GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) – Green Bay Athletics has announced that two individuals and one team will be inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame in February. Jessie Jorgenson (Theys) '03 (volleyball), Connie Scheidt (Koceja) '02 (softball) and the 1993-94 men's basketball team will be recognized for their athletic achievements and accomplishments during their time at Green Bay.
The 2016 class of inductees, the 19th class in history, brings membership in the Athletics Hall of Fame to 72 honorees. A complete list of the current Hall of Fame members can be found online here. The 2016 class will be the first induction class since 2011 when the late Everett “Butch” Reimer was inducted.
“We are thrilled to welcome Jessie Jorgenson, Connie Scheidt and the 1993-94 men's basketball team into the Athletics Hall of Fame. I want to thank the Hall of Fame selection committee for their good work,” Director of Athletics Mary Ellen Gillespie said. “This year's Hall of Fame induction will be the highlight of a new Letterwinners Weekend that welcomes back all Letterwinners to celebrate 50 years of UWGB, connect with teammates, celebrate accomplishments, hold the inaugural Former Athlete Advisory Committee meeting and honor the past with throwback games for both the men's and women's basketball teams. “
The official induction ceremony will take place Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016 from 5-7 p.m. at Oneida Country Club. Tickets are $35 for the general public and $25 for Phoenix Fund members. Those planning to attend are required to RSVP online here. Business attire encouraged. Deadline to RSVP is Feb. 20.
Tickets will be good for the reception (heavy hors d'oeuvres and non-alcoholic beverages will be provided and there will be a cash bar available) and induction. The reception will open at 5 p.m. and the induction will begin at approximately 6 p.m. The class will also be recognized at halftime of the men's basketball game versus UIC on Friday night (Feb. 26) at 7 p.m. at the Resch Center.
Please contact the Green Bay Athletics Ticket Office at 920-465-2625 for further information.
Biographical sketches on the 2016 inductees follow:
JESSIE JORGENSON (Theys), Volleyball
Theys, a native of Luxemburg, Wis., ranks first all-time in hitting percentage (.267), first all-time in blocks (473), second all-time in points (1,697) and second all-time in kills (1,351). Theys, who played from 2000-2003, holds two of the top three single-season blocks records, which she set in 2002 (142) and 2003 (137). Theys' 2003 team, her senior season, captured the Horizon League Championship, which is the only championship in the program's history. The championship also gave the program its first and only NCAA Tournament appearance.
The middle-blocker earned back-to-back First Team All-League recognition (2002-03), Theys was also named to the AVCA All-Region Team. She owns three of the top 10 records for blocks in a single season, and also recorded a .636 hitting percentage on Nov. 4, 2000 against Wright State – the second highest single game hitting percentage in program history (min. 20 attempts). Theys becomes the second volleyball student-athlete to get inducted.
CONNIE SCHEIDT (Koceja), Softball
Koceja, a native of Greendale, Wis., is the program's all-time leader in at bats (548), second all-time in runs scored (87), second all-time in hits (167, which is one hit from the most all-time), second all-time in on-base percentage (.363), second all-time in total bases (200) and is third all-time in career batting average (.305). The speedy Koceja played centerfield and hit lead-off for current Hall of Fame coach Butch Reimer.
Married to former Phoenix men's basketball player Derek Scheidt, Koceja was named First Team All-Conference in 2001 and was also named Conference Newcomer in 1999. She also earned Second Team All-Conference in 2000 and 2002, giving her All-Conference accolades in all four years of her career.
1993-94 MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM
The Phoenix opened the season at the Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage, with a five-point loss to Purdue (who finished in the Elite Eight that season), a 20-point win over NC State and an overtime defeat at the hands of Wake Forest. The results and effort put forth by Green Bay during that tournament would be a forecast of the unprecedented success to come that season, which included victories over Marquette and Oregon.
Sophomore Jeff Nordgaard, current Athletics Hall of Fame member, would prove to be the team's go-to player, scoring double-figures nearly every game that year. The Phoenix entered the Mid-Continent Conference Tournament with a conference record of 15-3 and 23-6 overall, earning the No. 1 seed. Senior Logan Vander Velden would play a big role for the Phoenix in the Mid-Con Tournament, scoring 17, 10 and 14 points respectively in the team's tournament title run. Green Bay would take down UIC in the Mid-Con Tournament Championship Game 61-56, but the biggest victory in program history was yet to come.
Ogden, Utah, and Jason Kidd and 16th-ranked California would be the draw for the Phoenix in the 1994 NCAA Tournament, which was given a No. 12 seed for its impressive 26-6 record entering the tournament. Kidd and Lamond Murray, both NBA lottery picks that year, would combine to go just 10-for-38 from the field and only 1-for-14 from three-point range against the stifling Phoenix defense highlighted by lockdown defender Gary Grzesk, who drew the roll of guarding Kidd and played a team-high 37 minutes. Senior John Martinez, current Hall of Fame member, recorded a career-high six steals, dished out seven assists and knocked down three three-pointers, while Nordgaard led the scoring efforts with 24 points.
Green Bay would go on to win the game 61-57, giving the program its first and only win in the NCAA Tournament. The win is regarded by many as the best in the program's storied history and helped put Green Bay Basketball on the national map. Led by Hall of Fame coach Dick Bennett, the Phoenix roster that season was as follows: Ben Berlowski, Gary Grzesk, Eric Jackson, Eric LeDuc, Jeremy Ludvigson, John Martinez, Jeff Nordgaard, Logan VanderVelden, Jeff Zavada, Luke Madsen, Sam Maddox, Rico Rondorf and Pete Wade.
The most successful men's basketball team in the institution's proud 50-year history, the 1993-94 team, will be the first Phoenix team to be inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame.
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