At the first event, outgoing seniors were honored at a dinner that featured former hockey player Tony Hejna as the keynote speaker.

The evening opened with some remarks by Vice President for Student Life Eddie Knowles, followed by President Shirley Ann Jackson, who highlighted the accomplishments of RPI athletic teams and the people who had made them possible.

Following dinner, Hejna was introduced by Athletic Director Bob Ducatte, who mentioned several instances in which Hejna had led the hockey team to victory, including times when he was suffering from a serious back problem that eventually ended his playing career. This gave way to some remarks by Hejna.

During the course of what was a short but concise speech, Hejna mentioned how much he noticed "the quality of people" and the "incredible intelligence" that can be found at RPI. Hejna, a math major who has since gone on to become a vice president for HSBC, extolled the value of an RPI education while also praising the lessons learned from being not only a student, but also a student athlete.

Hejna went on to offer some advice to the athletes regarding the things they will remember from their college experience, suggesting that those tough days in class fade, but many of the things that happened with your team and your teammates stick in your memory. He went on to console players by suggesting that coaches can be tough, but they do have your best interests in mind.

Senior athletes were then honored, with four-year letter winners receiving a blanket, three-years earning a watch, and one- and two-year winners getting a plaque.

On Saturday, the Hall of Fame and Olympia banquet was held, celebrating the achievements of athletes over the course of the past year and the induction of former athletes into the Hall of Fame.

Carl Westerdahl, former dean of students and alumni director, was the evening’s emcee, and he offered a sub-theme of baseball. Throughout the course of the evening, Westerdahl mixed in humorous remarks, including several quotes from Yogi Berra.

Knowles gave a brief address before the meal and noted the achievements of Ducatte, who has announced his retirement.

Following the meal women’s basketball Head Coach Kim Rybczyk, acting in her role as an Olympia Advisor, introduced Olympia members Josh Black and Shannon Pratt, who in turn introduced the new Olympia inductees. Each athlete was presented with a certificate by Rybczyk.

Those earning induction this year included: Matt Anderson (swimming), Eric Byrne (football), Kristen Campbell (basketball), Pat Casey (football), Eric Cavosie (ice hockey), Laurie Dubois (diving), Allison Geer (swimming), Bob Goff (tennis), Bob Hurley (basketball), Stephanie Kubik (field hockey), Tim Lyons (swimming), James Matarese (track & field), Dena Mielke (lacrosse), Rich Mokay (football), Brian Moran (football), Mike Opalka (field hockey), Dave Perlman (field hockey), Kate Shulten (basketball), Pete Staunten (lacrosse), Ben Terzulli (lacrosse), and Emilie Wangerman (lacrosse).

Following these inductions, several athletes were honored for their individual achievements. The Henry Kumpf award honors one male and one female athlete who have not been recognized by Olympia or the school, but have contributed to their team everyday and have improved in each of their four years. The male recipient was Tom Caark (basketball), and the female was Cara Jones (ice hockey and track), both of whom were said to have been very appreciated by their coaches and teams for the constant effort they brought on a daily basis.

Next up was the Marvin Anderson award, which is unofficially considered to be the Rensselaer coach of the year award. This award recognizes coaching accomplishments in the previous year’s season, as to do otherwise would allow the award to be chosen before the spring sports had concluded. The 1999-2000 award went to football Head Coach Joe King, who led his team to an undefeated season that included the program’s first-ever NCAA berth. This marked the third time that King has received the award.

This was followed by the Thomas Sheehan Award, which goes to someone who is not a coach but is tremendously supportive in advancing the program. This award was presented to Jason Moy, who has become the voice of RPI ice hockey in recent years. Moy has also broadcast various other sporting events.

Next was the presentation of the various athlete of the year awards. As with the other awards, these were for athletic performances during the 1999-2000 year. First up was Male Freshman Athlete of the Year; this went to Marc Cavosie. Female Freshman Athlete of the Year went to Allison Geer.

After these two awards came the Male Career Athlete of the Year, which went to Matt Vittengl for his performances with both football and lacrosse. Vittengl commented on "how appreciative [he was] of the opportunities [he’d] been given." He thanked King for the "influence he had on [his] life" and lacrosse Coach Jim Townsend for the chance to play, "considering I didn’t even know the rules of the game when I got here."

The Female Career Athlete of the Year went to Laura Gregor, who helped lead the softball team to its first-ever New York Women’s Collegiate Athletic Association championship and its first-ever NCAA tournament appearance.

Next up was the Male Athlete of the Year, which went to Tom Terzulli for his achievements, including leading the nation in assists and total points for lacrosse.

Female Athlete of the Year went to Larina Suker, who dominated the pitching mound for last year’s softball team. Suker was among the nation’s leaders in earned run average and helped lead the softball team to the NCAAs.

Following these presentations, Jan S. Pirrong ’69, Rensselaer Alumni Association president, and Chuck Rancourt ’70, director of the Office of Technology, headed to the podium to present the Team of the Year award. But first, the two took the opportunity to honor Ducatte with the RAA Fellows Award and gave him a gold watch with the Rensselaer seal engraved upon it. It was noted that Ducatte was the first person from athletics to receive the Fellows Award, which is the highest honor that the RAA bestows.

The two then moved on to presenting the members of the 2000 softball team with the Team of the Year Award for their multiple accomplishments, especially their trip to the NCAAs.

Then came the induction of five athletes into the Rensselaer Athletic Hall of Fame. First to be inducted was Kimberly Kalajainen, of the women’s basketball team. She was introduced by Rybczyk, who read a letter from former women’s basketball Coach Carol Stiff praising Kalajainen’s efforts. Kalajainen then took the opportunity to credit her teammates before adding thanks to her parents, Stiff, and her advisor, "Uncle" Bob Conway, for helping her through and making the most of her college experience.

Next up was Al Stokke, a member of the class of 1943, who was noted for his tremendous swimming abilities. Elwin Stevens, a member of the class of 1946, said a few words about Stokke, suggesting that he would have "broken all the school records if he could have swam that many different events at one meet."

This was followed by the induction of former football player Mike Soucy. In introducing him, King mentioned that Soucy’s name is still used to inspire players. King also remarked how lucky he was to have gotten to coach Soucy, who had offers from Division I-AA schools but opted for Rensselaer’s excellent engineering education. Soucy gave a short speech in which he thanked his parents, his high school football coach for encouraging him to look at RPI, and King and his advisor Phyllis Gregware for helping him earn his degree "no matter how long it took." Soucy also noted that his association with RPI also led to his meeting his wife.

Lastly, men’s basketball Coach Mike Griffin introduced Aaron Bedard as the best all-around basketball player in RPI history, differentiating him from teammate and fellow Hall of Famer Tom Ronin, who was the "most dominant." Bedard was credited with being a big-game player and for leading his teams to victory under tough circumstances. This was highlighted by his team’s 18-game winning streak that propelled them as high as No. 12 in the country. Bedard thanked his parents, the coaching staff, and his teammates. He commented on the many great things that had resulted from his RPI education, including meeting his wife through a friend from RPI and the career success that he enjoys today.

In all, it was a great evening for both former and current athletes, as they celebrated both past and present accomplishments.