The Brandeis athletics program has produced many greats over the years. There are athletes who have walked through the doors at Brandeis and accomplished feats that to this day remain unmatched. The university announced in June that five athletes and one team will be inducted into the Brandeis Athletics Hall of Fame come next October.
The 2017 Brandeis Athletics Hall of Fame inductees include: the 1989 Men’s Tennis Team, Jon Fobia ’73, Greg Steelman ’91, Michael Mayer ’94, Marshall Goldman ’03 and Sara Albert ’04.
In 1989, the men’s tennis team was led by coach Tom Foley. Foley not only led his nine-man team to an impressive 13-1 record, but also achieved two first-time accomplishments for the program: a University Athletic Conference (“UAA”) title along with berth in the 1989 NCAA tournament. The whole team will be inducted at the ceremony during Homecoming in October.
Jon Fobia participated in the highly coveted soccer program at Brandeis. The 1973 graduate was an an All-New England selection in each of the three seasons he played in—and at the time, all-star teams included Division I, II and III. Despite not having played for legendary soccer coach Mike Coven (who announced his retirement in December after 44 years), Fobia will be remembered as one of the top soccer players in Brandeis history.
A true “work horse” would be the proper term to describe Greg Steelman. Steelman holds three Brandeis track and field records in throwing: the discus, shotput and 35-pound weight throw. Along with holding individual track and field records at Brandeis, Steelman won a national championship in 1986 (while setting an NCAA discus record during the same tournament).
The Brandeis Fencing team was guided by the saber of Michael Mayer. Mayer’s accomplishments included two UAA titles and a fourth place finish in the saber his junior year. A number four finish in the saber was best finish in the event for Brandeis at the time.
Muhammad Ali’s famous quote “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee” stands true for 2003 graduate Marshall Goldman. One of the top butterfly swimmers in Brandeis history, Goldman participated in the NCAA championships in an astounding three of his four seasons swimming the butterfly. Goldman holds ten school records (not too shabby) and to this day, he remains in the university’s top three butterfly swimmers.
How about some love for the softball team? Sara Albert remains of the great softball players to take a swing for the Brandeis softball team. Albert’s power will remain ingrained in the softball program for years to come; she is second in school history in total triples, home runs, runs-batted-in and slugging percentage. Her junior year, Albert made her mark as first-team All-New England. That season, Albert was top in the country in home runs, RBI’s and slugging percentage.
