Last weekend was one to remember for more than 25 former student-athletes and coaches as six individuals and one team joined the legendary ranks of all-time greats in the University of Detroit Mercy Athletic Hall of Fame.
The official induction ceremony was Saturday, Jan. 28, at the University Ballroom on the McNichols Campus. The Titan greats were also honored the following day at halftime of the men’s basketball game.
The class included Teresa Emery (Softball), Tony Kaseta (Baseball), Shireese Statin (Track & Field), Jack Szczepaniuk (Track & Field) and Mark Sommerfeld (Golf), former women’s basketball coach and women’s athletic coordinator Sue (Kruszewski) Hardy and the 2004 Detroit Mercy women’s soccer team.
Emery ’93 was a three-time First Team MCC honoree and the MCC Player of the Year in 1991. She was part of some of the best teams in school history as the Titans won the MCC Championship in 1989 and 1992 and posted a school record for wins with 39 in 1991.
In the circle, she ranks first in school history in innings pitched (685), wins (74) and appearances (129) and is second in ERA (1.32). As a senior, she led the MCC with 16 wins and a 0.48 ERA.
Szczepaniuk ’04, ’08 was a 14-time Horizon League champion winning conference titles in six different events and leaving the University with five school records. He was the MCC Outstanding Runner Performer at the 2000 indoor conference championships and was then the Outstanding Running Newcomer of the Year at the outdoor meet.
He also qualified for the NCAA Outdoor NCAA Regionals in the 800m on two occasions taking 10th in 2004 with a time of 1:49.77, a school record that still stands today. He was part of a team that won a share of the indoor conference championship in 2000 and the outright league title in outdoors in 2003.
Kaseta ’75 was the ace of the Titan pitching staff during his time and holds the school record with 25 total wins. He ranks fourth in strikeouts in school history with 218. As a sophomore, he was 9-3 with a 2.29 ERA allowing just 65 hits with 62 strikeouts in 74.1 innings. As a senior, he was perfect going 7-0 on the mound and whiffing 59 batters in 56 innings, helping the Titans to a school record 36 victories.
Statin ’00, ’03 was a two-time MCC Outstanding Performer in 1999 and 2000 and the Indoor Outstanding performer in 1999. She was undefeated in league competition in the 60-meters, 100m and 200m during her career and also owns the school record in all three of those events and is on the all-time 4×100-meter relay squad.
She helped the team win the Horizon League indoor championship in 1998 and 1999 as well as the outdoor championships in 1999 and 2000.
Sommerfeld ’08 is arguably one of the best golfers in school history as he was a four-time All-Horizon League honoree, including the conference’s Newcomer of the Year as a freshman and the Player of the Year as a sophomore, junior and senior. He is second all-time in career average (73.56) and holds three of the top single-season averages in Titan history, including first with a 72.33 as a senior.
He was part of two Horizon League Championship teams and NCAA Regional participants as the Titans won the 2005 and 2007 HL titles during his time.
Sue (Kruszewski) Hardy was an intricate part of the start of women’s basketball and women’s athletics at the University of Detroit. She served as head coach of the women’s basketball teamfor three seasons (1977-80), was the first softball coach and was the cheerleading coach.
She amassed a 70-15 record as the women’s basketball head coach, including the top two single-season records in school history going 27-4 in 1978-79 and 25-8 in 1979-80. The team won the State Large College Tournament in 1979 and 1980 and earned a berth to the AIAW National Tournament. She also received the United Way Torch Drive’s Sportswomen of the Year in 1979.
The 2004 women’s soccer team set new heights on the playing field going 14-8-1, including 6-1 in the Horizon League and winning the conference tournament. The team posted some big wins on the season, including a 13-0 drubbing of Cleveland State, but it was in the postseason where the Titans made history.
Detroit Mercy edged Youngstown State in overtime in the first round of the HL Championship and then blanked its next two opponents, Green Bay (3-0) and Milwaukee (1-0) to win the first tournament title in school history. The squad received its first bid to the NCAA Tournament and quickly provided one of the year’s best upsets knocking off Michigan, 3-2, in the first round.
The tournament win remains Detroit Mercy’s only victory in the NCAA Tournament outside of men’s basketball, while the Horizon League Championship is the women’s soccer program’s last title. The 2004 team recorded 14 wins – the highest for the program in the last 20 years.
The Titan Athletic Department would like to thank everyone for coming out and making the event special.
To nominate a Titan for the next Hall of Fame in 2019, click here for the nomination criteria and form.
