Spring 2018

In this issue 2018 Hall of Fame Class

Announced

Swim & Dive Host AAC Champs

Football Announces 2018 Recruiting Class

Jerry LeVias Mustang Football Golf Classic - Register Today!

Ponies in the Press

In Memoriam

Upcoming Dates and Events

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Spring Sports are Underway!

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SMU Announces 2018 Athletics Hall of Fame Class SMU and SMU Athletics, in conjunction with the SMU Lettermen’s Association, have announced the newest class of the SMU Athletics Hall of Fame. The 2018 in-ductees include: Janielle Dodds, Denny Holman, Wes Hopkins, Hank Kuehne, Cheril Santini, and Clyde Carter. These athletes will be recognized at the annual Hall of Fame banquet and induction ceremony on Friday, May 4 at Moody Coliseum. Dodds was a four-time All-Conference honoree and two time All-America Honorable Mention selection. She holds the SMU career record for points (1,861) and rebounds (974). As a senior, she led the Mustangs to the 2008 NCAA Tournament and a 24-9 record. That season, she was named the Conference USA Tournament MVP after leading SMU to a 73-57 win over No. 18 UTEP in the championship game Holman helped the Mustangs to three straight Southwest Conference titles and NCAA Tourna-ments, including a regional final appearance as a senior in 1967. He was named SWC Player of the Year in 1967, also earning all-conference and all-district selections. The Mustangs went 54-25 during his seasons on the Hilltop with a 33-9 league record. Holman went on to play profes-sionally for the Dallas Chaparrals Hopkins was an All-Southwest Conference safety on the 1981 and 1982 football national cham-pionship teams. He had 14 career interceptions, including a league-leading six picks in 1982. He had an SMU-record four interceptions in a game against Houston in 1981. Hopkins was a sec-ond-round pick by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1983 NFL draft, and played 11 seasons for the franchise. He was a Pro Bowl selection in 1985 and was the 1988 Ed Block Courage Award re-cipient. Kuehne was a three-time All-American from 1996 to 1999. He won the 1998 U.S. Amateur championship and was the 1996 Southwest Conference individual champion. Kuehne represent-ed the United States as an amateur on the 1998 Eisenhower Trophy team and in the 1998 and 1999 Palmer Cups. He went on to play 11 years on the PGA Tour with eight top-10 finishes, in-cluding runner-up marks at the 2003 Shell Houston Open and 2005 John Deere Classic. He also collected four career professional victories. Santini was a ten-time All-American and two-time NCAA Champion in 1-meter diving, winning the national title in 1992 and 1995. She swept the Southwest Conference championship on 1-meter over her four years, while winning the 10-meter crown in 1992 and 3-meter title in 1993. Following the 1995 season, she was awarded the NCAA's Top VII Award. Santini was also a three-time Academic All-American. In 1994, she was named one of Glamour magazine's "Top Ten College Winners." Carter played football and basketball on the Hilltop, earning All-America honors on the gridiron in 1934. As a tackle, he led SMU to an 8-2-2 record as a senior in 1934. On the hardwood, Carter guided the Mustangs to a 14-3 record to capture the 1934-35 Southwest Conference Champion-ship. Tickets for the ceremony and banquet can be purchased online here. For additional information on purchasing tickets to the SMU Hall of Fame Banquet, please call 214-768-4314 or email Jeff Lockhart at lockhart@smu.edu.

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SMU Class of ‘15 —Holly Verner Mark your calendar for upcoming events and dates this spring!

Equestrian

UEC Championships at Dallas Equestrian Center. Dallas Texas. March 30-31

Football

Annual Spring game/ Lettermen’s Mixer: Saturday, April 14, 10am, Ford Stadium

Hall of Fame Banquet: Friday May 4, 6pm, Moody Coliseum

Jerry LeVias Annual Golf Classic: Cowboys Golf Club in Grapevine June 1. (8am shotgun start)

Men's Tennis

SMU vs. Wichita State at SMU Tennis Complex. Dallas TX. April 6. 4:30 pm

SMU vs. UT Arlington at SMU Tennis Complex. Dallas, TX. April 8. 5 pm

SMU vs. Tulsa at SMU Tennis Complex. Dallas, TX. April 13. 4:30 pm

American Athletic Conference Men’s Tennis Championships at SMU Tennis Complex. Dallas,

TX. April 19-22 Women's Tennis

SMU vs Houston at SMU Tennis Complex. Dallas, TX. April 7. 12 pm

SMU vs. UNT at SMU Tennis Complex. Dallas, TX. April 12. 5 pm

SMU Vs. ULM at SMU Tennis Complex. Dallas, TX. April 14. 12 pm

American Athletic Conference Women’s Tennis Championships at SMU Tennis Complex.

Dallas, TX. April 18-21.

During her time on the Hilltop, Holly pursued a degree in Markets and Culture and excelled in varsity tennis on full scholarship. During her college career she

attained a 11-5 record in singles matches and her rec-ord-breaking doubles record of 26-7. After graduation she worked as an assistant account executive at Maroch Partners in Dallas, before returning to California to pursue her passion for tennis. Holly is currently train-ing at the Riviera Country Club, and in October of last year she earned two title wins in six tournaments in Southern California. Holly’s commitment to her sport shows tremendous gains in her fitness and mental training to play her way up the WTA rankings and con-tinue her dream to play at the professional level. To move through the rankings her success is determinant

upon her performance at the Women’s Open later this summer. To learn more about Holly and support her passion for tennis, visit her website at makeachamp.com/hollyverner .

Men’s Soccer Players selected in 2018 MLS Draft SMU’s Michael Nelson and Mauro Cichero were selected in the 2018

MLS SuperDraft in Janu-ary. Nelson was selected 20th overall by the Houston Dynamo and Cichero was picked 29th overall by FC Dallas. This year marks the eighth time the Mustangs have had multiple picks in the MLS SuperDraft.

Nelson earned his third consecutive American Athletic Conference Goal-keeper of the Year honor after helping the Mustangs secure the 2017 American athletic Confer-ence regular season and tourna-ment titles. This year Nelson recorded a 17-3-1 record and 84 percent saving percentage. Dur-ing his time at SMU, he recorded a 47-20-7 record between the posts, with 27 career shutouts, and 272 saves.

Cichero, the 2017 American Athletic Conference Midfielder of the Year and first-team all-conference selec-tion, helped the Mustangs win the American regular season and tourna-ment with nine goals and seven as-sists this year. He was named a Hermann Trophy semifinalist for the second time in his carrier and earned 69 points including 24 career goals and 21 assists. Cichero will be join-

ing fellow teammate Jordan Cano in the MLS who signed with FC Dallas on January 11. The Mustangs finished the season with a record of 17-3-1 and ranked No. 8 in the United Soccer Coaches’ Poll. After winning the American Athletic Conference Regular Season and Tournament titles, the team advanced to the third round of the NCAA tournament.

SMU Hosts AAC 2018 Swim & Dive Championships

SMU hosted the 2018 American Athletic Conference Swim & Dive Championships this past February at the newly built Robson & Lindley Aquatics Center and Barr-McMillion Natatorium. Competing against the Mustangs were Cincinnati, Connecti-cut, East Carolina, Houston, and Tulane. For the Women’s team, SMU has won 17 of the last 22 conference championships. The Mustangs have also earned 21 individual and 14 relay championships in four seasons as part of the American. The women’s team faced tough competition placing fourth at the 2018 Championships trailing behind Houston, Cincinnati and East Carolina. On the Men’s side, SMU has won 41 conference championships since the 1946-47 season and have earned runner-up honors at each of the four American Athletic Conference Championships. The men’s team has 28 individual; AAC champion-ships and eight relay wins. The team placed third this year trailing behind Cincin-nati and East Carolina.

SMU Football NSD 2018 The SMU football program and Head Sonny Dykes announced on February 7th the addition of 12 student-athletes to the 2018 Mustang signing class. The 12 student-athletes join seven previously-signed Mus-tangs, who committed to the program on Dec. 20, Early Signing Day. The mustangs held strong to its claim of Texas pride, SMU once again signed majority Texas players. Mus-tangs also arriving on the Hilltop hail from Louisiana and Washington D.C. New Mustangs arriving on the Hilltop in 2018 include: Darren Brown (DT) - Converse, TX (Judson) William Brown (QB) - Rosenberg, TX (Lamar Consolidated) Trevor Denbow (LB) - Corsicana, TX (Navarro College/Corsicana) Nick Dennis (OL) - Midland, TX (Navarro College/Midland Lee) Shabazz Dotson (DT) - Jacksonville, FL (Pearl River C.C.) Preston Ellison (S) - Odessa, TX (Permian) Robert Hayes (CB) - Slidell, LA (Coffeyville CC/Salmen) Treveon Johnson (WR) - Brenham, TX (Brenham) Terry Keys III (CB/WR) - Dickinson, TX (Dickinson) Levon Livingston (OL) - Washington, D.C. (Navarro Col-lege/Ballou) Beau Morris (OL) - Baton Rouge, LA (Blinn College/St. Michael The Archangel) Terrance Newman (DT) - Duncanville, TX (Duncanville) Jimmy Phillips, Jr. (OLB) - Mesquite, TX (Poteet) Ben Redding (TE) - Friendswood, TX (Friendswood) Jalen “JC” Rispress (OLB) - Fort Worth, TX (All Saints Episcopal) Jaylon Thomas (OL) - Lubbock, TX (Coronado) Gary Wiley (OLB) - Longview, TX (Pine Tree) TaMerik Williams (RB) - Angleton, TX (Angleton)

Sonny Dykes and Mustang Fans celebrated the incoming recruiting class with a Signing Day Celebration on February 7th in Dallas and special events in Houston and San Antonio. Most of the new class will arrive on campus for the Summer I session beginning at the end of May, but a few players have enrolled this spring. Fans eager to kick off the next season of Mustang Football should save the date for the 2018 Spring Game, which will be held on Saturday, April 14th. For full information on the 2018 signing class, including player bios and highlight videos, visit Signing Day Central. To view the full Signing Day packet, click here. On the Hilltop, the excitement around the 2018 football season is running high as the Sonny Dykes era begins. Season tickets are available now for as little as $99 for SMU's six-game home slate. SMU’s Home Schedule for 2018 is listed below:

Sept. 7 TCU

Sept. 22 Navy

Sept. 29 Houston Baptist

Oct. 27 Cincinnati

Nov. 3 Houston

Nov. 16 Memphis You can also be a part of directly supporting SMU Football in their recruiting efforts by making a gift in support of the SMU Football Excellence Fund. Gifts may be made online or by calling 214-768-2582. Football season tickets are now available! Click here or call 214-SMU-GAME.

Cross Country:

Hannah Miller— named American Athletic Conference Women’s

Runner of the Year

Team—Mustangs earn USTFCCCA All-Academic Honors

Equestrian:

Nora Gray—UEC Reining Rider of the Month (Nov, Feb)

Anne Mason Jackson—NCEA Standout Student-Athlete of the Month

(Dec)

Vivian Yowan—EUC Rider of the month (Feb)

Football:

Evan Brown—Honorable Mention All-Conference; NFF Gridiron Club

of Dallas Collegiate Scholar-Athlete

Ben Hicks—Touchdown Club of Columbus 2018 Players to Watch List

Will Hopkins—CoSIDA Academic All-American

Justin Lawler—First-Team All-Conference

Trey Quinn—First-Team All-Conference

Courtland Sutton—First-Team All-Conference

Josh Williams—CoSIDA Academic All-American

Van Malone—AFCA FBS Assistant Coach of the Year

Men’s Basketball:

Ethan Chargois– Named the American Rookie of the Week 12/18; All-

Rookie Team

Ben Emelogu II—AAC Weekly Honor Roll

Jarrey Foster—AAC Honor Roll

Shake Milton— American Athletic Conference Player of the Week

12/4, 1/22; Second-Team All-Conference; USBWA All-District; NABC

All-District 25 Second Team

Jimmy Whitt—AAC Weekly Honor Roll 12/18;

Men’s Soccer:

Jordan Cano— Third Team All-American; First Team Scholar All-

America

Mauro Cichero—First Team All-American; FC Dallas MLS Draft Pick

Garrett McLaughlin— Third Team All-American

Michael Nelson—First Team All-East Region; Second Team Scholar

All-America; Houston Dynamo MLS Draft pick

Philip Ponder—CoSIDA Academic All-America Third Team

Men’s Swimming & Diving:

Jonathan Gomez— American Athletic Conference Swimmer of the

Week 1/16, 1/30; AAC Championships Most Outstanding Performer

Bryce Klein— AAC Championships Most Outstanding Diver

Jim Stillson— USA Diving’s Phil Boggs Award Recipient

Team— CSCAA Scholar All-America

Darian Schmidt—Men’s Diving Coach of the Year

Rowing

Emily Fogg-Recipient of Hyer Society’s 2018 University Achievement

Award

Track & Field

Chelsea Francis—Named American Indoor Track Athlete of the Week

(1/30)

Latessa Johnson—Earns American Indoor Track Most Outstanding

Performance Award; Named American Indoor Track Athlete of the

Week (2/13)

Hannah Miller—Named American indoor Track Athlete of the Week

(1/23)

Women’s Basketball

McKenzie Adams—Third Team All-American

Johnasia Cash—Jerry Levias Outstanding Athlete Award

Kiara Perry— AAC Weekly Honor Roll 12/26

Ariana Whitfield—All-Freshman Team

Women’s Golf

Brigitte Dunne—Named the American Athletic Conference Golfer of

the Week (2/7)

Lauren Chappell—Named the American Athletic Conference Golfer of

the Week (3/15)

Women’s Soccer:

Hannah Allred—American Athletic Conference All-Rookie Team

Isabelle Nashmi—American Athletic Conference All-Rookie Team

Claire Oates—Named (USC) All-Southeast Region Third Team; All-

American Athletic Conference First Team

Haley Thompson—CoSIDA Academic All-District 7 First Team

Allie Thornton—All-American Athletic Conference Second Team

Team—Earned Team Fair Play Award

Women’s Swimming & Diving:

Katie Crown—All-American Athletic Conference League Honors

Gabi Grobler—All-American Athletic Conference League Honors

Taylor Ohlhauser—All-American Athletic Conference League Honors

Andrea Podmanikova—All-American Athletic Conference Honors

Felicity Passon—All-American Athletic Conference League Honors

Matea Samardzic— Earned Most outstanding Perfor mer Honors at

AAC Championships; All-American Athletic Conference Honors

Erin Trahan—All-American Athletic Conference Honors

Volleyball:

Brittany Adams—All-American Athletic Conference Second Team;

Named AAC offensive Player of the Week (10/30)

Katie Hegarty— All-American Athletic Conference First Team

Lauren Mills— All-American Athletic Conference First Team

Kendall Patterson— All-American Athletic Conference Second Team

Montana Watts—Named AAC American Defensive Player of the Week

(11/6)

Team Sponsor Package ($3,000*):

Registration for one team of four

Clubhouse and Media Recognition as Team Sponsor

Individual Golfer Registration ($750*)

*Tournament participation includes pre-tournament breakfast

and admission to the post-tournament luncheon and live auction.

Call 214-693-4677 to register by phone!

*Student-Athlete and Team Accomplishments as of March 21, 2017

In Memoriam Richard (Dick) Bernet (1/32-2/18)— A Dallas Native, Dick Graduated from Highland Park High School where he demonstrat-

ed his superb athletic and musical talent. A member of Phi Delta Theta, he attended SMU via a full track scholarship, pole

vaulting for the mustangs. After graduating he served in the US Air Force where he became a Captain and flew the first jets for

the Air Force. Following his military career, he joined his father’s stock brokerage business with Schneider Bernet & Hick-

man.

John Hamberger (10/24-12/17)—After serving in the Navy during World War II, John attended SMU where he played foot-

ball for the Mustangs where he earned an SWC championship in 1947 and 1948, two Cotton Bowl’s, all SWC tackle , and

1948 Chicago Tribune All-American. John was then drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles before we was transferred to the Pitts-

burgh Steelers. After his football career, he went in public school administration serving as a head football coach, athletic ad-

ministrator and eventual principal before retiring after 38 years.

John McElhaney (‘35-1/18)—Known as “Hoot Owl” John was a member of Sigma Alpha

Epsilon, ran with Peruna at football games, and swam on multiple Southwest Conference

champion swimming teams. After graduating from SMU, he attended law school and prac-

ticed law in Dallas and representing SMU on multiple affairs including the SMU football

infractions during the 1980’s. John was very active in the legal community, training gener-

ations of lawyers, and holding positions in the American Bar Association.. For his legal

accomplishments he received the SMU Dedman School of Law Distinguished Alumni

Award in 2007.

Ronald Meyer (2/41-12/17)—Coach Ron Meyer attended Purdue University before establishing an impressive coaching career

at SMU and later NFL teams such as the New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts. Coach Meyer, a two time recipient

of the AFC Coach of the Year, also served on national television as a CNN analyst and Sunday morning commentator.

Walton Miller (9/32-1/18)—An honor graduate of Highland Park schools, Walton attended SMU excelling in academics while

serving as an officer for his fraternity Phi Delta Theta and playing basketball and tennis. He also attended Air Force ROTC

training and was commissioned with the Air Force Reserves after graduating with high honors from SMU. Walton then joined

his mother in operating the Henry Miller Insurance Agency in Dallas, which he grew into a regional Life and Property and

Casualty brokerage firm.

Jim Parr (12/38-12/17)—Jim graduated SMU in 1962, while on the Hilltop he was a member of ATO Frater-

nity and served as a 4-year track letterman where he won several events in the Southwest conference as well

as national meets. After graduating he became a 1st Lieutenant in the Marines where he competed in track

through the US and abroad. Jim then returned to the Hilltop to become the youngest Head coach for Track

and Field and Cross Country. Leaving SMU in 1979, he then went on to work for Jackson and Lone Star

Concrete.

Billy Bob Stewart (11/44-2/18)— Billy Bob was a loving husband and father from Grand Prairie, Texas. After playing football

in high school where he was a star quarterback and linebacker, Billy Bob went on to play for SMU. While at SMU he earned

All-Southwest Conference for three years. He was then drafted by the New Orleans Saints and also played Canadian Football.

After his football career , Stewart worked as a private investigator for 27 years.

It’s that time of year! Renew your Lettermen’s membership today—don’t miss out on great benefits like free football

tickets, exclusive merchandise offers, special events, and more!

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or less): $35

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