Riverside—UC Riverside Interim Director of Athletics Janet Lucas, in conjunction with the Highlander Athletics Association, announced today that the Highlanders are inducting four former student-athletes and one team to the UC Riverside Athletics Hall of Fame on March 21, 2015.
Joining the 65 current inductees at a March 21, 2015 ceremony at the Mission Inn Music Room are Otis Allmon (Men's Tennis, 1986-88), Sheri Benson-Rawlins (Women's Volleyball, 1984, '86, '88-89), Maurice Pullum (Men's Basketball, 1987-89), John Wallace (Freshman Basketball, 1955-56; Football, 1956-59) and the 1977 National Championship Baseball Team. The Highlanders are also honoring the career of long-time athletic trainer Vic DeLeeuw (1970-2002).
The ceremony is slated for 6 pm PT and tickets are $100. Corporate partnerships and table purchases are also available. Those interested in attending should contact the Highlanders Athletics Ticket Office at (951) 827-4653.
"This is a unique opportunity to honor those who have contributed significantly to the development and success of the University's intercollegiate athletics program," said Lucas, "and we are very proud to be adding these inductees to the other distinguished members of the UC Riverside Athletics Hall of Fame."
OTIS ALLMONMen's Tennis (1986-88)Otis Allmon was a three-year letter winner for the Highlanders who participated in the NCAA Tournament in each of his three seasons. In 1987, he earned All-America honors in singles, and in 1988 he teamed with Fred Morris to garner All-America accolades in doubles.
He and Morris were ranked in the top 10 in the nation in 1988, going 18-8 in the regular season, including 12-0 against Division II competition, advancing all the way to the NCAA Quarterfinals.
Allmon was also ranked in the top 10 in the nation at various points in singles that season posting a 23-16 overall mark.
The team went 19-9 in 1988 finishing the season ranked fifth in the nation and receiving the program's first bid to the NCAA Tournament. Four of their nine loses came to the four teams ranked ahead of them, and the other five came against Division I competition.
Allmon was inducted into the UC Riverside Men's Tennis Hall of Fame in 2002.
SHERI BENSON-RAWLINSWomen's Volleyball (1984, 1986, 1988-89)Sheri Benson-Rawlins is a two-time All-American volleyball player (1988, 1989), who also earned a pair of CCAA Conference Player of the Year awards (1988, 1989), and a National Player of the Year honor (1989) during her time with the Highlanders.
UC Riverside went 100-34-2 during Benson's four seasons in blue and gold, including 40-8 in CCAA competition. She led the Highlanders to the NCAA Division II National Championship in 1986, and to fourth and third place finishes in the AVCA poll in 1988 and 1989 respectively.
After her final year of competition, Benson ranked first in UC Riverside history in kills (1,458) and total attacks (3,327), and 25 years later those totals have been surpassed by just one player.
She also still ranks fourth on the Highlanders career hitting percentage list (.280), second in kills per game (3.7), first in service aces with nearly twice as many as the second place student-athlete (182), first in digs (1,556) and digs per game (4.0) and third in solo blocks (77).
In addition, she owns the third and fourth highest single-season kills totals in Highlanders history, as well as the second, third and seventh most aces in a season, and second and fifth most digs. The two highest single-match kill percentages in UC Riverside history are still hers as well.
MAURICE PULLUMMen's Basketball (1987-89)Maurice Pullum played two seasons for the Highlanders, leading UC Riverside to a pair of CCAA championships as well as its best record in program history—a 30-4 campaign in 1988-89, which ended with a third place finish in the NCAA Tournament.
The Midlothian, Illinois native led UCR in scoring both years, and was named an All-American after his senior campaign. In addition to leading the Highlanders to the Final Four that year, Pullum set the school's single-season scoring record (632) while connecting on a program-record and CCAA-record 100 three pointers. No member of the Highlanders has come within 96 points of Pullum's single-season scoring mark since.
On Christmas Day, 1988, Pullum poured in a game-high 33 points as UCR upset the fourth-ranked Division I team in the nation, the Iowa Hawkeyes, at the Chaminade Christmas Classic in Hawai'i.
Despite playing just two seasons for the blue and gold, Pullum is still ranked first in UCR history in made three pointers (193), fifth in scoring average (16.7), seventh in points (1,068), third in three-point field goal percentage (.467) and fourth in free-throw percentage (.821).
He earned All-CCAA honors as both a junior and a senior, and the Highlanders honored him as part of their Bring Back The Past series of events on February 20, 2013 (
watch Pullum BBTP highlight video).
JOHN WALLACEFreshman Basketball (1955-56), Football (1956-59)John Wallace began his athletics career at UC Riverside in the fall of 1955 as a member of the Freshman Basketball Team, and joined the Football Team in the fall of 1956.
By graduation, Wallace earned the unique distinction of being the Highlanders' first recipient of four varsity letters in a single sport. A special gold ring was designed and presented to Wallace by UC Riverside Athletics Director Jack Hewitt to commemorate the honor.
Wallace was a 60-minute player, playing both right guard and end on offense and middle linebacker on defense. At the end of his first season, he was named the team's Best Tackler. Subsequent recognition included serving as team captain during his junior and senior seasons, and being named Best Defensive Player and Most Valuable Player.
Following graduation, Wallace entered the US Navy through the Officer Candidate program, and completed a distinguished 30-year career rising to the rank of captain. His tours of duty included classified missions aboard US submarines as a Russian linguist and a combat tour in Vietnam.
He received several personal awards during his career, and his unit in Vietnam was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation for "Extraordinary Heroism in Military Operations Against an Armed Enemy."
Wallace earned his master's degree at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. Following his retirement, he was an adjunct faculty member for Hawaii Pacific University, and took up distance running. Wallace has completed the annual Honolulu Marathon upwards of a dozen times, with a best time of under four hours, and he took first place three times in the family division.
The late Pete Kettela, who gained entry into the UC Riverside Athletics Hall of Fame in 1986, had this to say about Wallace on his nomination form: "As a former player and head coach at UCR, I know it is easy to see the accomplishments of the people who have good stats ... but I know the stats I had as a player were directly related to the proficiency of my teammates, and especially those of John Wallace."
1977 BASEBALL TEAMDivision II National ChampionsIn Head Coach Jack Smitheran's fifth season at UC Riverside, the Highlanders claimed the program's first national title while setting a new single season record for victories with a 43-19 mark. The Highlanders were led by Division II's top two hurlers, as Dale Reis went 16-1 and Steve Glaum was 13-4. UCR's staff also featured future Major Leaguer Eric Show. At the plate, Jeff Carsley led the nation with 102 hits en route to a .416 batting average. Another future big leaguer, Steve Lubratich, stepped up with a .344 average.
UCR opened the season going 6-4 over its first 10 games. The Highlanders caught fire in March, however, rattling off eight straight victories. After two losses, UCR again posted an eight-game winning streak to improve to 22-6. UCR rolled through the California Collegiate Athletic Association schedule with a 15-9 record to earn the program's second trip to the West Regional in three seasons.
The double-elimination regional, held at Riverside, saw UCR open with victories over Cal State Hayward and Cal State Northridge. In the championship, Hayward bounced back for a 7-3 win to set up a winner-takes-all rubber match. Up stepped Show, who tossed a three-hitter to send the Highlanders to their first College World Series appearance.
Traveling to Springfield, Illinois, for the World Series, UCR pounded its first two opponents, beating Delta State 8-2 and blanking Missouri-St. Louis 12-0. The Highlanders stumbled against Eckerd College 8-2, but recovered to squeeze out an 8-7 win over Valdosta State. UCR then downed Delta 5-3 to set up a rematch against Eckerd.
The championship game featured a gritty outing from Glaum. Pitching for the third time in five days, Glaum threw a complete-game six-hitter with seven strikeouts as the Highlanders claimed the championship in just one hour, 55 minutes.
Smitheran was named the Division II Coach of the Year.
VIC DELEEUWSports Medicine (1970-2002)
Vic DeLeeuw began treating UC Riverside athletics as a member of the Athletics Training Staff in June of 1970. During his tenure, the Highlanders won five national championships in karate, three in volleyball and two in baseball, and brought home countless conference titles. Through it all, DeLeeuw was there to ensure that UC Riverside student-athletes were competition ready.
In 1984, DeLeeuw served as the athletics trainer at the Cycling Venue for the Los Angeles Summer Olympic Games. A long-time member of the California Athletic Trainers Association, the Far-West Athletic Trainers Association and the National Athletic Trainers Association, DeLeeuw retired from UC Riverside in 2002.
Since then he has remained active with the Highlanders, serving on the Athletics Association Board and chairing the Hall of Fame Committee, which inducted its first class in nearly two decades back in 2011.
