnastics): One of the top gymnasts in the early years of the Tigers' program, Kearns competed as an all-around performer for Coach George McGinty, a 1991 inductee into the Towson University Athletic Hall of Fame. She competed as an all-around in all but one meet during her four-year career.
A two-time All-East selection, she was the first Tiger gymnast to score 1,000 career points and she did it with a much different scoring system. She scored 1,091.17 points in her career from 1973 to 1977 and held the school record for career points until 1982.
A native of Timonium who graduated from Dulaney High School, Kearns qualified for the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) national championships three times in her career. She was also honored as Towson's Gymnast of the Year three times.
The AIAW was the governing organization for women's intercollegiate athletics until 1982 when the NCAA started sponsoring women's championships.
As a freshman in 1973, Kearns led the Tigers to an 8-3 record and a fourth place finish at the EAIAW Championship Meet. She also qualified for AIAW nationals for the first time.
In 1974, she was part of a team which compiled an 8-4 record. At the EAIAW Meet, she helped the Tigers finish sixth. Competing at the AIAW National Championship Meet, she helped Towson placed 12th in the nation.
In 1976, she helped Towson post a 6-5 record and finish tenth at the EAIAW Championships. In her senior year, she set a school record by scoring 381.25 points. In 1977, she led Towson to a 4-5 record and a tenth place showing at the EAIAW Meet.
In her career, she helped Towson post a cumulative record of 26-17.
At the time of her graduation, she owned the school record with a 33.90 all-around score. Her 9.00 vault score was the second-best mark in school history while her 8.80 score on bars was also a school record.
She also owned one of the best floor exercise marks at Towson with an 8.80 score.
Currently a resident of Annapolis, Md., she and her husband, Kevin, have been married for 37 years. Their oldest son, Lance, owns a Master's degree in Recreation. Their 29-year old daughter, Courtney, owns dual degrees. She earned a degree in Community Health from the University of Maryland and a degree in Nursing from Johns Hopkins University.
Kearns, who returned to Towson and earned her degree in Sociology in 2000, is currently a sales assistant for Anthony & Sylvan Pools. For ten years, she ran a sports program in Anne Arundel County. She also coached girls' lacrosse at St. Mary's High School for several years.
MAUREEN SHANEMAN HALL (Cross Country, Track and Field): A four-year standout for the Tigers' cross country and track and field teams, Shaneman Hall is arguably the best distance runner ever to compete at Towson. The top runner for the cross country team, she was an All-East Coast Conference selection twice. As a junior, she finished fifth at the ECC Championship Meet. In her senior year, she took third place and it was the only meet of her senior year that she didn't win.
As great as she was for the Tiger cross country team, she was even more of a standout for the Tiger track and field teams. When she graduated, she owned three individual indoor school records and three individual outdoor school records. She was also part of one indoor relay team that set a school record as well as three record-setting outdoor relay teams.
One of the top athletes to compete for Coach Roger Erricker, she set outdoor records in the 800-meter run (2:07.58), 1000-meter run (2:55.10) and 1500-meter run (4:32.80). Shaneman Hall was also part of the Tigers' record-setting distance medley relay team (12:57.75) with Susan Orsega, Gina Walsh and Teri Campbell.
A Baltimore native who graduated from Seton High School, Shaneman Hall set indoor school records in the 400-meter run (0:56.93), the 800-meter run (2:12.51) and the 1500-meter run (4:32.80). She teamed up with Buffy Gavigan, Walsh and Orsega to break the 3200-relay record (10:01.5) in 1987. In 1988, she was part of the Tigers' record-setting sprint medley relay team (4:23.8) and their distance medley relay team (12:44.83).
During her career, she was named as the Outstanding Performer at an ECC Championship Meet three times. She was the Most Outstanding Performer at the ECC Outdoor Track and Field Meet in 1987 and 1989. She also earned the Most Outstanding Performer Award at the 1989 ECC Indoor Championship Meet.
As a sophomore, she produced a tremendous effort at the 1987 ECC Outdoor Meet which was hosted by Towson. Competing in three events, she was a triple winner and broke ECC records in each event. She won the 1500-run (4:42.14), the 400-run (0:57.72) and the 800-run (2:14.81). After winning three events, she was named as the ECC Championship Most Outstanding Performer for the first time.
At the 1989 ECC Indoor Meet, she set ECC records in the 800-run (2:15.95) and the 1500-run (4:38.26), winning both events. She was named as the ECC Meet Most Outstanding Performer for the second time in her career.
In one of the final meets of her college career, she was the Most Outstanding Performer at the 1989 ECC Outdoor Meet, completing a rare sweep of the indoor and outdoor awards only three months apart. At the ECC Outdoor Championship, she won the 800-run (2:15.66) and the 1500-run (4:38.29). She also finished second in the 400-run.
In her career, she broke four ECC records and won 11 ECC individual championships.
In 1989, she was honored as Towson's Female Athlete of the Year.
Some 21 years after her graduation, she still owns the Towson indoor records in the 800-run and the 1000-run as well as outdoor records in the 800-run and the 1500-run.
A competitive runner for 27 years, she earned her B.S. degree in Early Childhood Education. A resident of LoVale, Md., she and her husband, Robert Hall, are the parents of one daughter, Kathryn.
In addition to serving as a teacher, coach and Bible School teacher in her community, she is the president of the Mountain Maryland Marathon Club and the Western Maryland Road Runners Club. For eight years, she was the race director for the "Kid Mile Challenge." She has also been the race director for the Women's Distance Festival 5K for twenty years.
In 1990, she was named as the Baltimore Road Runners Club Runner of the Year. She ran 32 races in 1990 and won 17 of them.
She graduated from Villa Julie College in 1995 with a B.S. degree in Early Childhood Education.