Six individuals will be inducted in September into the SIUE Athletics Hall of Fame. The ceremony will take place Sept. 14 at SIUE’s Morris University Center. Reservations for the event can be made by calling SIUE Athletics at 618-650-2871. Tickets are $30. A social for all inductees will be held at 5:30 p.m. followed by the induction ceremony at 6:30 p.m.
This year’s honorees include Michelle (Gilman) Cox (volleyball), LeAnn (Bryan) Harris (women’s basketball), Dion Joannou (men’s tennis), Bob Kessen (men’s soccer), Marco Winter (men’s tennis), and Michelle (Wreen) Staroba (women’s tennis). This the ninth class to be inducted. The inaugural SIUE Athletics Hall of Fame class was inducted in 2005.
A brief sketch of each inductee follows:
LeAnn (Bryan) Harris, Women’s Basketball (Carlyle, Ill./Mater Dei HS)
Bryan led the Cougars in scoring for three consecutive seasons and helped the Cougars to its first-ever NCAA Division II postseason appearances during the 1993-94 season. An All-American during the 1993-94 season, she was the first player in school history to record 1,500 points in three seasons. The fourth all-time leading scorer with 1,518 points, she set the school record in 1994 with 40 points in a single game against Southern Indiana.
Michelle (Gilman) Cox, Volleyball (Springfield, Ill./Lutheran HS)
Gilman put the SIUE volleyball program on the map as the school’s career leader in kills (1,898), attempts (4,340), service aces (156), points (2,593.5), points per game (5.28), blocks per game (1.54), and total blocks (756). A two-time Great Lakes Valley Conference Player of the Year, she was inducted into the GLVC Hall of Fame in 2011. A starter on SIUE’s first intercollegiate volleyball team in 1995, she helped the Cougars to their first NCAA Tournament appearance and victory in 1998.
Dion Joannou, Men’s Tennis (Overland, Mo./Ritenour HS)
A three-time All-American, Joannou kept the SIUE men’s tennis program in the national conversation with a seventh-place finish at the 1989 NCAA Division II Championships. He earned All-American status as a singles player in 1988. He joined teammate Marco Winter as double All-Americans in 1988 and 1989.
Bob Kessen, Men’s Soccer (St. Louis, Mo./Rosary HS)
A member of the 1972 national championship team, Bob Kessen helped SIUE men’s soccer make the jump to Division I status. In his four seasons, the Cougars advanced to the NCAA Tournament all four years. Appearing in 52 games as a midfielder, Kessen would be honored in 1974 as an All-American. He completed his career with seven goals and eight assists, including two goals and four assists in his All-American season.
Marco Winter, Men’s Tennis (Heemstede, Netherlands/Hageveld)
A five-time All-American, Winter helped keep the SIUE men’s tennis program in the national spotlight with a seventh place finish at the 1989 NCAA Division II Championships. He joined numerous other Cougars with multiple All-American finishes, including three straight singles All-American finishes from 1987 to 1989. He joined with teammate Dion Joannou for back-to-back doubles All-American finishes in 1988 and 1989.
Michelle (Wreen) Staroba, Women’s Tennis (Philadelphia, Penn./Lincoln HS)
A member of three national championship teams from 1986 to 1988, Michelle Wreen helped provide needed depth for some Hall of Fame teams. She and her doubles partner Sandi Stace provided the deciding point for the 1988 national championship victory over Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo. It would be the third of SIUE’s four consecutive national title runs. Wreen played just behind fellow Hall of Famers Christina Bokelund and Portia George and earned doubles All-American status in 1987.
Photo: LeAnn Harris.