STONY BROOK, N.Y. – Seven standout Seawolves and the 2012 Baseball Team were enshrined in the Stony Brook Rita & Kurt Eppenstein Athletics Hall of Fame on Friday night. The Hall of Fame ceremony honored the induction class of 2022 inside Island Federal Arena, as the inductees were celebrated for their outstanding contributions to Stony Brook Athletics.
Gallery: (10-21-2022) 2022 Stony Brook Athletics Hall of Fame
The 2022 Hall of Fame class was comprised of the 2012 Baseball Team, Allison Brewster (Cukrov) – softball, Darcy Heuser-Ryan – women's swimming & diving, Kenneth P. LaValle – athletics, Claire Cannetti (Petersen) – women's lacrosse, Tyler Santucci – football, Dale Summerville – men's cross country/track & field, and Jameel Warney – men's basketball.
The Athletics Hall of Fame began in 1991 with the induction of its first members. On October 20, 2007, the Hall of Fame was dedicated as the Rita & Kurt Eppenstein Athletics Hall of Fame to honor the memory of Rita and Kurt Eppenstein, two quintessential New Yorkers whose lives serve as a higher lesson in ethics, character, and perseverance, and who sacrificed much to enable their son to graduate from college and law school and to enjoy the opportunities and experiences that flowed from their own American dream. Their son, Ted Eppenstein '68, was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in the fourth class to be inducted in 1994.
2012 Baseball Team:
The 2012 Baseball Team becomes the first team in Stony Brook history to be inducted into the Stony Brook Athletics Hall of Fame. The Seawolves shocked the world in 2012 as they won a program-record and NCAA-best 52 games en route to their first-ever appearance in the College World Series. Stony Brook became the first and only team from the Northeast Region to advance to the CWS since the NCAA went away from geographic regionals in 1987 after it defeated LSU in the Super Regionals. That season, the Seawolves had a conference-best 12 student-athletes earn All-Conference honors and seven student-athletes were selected in the 2012 MLB Draft, with five being picked in the first 12 rounds. Travis Jankowski was named the ABCA National Co-Player of the Year and America East Player of the Year, Tyler Johnson was tabbed the America East Pitcher of the Year and was an Academic All-American, Cole Peragine claimed the America East Rookie of the Year honor, and coach
Matt Senk earned the NCBWA National Coach of the Year and America East Coach of the Year. Stony Brook finished the year ranked in the top 10 in four major polls including No. 7 in Baseball America.
Allison Brewster (Cukrov) '15, Softball:
Cukrov finished her career as the program's all-time wins, saves, and complete games leader and still holds those records. Over the course of her collegiate career, she was named the America East Pitcher of the Year twice (2012, 2014), was selected to the All-America East First Team three times (2012, 2014, 2015), and was an America East All-Rookie Team selection in 2012. Cukrov helped lead the Seawolves to their 2013 America East Championship and was tabbed the Most Outstanding Player of the conference tournament after going 3-1 in the circle with a 1.11 ERA. She also recorded 11 strikeouts and a save en route to the America East title. Cukrov tossed one perfect game and one no-hitter in her career.
Darcy Heuser-Ryan '12, Swimming & Diving:
Heuser-Ryan is one of the most decorated swimmers in Stony Brook history. She held individual team records in the 100 yard freestyle, 200 yard freestyle, 500 yard freestyle, 1000 yard freestyle, and 1650 yard freestyle. She also was a member of the relay teams that held program records in the 200 yard freestyle relay, 400 yard freestyle relay, 800 yard freestyle relay, and 400 yard medley relay. In June of 2012, Heuser-Ryan qualified for a C Final at the Santa Clara Grand Prix where she competed on the international stage. In 2009, she competed at the Junior Nationals and in 2010 earned an award for undergraduate achievement. As a freshman, she was named the team MVP and was later tabbed team captain during her junior and senior years.
Kenneth P. LaValle, Stony Brook Athletics Champion:
LaValle has been a longtime Stony Brook Athletics champion in his role as New York State Senator and Chair of the Higher Education Committee. One of his many goals over the tenure of his career was to see Stony Brook attain Division I status, and have the facilities necessary to achieve that goal. From the late 1980s, LaValle focused his energy on the creation and construction of the football/lacrosse stadium at Stony Brook and worked with several administrations to bring this to fruition and succeeded admirably in this mission. Through the years, LaValle had the vision to pursue many initiatives on the campus including the Centers for Advance Technology. LaValle was instrumental in creating The Long Island High Technology Incubator at Stony Brook and championed the Stony Brook University Incubator at Calverton. The Fine Arts Center was a result of LaValle's work, as was the Indoor Sports Complex, which provides the campus with regulation athletic facilities. He was awarded the University Medal from Stony Brook in tribute to his work in higher education, the highest honor accorded by the university.
Claire Cannetti (Petersen) '13, Women's Lacrosse:
In two seasons at Stony Brook, Petersen helped elevate the women's lacrosse program into the national spotlight. Petersen was the program's first All-American in 2012 and led the team to their first-ever NCAA Tournament berth in 2013. Over the course of two seasons, she recorded 174 points as she tallied 69 goals and registered 105 assists in just 33 games. Her 105 assists are the fourth-most in program history and her 174 points are the 10th-most. Petersen is one of just four Seawolves to dish out over 100 assists in a season and she holds the NCAA records for assists in a game with 11 and assists per game in a career with 3.18. In 2013, she played the final four games of her career with a torn ACL and partially torn meniscus, tallying 11 points and playing a pivotal role in the Seawolves' America East Championship and NCAA Tournament First Round win during that span.
Tyler Santucci '10, Football:
Santucci was the football program's first full scholarship linebacker and he is regarded as one of the best defensive players in school history. Santucci became the Seawolves' first AP All-American in 2009 after he was named the Big South Defensive Player of the Year. Over the course of four seasons, the linebacker recorded 284 total tackles. He finished the 2009 season with a career-high 93 tackles. Santucci was an integral part of Stony Brook's first-ever Big South Championship team in 2009. Following his senior season, he was honored by the ECAC as an FCS All-Star. After his collegiate career concluded, Santucci was recognized as one of the top student-athletes of his era as he was selected to the Big South All-Decade Team.
Dale Summerville '05, Men's Cross Country/Track & Field:
Summerville is one of the most decorated runners in Stony Brook history. It has been noted that his arrival on campus in August 2001 was responsible for defining the direction of the Cross Country and Track & Field program. Summerville came to Long Island from New Zealand and is the one that unlocked the door to the rich talent that has passed through Stony Brook over the last 20 years. In the sport of cross country, he was named to the America East All-Conference Team, was a Metropolitan Champion, was an IC4A Team Champion, and competed in a pair of NCAA Northeast Regionals (2003, 2004). On the track, he was an America East Champion in the 4x800 meter relay (2002) and Distance Medley Relay (2004). In 2004, he also won a Metropolitan Championship in the Distance Medley Relay. Summerville was a 2002 Millrose Games runner-up in the 4x800 meter relay and was a seven-time IC4A qualifier. Academically, Summerville earned the 2003-04 SUNY Chancellor award, was a Cross Country Academic All-American, and was tabbed to the America East Commissioner's Honor Roll.
Jameel Warney '16, Men's Basketball:
Warney is the program's all-time leader in points, rebounds, blocks, and games played. He is the winningest player in school history and led the Seawolves to their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 2016. Over the course of his collegiate career, he played in 135 games and averaged 15.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.0 blocks, and 1.6 assists per game. He was a three-time America East Player of the Year, two-time Defensive Player of the Year, and won the 2012-13 Rookie of the Year. He was a three-time AP All-American Honorable Mention, was tabbed to the All-Met First Team three times, selected to the NABC All-District 1 First Team three times, and was the 2016 ECAC Division I Player of the Year. Warney became the 110th player in Division I history to reach 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in a career. In the 2016 America East Championship game, he scored a Stony Brook Division I record 43 points en route to the Seawolves' win over Vermont. Earlier that season, he set the Division I single-game rebounds record with 23 boards against UMBC. Warney went on to become the first Stony Brook alumnus to play in the NBA when he made his debut with the Dallas Mavericks on March 11, 2018, against the Houston Rockets.
