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The 2009 ceremony was filled with many firsts. This year marked the first year that a women's ice hockey player was inducted into the hall of fame. Many guests, including Gene Smith, and Jim Tressel came and gave tribute to the honorees. The format of the program was also full of firsts. Jeri Price, president of the Women's Varsity O, debuted the new introduction videos. They served as an excellent celebration of the inductees accomplishments and were well received by ceremony attendees. Current athletes and coaches were very visible at this year's event. Rowing, hockey, field hockey, and golf were highly represented with many alumni and current athletes but swimming took the award with over twenty five alumni and current swimmers.

Speeches occurred throughout the evening and it was obvious that the inductees were humbled by this honor of their accomplishments. Honorees touched on many similar themes as they spoke. Maintaining a relationship with the university after graduation was a top priority. Many of the honorees are already involved with the university as alumni and others suggested the importance of that connection through organizations such as Varsity O. Coach Montrella also appealed to the audience to look into the future when thinking about women's athletics. Phyllis Bailey helped to lay the foundation for women's athletics at the university but we all need to be responsible for ensuring that the opportunities we have had do not dry up for athletes of the future. Coach Montrella encouraged everyone to work together with the goal of endowing more scholarships. The evening was capped off with the singing of "Carmen Ohio" led by this year's Barbie Tootle Buckeye Spirit Award winner Craig Little.

Please join us in congratulating the 2009 honorees!

Hall of Fame Class of 2009
Karla Fiserova
Allison Hanna
Vanessa Immordino
Emma Laaksonen
Jim Montrella

Phyllis Bailey Career Acheivement Award
Robin Tucker

Barbie Tootle Buckeye Spirit Award
Craig Little
           
What the athletes and coaches were saying about this great honor…

Allison Hanna, women's golf
"I am thrilled to become one of the newest members of the Ohio State Athletic Hall of Fame.  It is such an honor to be in the same group as Jack Nicklaus, Jesse Owens, John Havlicek, Meg Mallon, Rosie Jones and Howard Cassady."

Vanessa Immordino, field hockey
"I am truly humbled to receive this honor. To be enshrined in the Hall of Fame next to so many great student-athletes of the past, makes me feel grateful to have had the privilege to wear scarlet and gray. It means even more when considering the prestige associated with representing one of the most highly regarded athletic and academic institutions in the world."

Emma Laaksonen, women's hockey
"Being a Buckeye is very special to me and what makes it so are the great people involved with Ohio State. Being inducted to a Hall of Fame with a group of such great athletes is unbelievable and a great honor."

Jim Montrella, women's swimming coach
"Bev (Jim's wife, who was an assistant coach at Ohio State) and I thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed our time at Ohio State and it seemed as if the first 15 years or so we never had to work. It was just really fun. I wouldn't trade those years for anything.

"Our teams were competitive even though we were at a distinct competitive disadvantage with our facility. We couldn't offer our recruits a beautiful facility, but we had a budget that grew each year and was always ahead of inflation. The support from the administration was a major factor in our success and it helped us remain competitive.

"Plus, we had swimmers who bought into the challenge of improving and who enjoyed the challenge of building on Ohio State's success. They were great student-athletes who had great parents who wanted them to swim at Ohio State. They were all just wonderful people to work with and we tried very hard to hang on to every swimmer we recruited for a full four years. And the kids knew that we were doing our best to allow them to stay in the sport."