FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
S-21-02-03
Thursday, October 10, 2002

Elizabethtown College to Induct New Ira R. Herr Athletic Hall of Fame Members and Retire Jersey

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. --- Elizabethtown College will induct four alumni into its Ira R. Herr Hall of Fame during its Homecoming festivities Friday, October 18 through Sunday, October 20. They will be formally inducted during the Hall of Fame Dinner, which will be held on campus Sunday, October 20 at 1:00 p.m. Also at that time, Elizabethtown will retire the jersey of one Blue Jay athlete, and the College will formally recognize the eight alumni whose jerseys were previously retired.

The alumni to be inducted into the Ira R. Herr Hall of Fame include Janet Strickler Evans '70, Timothy Gerber '90, Bruce Jacobs '73, and David Parry '86. Jay Varrato '91, already a Hall of Fame member, will have his jersey retired.

Janet Strickler Evans, a 1970 alumna of the College in elementary education, played for the field hockey team from 1966 to 1969. She played both inner and wing for the Blue Jays, compiling seven goals in her career. She was named to the Central Penn Second Team and was honored as a third team Mideast All-Star in her senior year. A native of Abington, PA and graduate of Abington High School, Strickler Evans currently resides in Haverford, PA.

Timothy Gerber, the most recent Elizabethtown alumnus to be inducted this year, graduated from the College in 1990 with a degree in business administration. One of the most successful wrestlers in the program's history, he capped off a spectacular career by achieving All-American status his senior year. During his senior year, he posted a 40-5-1 record, with his total of 40 wins setting a program record at the time. He also won the Middle Atlantic Conference championship at 126 pounds that year. His career record at Elizabethtown is 112-34-2, and his total of 112 wins ranks third in the history of the Etown wrestling program. A native of Pottstown, PA, Gerber graduated from Owen J. Roberts High School. He currently resides in Glenmoore, PA.

Bruce Jacobs, a 1973 Elizabethtown College alumnus with a degree in social science and history, was a defender for the men's soccer team from 1969 to 1972. As such, he only had the opportunity to score two goals and tally four assists in his career. However, during his tenure in the backfield Etown went 43-13-4. He was twice named a first team Middle Atlantic Conference Northern Division All-Star in 1971 and 1972, made the MAC Northern Division Honorable Mention team as a sophomore in 1970, and he was honored as the Most Valuable Player of the MAC Northern Division his senior year. A native of West Chester, PA, Jacobs graduated from West Chester High School. He currently resides in Chalfont, PA.

A 1986 alumnus of Elizabethtown College majoring in communications, David Parry became Elizabethtown's only All-American in diving in 1986. Competing in the one-meter diving competition at the NCAA Division III championships, he made the finals of the event and placed 16th overall with a final score of 351.75. His leadership out of the pool was recognized early by his peers, and he was named the captain of the men's swimming team at Etown while only a sophomore in the 1983-84 season. By then he had already set program record scores for both six and 11 dive events in dual meets. A native of Baltimore, MD, Parry graduated from Woodlawn High School. He currently resides in Severna Park, MD.

Jay Varrato was inducted into the Ira R. Herr Hall of Fame in 1998, and he becomes only the ninth Elizabethtown athlete to have his number retired. Of the long string of great goaltenders that have passed through Elizabethtown's men's soccer program, Varrato may have been the best. The goaltender for Etown's 1989 national championship team, he was a part of 50 Elizabethtown shutouts during his three year career from 1988 to 1990. He holds numerous Elizabethtown records, among them most career shutouts, most career wins (66), most games started (76), most wins in a season (24 in 1989), and lowest goals against average in a season (0.33 in 1989). He was named an All-American in both 1988 and 1990. A resident of York, PA while at Elizabethtown, Varrato currently resides in Allentown, PA.

The other eight Elizabethtown athletes whose jerseys were retired in previous years were not formally recognized at the time, and the College is recognizing them this year as their jerseys have been recently re-mounted for the trophy case in Thompson Gymnasium.

They include men's soccer players Ron Good '68, Dave Good '72, Phil Good '79, and Al Hershey '64, men's basketball player John Lentz '68, field hockey player Joan Albright Lobach '80, and women's basketball players Page Lutz '84 and Jane Meyer '86. All are Ira R. Herr Hall of Fame members.