October 27, 2009

WALTHAM, Mass. - On Sunday, November 1, Brandeis University Department of Athletics and the Friends of Brandeis Athletics (FOBA) will induct the 13^th class of the Joseph M. Linsey Athletic Hall of Fame. The class includes legendary tennis coach Arthur 'Bud' Collins; Theresa Ceriello (Class of 2003), volleyball; Kevin Curtin (Class of 1984), men's track and cross country; Marc Eisenstock (Class of 1972), baseball and men's basketball; Virginia Lypscon Richburg (Class of 1981), women's track and cross country; Tim Morehouse (Class of 2000), men's fencing; Michael Novaria (Class of 1991), men's soccer; and Donald Soffer (Class of 1954), football.

 

Arthur 'Bud' Collins is being inducted to the Brandeis Hall of Fame under the contributor category. A native of Lima, Ohio, Collins came to the Boston area as a sportswriter for the Boston Herald in 1955. In 1959, he was named the first head coach of the men's tennis team. Between 1959 and 1963, he coached the Judges to an overall record of 48-16, including a 7-0 record in 1959-60. Among the players on Collins's teams was Hall of Famer Martin Zelnik '61 and counter-culture figure Abby Hoffman '59.

After leaving Brandeis in 1963 to pursue writing full-time for the Boston Globe, Collins went on to become a renowned broadcaster and tennis icon. He has covered 148 major tennis championships in his career for the Globe, NBC, ESPN and various other television networks. In 1994, Collins was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. He is also a member of the Berea (Ohio) High School, Baldwin-Wallace College, Sportscaster's and Sportswriters, and New England Tennis Halls of Fame.

Collins currently resides in Brookline, Mass., with his wife Anita.

 

Theresa Ceriello, a Roslyn Heights, N.Y., native, is a member of the class of 2003. She will be the first volleyball player inducted into the Brandeis Hall of Fame. She was a four-year starter and two-time captain for the Judges from 1999 to 2002. Ceriello earned All-University Athletic Association honors all four years. As a senior, she became the first Brandeis player in school history to earn American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) first-team All-New England honors, one year before that recognition carried automatic All-America honor. Ceriello guided the team to three post-season berths in her career and still holds the team's career leader in assists, service aces and matches played.

Ceriello currently resides in Southampton, N.Y., where she works at Bridgehampton National Bank.

 

Kevin Curtin, a Billerica, Mass., native, is a member of the class of 1984. A Boston Globe All-Scholastic selection and Billerica Memorial High School Hall of Famer, Curtin was a member of the Brandeis track and cross country teams between 1980 and 1984, serving as captain of both teams as a senior. As a cross country captain in 1983, he earned All-America honors in cross country, finishing 15^th at the NCAA championships and helping the Judges earn the second national championship in school history. As a member of the track and field team, Curtin won four New England championships at distances from 800- to 1,500-meters. His school record of 8:12.70 in the 3,000-meter run still stands, as does his meet record of 2:27.02 at 1,000-meters at the New England Division III Indoor Track Championships. Curtin went on to compete at the 1988 Olympic Trials.

Curtin is currently the coach of the New Balance Boston running club, where he has led the cross country team to second at the Club National Championships each of the past two years. He has worked as a printing estimator for Financial Graphic Services since 2005. He still resides in Billerica.

 

Marc Eisenstock, a Worcester, Mass., native, is a member of the class of 1972. He was a member of the baseball and basketball teams while at Brandeis who was known for his versatility and durability. Eisenstock never missed a game in four years in either sport, starting at guard as a freshman on the basketball team and starting every contest for four years the baseball team. He played every inning of his career and made appearances at all nine positions on the diamond, earning team MVP honors as a junior in 1971. Eisenstock also served as baseball team captain as a senior. 

Eisenstock went on to serve as a president of Friends of Brandeis Athletics in the 1990s. Since graduating, he has served as a sports agent and a basketball coach at a pair of Worcester-area colleges. Eisenstock is the owner of Plastics Unlimited of New England, Inc. He still resides in Worcester.

 

Virginia Lypscon Richburg, a Weymouth, Mass., native, is a member of the class of 1981. A four-year member of the women's track and cross country teams, she excelled in the heptathlon in both indoor and outdoor track. Richburg earned the Department of Athletics' Max I. Silber Award as outstanding female athlete as a freshman. She went on to earn All-Greater Boston League and All-New England honors in the heptathlon, eventually becoming the first woman in school history to qualify for the NCAA Championships in track and field during her senior campaign.

Richburg, who now resides in Randolph Center, Vt., is a secondary education mathematic teacher at Randolph Union High School. She has coached girl's soccer at the school and is currently the coach of the track and field and cross country teams, while also competing in master's track competitions herself.

 

Tim Morehouse, a Riverdale, N.Y, native, is a member of the class of 2000. A member of the Brandeis fencing team, Morehouse is one of the most successful saber fencers in school history. He earned four All-University Athletic Association awards in his career and was a three-time NCAA championship qualifier, earning All-America status all three times. As a senior, he finished fourth in the nation and was named NCAA Saber Fencer of the Year.

Since graduation, Morehouse has continued to excel, earning a top-10 world ranking in 2007. Morehouse was an alternate for the U.S. Fencing team at the 2004 Olympics in Athens and became the first Brandeis graduate to compete in the Olympic games in 2008 in Beijing. After winning their first two team matches in Beijing, he earned a silver medal to become Brandeis's first medalist.

A resident of the Bronx, N.Y., Morehouse taught for several years and was involved with the Teach For America organization. He is currently working to promote awareness of fencing and trying to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics.

 

Michael Novaria, a Brunswick, Maine, native, was a four-year starter for the Brandeis men's soccer team who graduated in 1991. He was a four-time All-New England and All-University Athletic Association forward, earning UAA Player of the Year honors as a sophomore. That season, he set two Brandeis single-season scoring marks with 23 goals and 52 points, records that still stand. He was an adidas Scholar-Athlete Honorable Mention All-American that year as well. Novaria still ranks third on the Judges' all-time lists with 123 points and 50 goals. He was awarded with the Department of Athletics' Harry, Joseph and Ida Stein Award as the outstanding male athlete as a senior, also earning the James McCully '86 Dedication Award that year.

Novaria currently resides in Wake Forest, N.C., where he is a center manager for FedEx.

 

Donald Soffer, a Duquesne, Pa. native, is a member of the class of 1954. As a member of the first Brandeis football teams, he was one of the top linemen in the early years of the squad. He never missed a practice or game in his four years at Brandeis, playing offensive guard and middle lineman on defense. Soffer served as the team's defensive captain as a junior and senior, earning the Morris Sepinuck Sportsmanship Award as a junior. Described by teammates as "a fearless and extremely hard-hitting football player", Soffer was named to an early Brandeis football "Dream Team" by Judge sports information director Cliff Sundberg.

Soffer went on to become a major real-estate developer, beginning in the suburbs of Pittsburgh and later in Florida with his company Turnberry Associates. He is a member of numerous civic and professional associations and has been a major contributor to countless charities. In 2007, Soffer made the largest single donation to Brandeis University by an alumnus. Soffer currently resides in Aventura, Fla. He has six children and 11 grandchildren.

The 2009 Brandeis Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held Sunday, November 1 at 11 a.m. at the Westin Hotel in Waltham.