DAVIDSON, N.C. - Davidson announced today that Brett Boretti ‘94 (baseball), Dana Casner ‘99 (women’s tennis), Jack Gray, Jr. *49 (men’s cross country and track) and Steve Smith ‘66 (football) will make up the 21st induction class to the school’s Athletics Hall of Fame.
The induction ceremonies will take place Saturday, Jan. 30, beginning with a reception at 3:45 p.m. in the Lilly Family Gallery within the Chambers Building. After the reception, there will be a Hall of Fame dinner and program at 4:30 p.m., and the day will round out with the men’s basketball game vs. The Citadel at 7 p.m. in John M. Belk Arena. The inductees will be presented in a ceremony at halftime.
With the induction of these four honorees, the total number of Hall of Fame members is now 92.
Brett Boretti ’94 – Baseball
Boretti served notice he was going to be something special when he homered in his first collegiate at-bat at Coastal Carolina. He went on to become the most prolific hitting catcher in Wildcat history, earning two All-Southern Conference first-team honors, and still remains as the only Davidson player to be named to the All-SoCon Tournament team. Boretti’s junior year was his best, when he led the squad with a .386 average and slugged .705 with 17 doubles and 13 home runs (with just 13 strikeouts) while driving in 48. A model of durability, he started all but two games at catcher in his last three years, plus set school records for being hit by a pitch in a season (16) and a career (25). Among career records, Boretti ranks first in sacrifice flies, second in doubles, fourth in total bases, fifth in RBIs, tied for fifth in home runs, eighth in games played and tenth in batting average. As head coach at Columbia, he led the Lions to their first Ivy League Championship in 32 years in 2008.
Dana Casner Sterling ’99 – Women’s Tennis
Dana Casner left her mark on the Wildcat women’s tennis team during her career, starting with the program’s first Southern Conference Freshman of the Year honor in 1996. A four-year letterwinner and Davidson’s No. 1 singles player all four years, Casner earned first-team all-conference honors all four seasons. She recorded a 46-33 singles mark and tallied another 32 wins in doubles play at the No. 1 position. Casner led the Wildcats to winning records in three of her four seasons, with the ‘Cats hitting the 12-win mark twice. In addition, Davidson also posted winning conference records in all four seasons and in 1998, advanced to the semifinals of the SoCon Tournament.
John K. (Jack) Gray, Jr. *49 (posthumous) – Men’s Cross Country and Track
Gray was an undefeated miler and two-miler for the track team. Throughout four years and 22 dual meets, Gray ran 35 races and finished first each time. He switched from the two-mile to the half-mile as a senior and still went undefeated. His best times were 4:35 in the mile, 10:07 in the two-mile and 2:03 in the half-mile. Gray served as captain of both the track and cross-country teams in 1947 and 1948. He was named the Greensboro Daily News Athlete of the Week May 13, 1949, after winning his final collegiate race.
Steve Smith ’66 - Football
A halfback and defensive back for the football team, Smith led the Southern Conference with 84.6 rushing yards per game in 1964, and his 761 yards that season were a school record at the time. He ran for over 100 yards in three games that season, and his 176 yards vs. Lafayette Nov. 14, were also a school record at the time. An All-Southern Conference second team performer as a senior, Smith finished his career with 1,234 rushing yards, which ranked second on the school’s all-time list. He was a two-time member of the Southern Conference All-Academic team and earned honorable mention Academic All-America honors as a senior. He is one of six Davidson football players to earn an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.