Former Winthrop staff and athletes inducted into Hall of Fame
Winthrop Athletics inducted six previous Eagle members to its Hall of Fame at the beginning of the 2018 year. This was held in the Richardson Ballroom inside the DiGiorgio Campus Center.
The six members include former men’s baseball coach Joe Hudak, former softball outfielder Lisa Kingsmore, former men’s tennis player Vinicius Bortolatto, former men’s soccer offensive player Saidi Isaac and loyal Eagle donators Ann and Vernon Terry.
Hudak was an Eagle for 19 seasons as head coach for the baseball team. He accomplished three Big South Conference championships and five NCAA Regional show outs. Hudak’s 665 wins are the most by any Winthrop coach are second all-time in the Big South. He was also named the coach for the 1990-99 Big South All-Decade Team.
Kingsmore holds the top two batting averages for a single-season. She was the Big South Player of the Year in 2008 and 2009, a three-time NFCA All-Region First Team selection, a three-time All-Big South First Team selection, a three-time CoSIDA Academic All-American and also earned NFCA 2008 All-America Second Team honors. Kingsmore was named to the 2000-09 Big South All-Decade Team.
Bortolatto was a three-time Big South selection in singles and twice in doubles during his career with the men’s tennis team. In the year of 2006, this Brazilian native was accounted for the Arthur Ashe Sports Scholar selection. He was also named an ITA Scholar Athlete and then was honored to be apart of the Big South All-Academic Team. He successfully averaged 20 wins per season.
Isaac completed his Eagles career as one of the top scorers in the history of the men’s soccer program at Winthrop. He accomplished this in only playing in three seasons. He was an All-Big South First Team selection three times, a three-time NSCAA All-Region Team member, the 2006 TopDrawerSoccer.com All-America selection, and the 2006 Big South Player of the Year. Since the 2017 season, Isaac still ranks third in goals for Division One level players. During Isaac’s career he was named to the National Team of the Week four times. Isaac was also voted to the 2000-09 Big South All-Decade Team.
The Terry family have been loyal fans of Winthrop Athletics for over 20 years. They have invested endless time for the various programs Winthrop Athletics offers. The Terry’s have coordinated cookouts and functions these programs. Uniquely, they have funded three endowments and have the naming rights for the softball tower and field. Ann and Vernon were the first to donate funds to have this facility named after them.
With these six members being inducted, the Winthrop Athletics Hall of Fame now has a total of 83 members. Winthrop Athletics is honored to have these six additions be recognized in their program for their achievements.
