Ithaca College

A total of nine new members will be inducted into the Ithaca College Athletic Hall of Fame. The annual induction ceremony will be held Oct. 1, in the college’s Emerson Suites. The nine inductees represent 10 sports. Joining the Hall of Fame will be Dave Auble, Pat Britton ‘00, Robin Bimson ‘00, Jeff Long, Dave Murray ‘84, Heidi Nichols ‘98, Nicki Swan Donlin ’97, Cheryl Wah ’99 and David Watts ‘84

Dave Auble has been part of Ithaca’s wrestling coaching staff for 14 years. He’s helped the program to national championships in 1989, 1990 and 1994 and was named national Assistant Coach of the Year by Wrestling USA Magazine for helping the Bombers to their first title. Ithaca has recorded six other top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships during his tenure. Earlier this year he was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Robin Bimson ’00 holds Ithaca softball records for wins in a season (29 in 2000) and career (77). As a senior she also set school records with 13 shutouts and 36 complete games and earned second-team all-America honors. A three-time first-team all-region pick, she helped Ithaca to four NCAA tournaments including trips to the 1999 and 2000 World Series. Bimson, who currently ranks 27th all-time in wins among NCAA Division III pitchers, won Ithaca’s Iris Carnell Award as the top female athlete in her senior class. She finished 77-32 with 28 shutouts, four saves, 340 strikeouts and a 1.89 ERA.

Pat Britton ’00 was the first Bomber to earn first-team all-America honors in men’s basketball. A three-time first-team all-conference pick, he was the Empire 8 Player of the Year as a senior after leading the Bombers to an 18-10 record and their first ECAC title. Britton ranks among the program’s career leaders in scoring (fourth with 1,503 points), steals (third with 176), three-point baskets (sixth with 143) and free-throw percentage (fifth at .845). As a senior (when he recorded Ithaca’s third-highest point total ever), Britton was named a third-team academic all-American and a finalist for the Josten’s Player of the Year Trophy. He won Ithaca’s Ben Light Award as the top male athlete in his senior class.

Heidi Nichols ’98 earned all-America honors in three sports. As a volleyball player she was a three-time all-America pick and was named a first-team selection twice; she’s the only Bomber to achieve either of those distinctions. She holds school records for career blocks (671), season blocks (219 in 1996) and kills per game (5.07 in 1996). Nichols led Ithaca to four NCAA playoff appearances, including the 1994 and 1995 final fours. She earned all-America honors in the high jump in both indoor and outdoor track and field despite never competing in the sport until college. As a senior, Nichols placed fourth nationally at the indoor championships and eighth at the outdoor meet. Her outdoor school record still stands. She also played one year of basketball; as a freshman, she broke the school record with 50 blocked shots. She was named the NCAA’s Woman of the Year for New York state (no other Ithaca athlete has won that award) and earned academic all-America honors for her performance in both basketball and track & field.

Another of the softball program’s top pitchers, Nicki (Swan) Donlin ’97 earned all-America honors as a junior and senior. She set school records with 73 wins and 465 strikeouts in her career while compiling a 1.88 ERA. Swan pitched the Bombers to four NCAA playoff appearances including the 1996 World Series. At the time of her graduation she owned Ithaca’s four highest single-season win totals. A third-team pick to the National Fastpitch Coaches All-America team in 1996 and 1997, she’s one of only four Ithaca softball players to earn all-America honors more than once.

Jeff Long, Ithaca’s men’s lacrosse coach for the past 23 years, was inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in November. He played on the U.S. National Team in 1978 and 1986. Long served as an assistant coach to the U.S. National Team in 1998. His career coaching record stands at 218-115 with seven trips to the NCAA playoffs (including the 1992, 2002 and 2008 semifinals). He is a five-time Empire 8 Coach of the Year and was named Division III Coach of the Year in 1992 by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association. Long has also been an assistant women’s soccer coach at Ithaca since 1987; the Bombers have made 20 NCAA playoff appearances in that time and won national championships in 1990 and 1991.

Cheryl Wah ’99 earned all-America honors and academic all-America honors as a softball player. As a shortstop, she was a second-team pick to the NFCA all-America team in 1999 and she is one of only 13 Ithaca athletes to earn academic all-America honors twice. She batted .331 with 122 runs scored, 90 runs batted in and 174 hits in 168 games (starting all but three). Wah set school records with 379 assists and 16 triples in her career and also ranks among the program’s all-time top 10 in total bases, walks, runs, doubles, hits and stolen bases. She helped the Bombers to four NCAA playoff appearances, including a pair of trips to the World Series. She earned an NCAA postgraduate scholarship in 1999.

Dave Murray ’84 earned all-America honors before signing with the Texas Rangers and advancing as far as the AA level. A 1983 all-American, Murray was named to the 44-man roster for the 1984 U.S. Olympic baseball team. As a Bomber he batted .332 with 42 extra-base hits and 76 runs batted in in 94 games. He was a key part of four NCAA playoff teams, including two that reached the World Series. Murray won Ithaca’s Ben Light Award as a senior.

David Watts ’81 is one of only six Ithaca baseball players to earn first-team all-America honors. He earned first-team honors as an outfielder in 1980 after helping the Bombers to their first national championship. Watts hit over .400 twice in his career and finished with a .367 average as well as 126 runs scored, 31 doubles, eight triples, 11 home runs and 89 runs batted in over 127 games. He played in the NCAA playoffs four times, making three trips to the World Series. He earned an NCAA postgraduate scholarship in 1981.

The inaugural Ithaca College Sports Hall of Fame ceremony took place in 1969 when 15 individuals were named as charter members. A total of 294 athletes, coaches and administrators have been inducted in the past 41 years.