Courtesy: UAlbany AthleticsALBANY, N.Y. - The University at Albany welcomed not only four individuals but its' first team into the school's hall of fame on Friday night, September 28. The 2012 Class of Great Dane Hall of Famers included: Amy Di Micco '01 (field hockey/women's lacrosse), Andee Lindgren '04 (softball), Ted Hotaling '95 (men's basketball), head wrestling coach Joe DeMeo (1978-95) and the 1993-94 men's basketball team. The inductees were honored at the 29th annual dinner and reception in the SEFCU Arena's Hall of Fame room on the UAlbany campus.
All four inductees and the 1993-94 men's basketball team will be honorary captains for the coin toss of the UAlbany/Monmouth football game on Saturday, September 29.
Amy Di Micco (1998-2001)- Amy was a two-sport athlete who found success on and off the field. Di Micco still holds records in field hockey and women's lacrosse that she set her freshman season. In her final season with the Great Danes, she was named the 2001-02 UAlbany Female Athlete of the Year.
Di Micco led the Great Danes in scoring with six goals and four assists as a senior. For her career in field hockey, she is currently tied-for third on the school's all-time scoring list with 99 points (41 goals, 17 assists). She was named to the NFHCA All-Mideast Region second team and second team All-America East Conference midfielder. Di Micco was picked from the Great Danes to play in the 2001 NFHCA Division I North-South Senior All-Star Game.
In 1998-99, Di Micco set the freshman scoring record in field hockey with 31 points (13 goals, 5 assist). She was named to the NFHCA Division II All-America second team that same year. In the spring semester of her freshman year, she established the freshman scoring record, with 41 points (34 goals, 7 assists), as a member of the women's lacrosse team. Following her outstanding scoring season, Di Micco was named to the Brine/IWLCA Division II All-America second team.
Off the field, Amy was the president of UAlbany's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and was awarded the ECAC Merit Medal as school's top senior female student-athlete. She was also awarded the Merlin W. Hathaway Scholarship, which is given to the scholar-athlete for outstanding academic and athletic achievement, leadership, integrity and commitment to the University.
Andee Lindgren (2002-04)- Andee was one of UAlbany's top two-year softball pitchers and was named the 2003-04 UAlbany Female Athlete of the Year.
In two seasons, Lindgren recorded a career 38-10 pitching record with a 1.11 earned run average, 13 shutouts and 350 strikeouts in the circle. Currently, her 38 wins are seventh all-time, her 1.11 ERA is third all-time and the 350 strikeouts are sixth all-time at UAlbany. At the plate, she hit a .368 average (third all-time), 102 hits, 54 runs batted in and a then school record 25 doubles.
In 2004, Lindgren was a dominant force both in the circle and the batter's box her senior season, posting an 18-4 record and set a then single-season school record with 179 strikeouts. She led the America East Conference and ranked 11th among the NCAA leaders in hitting with a .430 batting average. Andee ranked 28th nationally in earned run average (1.04) and led the conference in strikeouts per seven innings (8.08). The senior pitcher was named the America East Conference Player of the Year after being named player of the week twice and pitcher of the week twice during the season.
In 2003, as a junior, she recorded a 20-6 pitching record with five saves and nine shutouts. Her numbers in the circle were good enough to be named the America East Pitcher of the Year.
Ted Hotaling (1991-95)- A captain in his senior season, Ted helped lead the Great Danes to their second run in the Division III NCAA Tournament. Hotaling is currently 21st at UAlbany in all-time scoring with a mark of 1,125 points.
In the 1994-95 season, Hotaling averaged 17.9 points and 5.7 rebounds and helped UAlbany to an 18-8 record which pushed them to a NCAA Division III Tournament second-round appearance. He scored in double-figures in 28 consecutive games, including 30 points in the NCAA opening-round win at St. John Fisher. He was named to the Division III All-East Region second team.
In the 1993-94 season, he was a key part of the Great Danes school-record mark of 24-3 and a NCAA Tournament Elite Eight appearance. Hotaling averaged 12.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists that season. Coach Richard "Doc" Sauers, before the season, had this to say about Hotaling, "Ted can post-up or shoot the three. We are counting on him to play a lot of minutes this season".
Hotaling finished eighth among the UAlbany career steals leaders with 125 and that mark currently sits 11th. Off the court, Hotaling was named to the ECAC Upstate New York Honor Roll seven times.
After UAlbany, Ted played professionally in Wales and England and was an assistant coach at both Eastern Kentucky and Yale. He is currently the head coach at New Haven.
Joe DeMeo (1978-95)- One of UAlbany's top wrestling head coaches Joe DeMeo was a mentor to 32 All-American wrestlers and two Olympians. Coach DeMeo was inducted to the 1996 National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III Hall of Fame.
At UAlbany, DeMeo posted a 162-116-1 record in 16 seasons and captured the New York State Championship in 1992. The Great Danes finished third in 1987 at the NCAA Division III national championships and fifth in 1986 under DeMeo.
During his tenure at UAlbany, five Great Danes won NCAA titles, and three were New York State champions. Three of his wrestlers made the World Wrestling Team, most notably Andy Seras and Shawn Sheldon, who were members of the U.S Olympic Team.
Outside of coaching at UAlbany, DeMeo served as head coach of the 1994 USA Greco-Roman World Team and was the World Team assistant for nine years.
1993-94 Men's Basketball team- The 1993-94 men's basketball team had the best finish in program history with a 25-3 mark and made an NCAA Division III Elite Eight Tournament appearance.
During the 1993-94 season, the squad averaged 74.5 points and held opponents to 62.8 points per game, which are currently ninth and third best at UAlbany. The team recorded notable wins against St. John Fisher, 84-72, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and Richard Stockton, 60-54, in the second round.
The 1993-94 team currently holds five records at UAlbany which include the free-throw percentage for a game (100%; 28-for-28 vs. Potsdam Feb. 19) free-throw percentage for a season (78.5%; 456-for-581), most steals in a season (333), most wins in a season (25) and most consecutive wins in a season (16; Nov. 30,1993 to Feb. 8, 1994).
Notable players on the squad were captain Jason Graber and Garry Murray. Graber, for his career, scored over 568 points (3rd all-time at UAlbany), averaged 20.3 points per game (7th best at UAlbany), shot 85.7 percent from the free-throw line (4th all-time at UAlbany) and led his team in rebounding with 8.6 rebounds a game that season. Murray, for his career, tallied 135 assists (11th best at UAlbany), averaged 4.86 assists a game, totaled 81 steals (1st all-time at UAlbany) and currently holds the record at UAlbany for most consecutive free-throws made in a season with 39.
