SPARKS, Md. – It was a busy Saturday for US Lacrosse as the organization opened its new facility in nearby Sparks, Maryland. There were national team scrimmages, youth clinics and the 2016 National Lacrosse Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.
The Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, sponsored by RPS Bollinger Sports & Lesiure and the Markel Insurance Company, was held Saturday at the Grand Lodge in Hunt Valley, Maryland.
Towson University men's lacrosse alumnus Rob Shek, who played for the Tigers from 1988-91, was one of four former men's players to be inducted. Glen Miles, Mike Morrill and John Tucker, who played at Towson for two seasons as an honorable mention All-American midfielder before transferring to Johns Hopkins University, joined Shek as the class of 2016.
"The best things that have come from lacrosse, for me, are the friendships that I have developed with my teammates, many of who are still my closest friends," Shek said during his induction.
Hall of Famer Brian Voelker, Drexel University's head coach, who played along side Shek's professionally and for the national team, introduced Shek.
"Rob was a beast. He was big, strong, fast and could shoot like crazy with both hands," Voelker said. "The other thing that stands out is just how hard Rob worked at his game. There are a lot of guys with talent that aren't in the Hall of Fame. He made himself the Hall of Fame guy that he is. He worked really hard to accomplish the things that he did in the lacrosse world."
Shek enjoyed an All-American career as a midfielder at Towson University, earning first team honors in 1991 and second team accolades in 1990. He was also selected as the national midfielder of the year in 1991 while helping to lead Towson to a national runner-up finish in the NCAA Tournament. Shek helped Towson win three consecutive conference titles from 1989-1991. Shek won two world championships as a member of Team USA, capturing gold in 1994 and 1998. He also enjoyed a lengthy professional career, which included seven seasons as an indoor player for the Philadelphia Wings and Baltimore Thunder, and four seasons in the outdoor game with the Washington Power and Baltimore Bayhawks.
A three-year player at nearby Bel Air High School, Shek is a member of both the Towson University Athletic Hall of Fame (2006) and the US Lacrosse Greater Baltimore Chapter Hall of Fame (2010). Shek was the USILA's MacLaughlin Award winner as the national midfielder of the year in 1991.
Shek became the fourth Towson University men's lacrosse player to be enshrined in the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame. He joins Tiger legends Jim Darcangelo '75, Dick Edell '67 and Bob Griebe '75.
The National Lacrosse Hall of Fame also held its women's induction ceremony, inducting Margie Anderson, Joanne Connelly, and Julie Dayton, all prominent members of the U.S. Women's National Team Program who competed on a combined six World Cup teams, were inducted as 'truly great players." Kim Basner was inducted as a 'truly great official", and Michele LeFevre Doyle was inducted as a "truly great contributor."
The National Lacrosse Hall of Fame, a program of US Lacrosse, was established in 1957 to honor men and women who by their deeds as players, coaches, officials and/or contributors, and by the example of their lives, personify the great contribution of lacrosse to our way of life. Over 400 lacrosse greats are honored in the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame, which is located with the Lacrosse Museum at US Lacrosse Headquarters in Sparks, Maryland.
Parts of this release were borrowed from the US Lacrosse press releases.
- TowsonTigers.com –
