Marywood Inducts 21st Class into Athletics Hall of Fame
Hall of Fame Inductees Jerry Dempsey (Head Coach of 1986-87 Women's Basketball Team) and Jamie Valis (Women's Tennis) are flanked by Sister Mary Persico, IHM, President of Marywood (left) and Dr. Mary Jo Gunning, Director of Athletics & Recreation

Marywood Inducts 21st Class into Athletics Hall of Fame

General - 2/18/2017 10:00:00 AM

Scranton, Pa. – A former women's tennis great and the entire 1986-87 Women's Basketball team were inducted as the 21st class into Marywood University's Athletics Hall of Fame Saturday morning on the University's campus. 
 
Jamie Valis, Ph.D., the all-time wins leader in Marywood women's tennis history, and the 1986-87 Women's Basketball team, the first team in Marywood history to reach the NCAA tournament, were selected for induction by the University's Hall of Fame Committee and approved by Marywood University President Sister Mary Persico, IHM, Ph.D.
 
16538Valis set numerous records on the tennis courts for the Pacers and was part of the 2003 Pennsylvania Athletic Conference (now Colonial States Athletic Conference) Championship squad. Valis and her teammates also earned PAC runner-up status in 2004. A member of the team from 2003-06, Valis helped lead Coach Janice Winslow's Pacers to an overall record of 43-14. 
 
The PAC No. 2 doubles champion in 2003 and the No. 5 singles champion in 2005, Valis was named PAC All-Conference First Team Singles in 2005 and PAC All-Conference First Team Doubles in 2003. She also earned PAC All-Conference Second Team Doubles honors in 2005.  Valis finished as the No. 3 doubles runner-up in the 2005 PAC Championships as well.
 
A four year (2003-06) member of the PAC Academic Honor Roll, Valis was named Marywood's Senior Student-Athlete of the Year and Pacers Club Humanitarian Award winner for the 2006-07 academic year.
 
The Women's Tennis team Most Valuable Player in both 2005 and 2006 (co), Valis served as a three-year team captain for the Pacers (2004-06). 
 
Valis remains the single season and career record holder for singles wins (55), doubles wins (54) and overall wins (109). Her record singles year came in 2005 when she went 20-0 in singles play and 17-4 in doubles action. 
 
Currently the Global Health Program Manager for the Special Olympics, she is the manager of the organization's Healthy Athletes, Healthy Hearing, Fit Feet, and Strong Minds program. After earning a B.S. in Health and Physical Education from Marywood in 2007, Valis went on to earn an M.S. in Special Education from The University of Scranton (2010) and her Ph.D. in Human Development with a concentration in Health Promotion from Marywood (2014). Valis resides in Nottingham, Maryland with her spouse Elise Gower. 
 
The 1986-87 Women's Basketball team is the first team to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.  The team became the first program in Marywood history to reach the NCAA Division III tournament. Led by Hall of Fame Coach Jerry Dempsey, the Pacers went 19-8 on the year, tying for the most wins in program history.  See YouTube highlights here.
 
16556Led by four other future Hall of Famers (Cathy Fisher, 1999 inductee; Maria Rossi, 2000 inductee; Robin Winkler Scartelli, 2001 inductee; and Christine Grande Getz, 2002 inductee), the Pacers' .703 win percentage that season is tied for second highest in program history.
 
Three of the team's players went on to score over 1,000 points in their careers. Rossi's 1,695 career points still ranks first of all-time. Grande Getz's 1,283 career points ranks fourth and Kathy McHale Petkovyak ranks ninth after scoring 1,118 career points. Petkovyak also ranks third for total rebounds in a single season with 313 boards. 
 
Head Coach Jerry Dempsey went 133-100 (.571) in 10 seasons leading the Pacers. His assistants during the 1986-87 season were John "Star" Marcinek, Bob Philbin and John Seitzinger. 
 
The roster included Leigh Ann Evanish, Erin Fallon, Cathy Fisher, Cheryl Grady, Chris (Grande) Getz, Jamie Lupini, Kathy (McHale) Petkovyak, Kris Pick, Maria Rossi, Robin (Winkler) Scartelli, and Beth Shannon. Kathleen Graytock and Cathy Ham served as managers.
 
Marywood fell to The University of Scranton 62-57 in the first round, and the Royals would go on for a third-place finish in the country. Marywood lost to now-defunct Spring Garden College 70-62 in the regional third-place game held in Scranton. The Women's Basketball team remained the only Marywood team to reach the NCAA Division III tournament for more than two decades until the Women's Soccer program won the CSAC Championship in 2008. Since then, nine other Pacers' teams have reached the NCAA postseason. 
 
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