STANDISH, ME – Saint Joseph’s College is pleased to announce that Rick Simonds (Steep Falls, ME), Jill (Bourget) Kelly ’94 (Smithfield, RI), Kendra Brown ’01 (Springvale, ME) and Chris Esmond ’94 (Falmouth, ME) will compose the 2010 Athletics Hall of Fame class.
Simonds guided the Saint Joseph’s Men’s Basketball program for 23 seasons (1979-92, 1993-03) and posted an astounding 466-176 (.726) record with 11 conference titles and six national tournament appearances. Prior to the start of the 2009-10 season, Simonds’ winning percentage ranked as the seventh-best all time in the NCAA DIII annals while his wins total ranked 35th. He left his post following the 2003 campaign having never suffered a losing season and is the most successful coach in Saint Joseph’s College Athletics history.
Bourget was a key member of the St. Joe’s Women’s Basketball team during one of the program’s most successful eras. A 5-10 forward, Bourget scored 1,241 points and tallied 694 rebounds with 228 assists in four seasons. She played in all 119 games during her career, during which the Monks posted a 96-23 (.807) record while capturing four conference titles, three New England Championships and a pair of NAIA National Championship Tournament appearances.
Brown was a four-year member of the Monks’ soccer and basketball programs and played in 179 games with five combined championship titles between the two sports. Although a very good basketball player, Brown made her mark on SJC Athletics as a goalkeeper for the women’s soccer team. Her name is littered throughout the soccer record book, as she owns the program career records for games (75), minutes (6770) and shutouts (33) and ranks second in saves (454) and victories (47). Brown is one of just three SJC women’s soccer players to have received four All-Conference honors.
Esmond played three years for the Monks Baseball team and was a member of two NAIA New England Championship clubs during his time at Saint Joseph’s. As a senior, Esmond posted one of the finest seasons a pitcher has ever produced at St. Joe’s, as the righthander recorded a 1.25 ERA, a program record at the time of his induction, with 90 strikeouts in 65 innings. His 1994 strikeout tally stood as a team record for 12 seasons, while his career ERA (2.50) currently ranks second in Monks Baseball history.
The Saint Joseph's Athletics Hall of Fame was founded in 2000 and the addition of this year's inductees will increase the membership to 54.
The Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place on Saturday, November 13th. Details of the event will be announced in the coming weeks.
