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New York, NY – In a ceremony held on Saturday, October 17, Hunter College honored five former stand-out student-athletes by inducting them into the Athletic Hall of Fame, joining over 100 former Hunter Hawk greats from the past 83 years.

The Induction Class of 2009 includes Robert Carter, '94, a men's basketball standout, former women's tennis player and head coach Jocelyn Cruz, '98, women's basketball star Suzette Henry, '98, women's swimming and women's tennis standout Maureen McBride, '04, and multi-sport athlete Linda Wurmser Van Valkenburg, '67. These five individuals were voted into the Hall of Fame by the 14-member Athletics Hall of Fame committee.

Carter led the men's basketball team to an unparalleled run of success during his four-year career that included three consecutive CUNYAC Championships, and three NCAA Tournament appearances advancing as far as the “Sweet Sixteen”. A two-time CUNYAC all-star, Carter's teams compiled a 42-6 CUNYAC record, while going 91-25 overall. He finished his career ranked second all-time at Hunter in scoring with 1,664 points, which is also the eighth highest in CUNYAC men's basketball history. His other accolades include being named a two-time Skyline All-Star, two-time NABC All-District honoree, one-time MBWA All-Star and was named the 1993-94 CUNYAC Player of the Year.

Cruz completed her four-year women's tennis career as the program's all-time leader in singles victories and helped the team to four consecutive CUNYAC Championships. She was also a two-year member of the fencing team, winning 20 matches at foil. In 1999, she returned to Hunter to serve as head coach of the women's tennis team and began what would become a tennis dynasty today. In six seasons at the helm, Cruz would guide the Hawks to five consecutive CUNYAC Championships and built up a 38-2 record against conference opponents.

Henry was one of the most talented players in the history of the women's basketball program at Hunter. She finished her four-year career with 46 double-doubles, averaging 17.1 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. Despite a shortened freshman year, she would end up scoring 1,486 career points, second all-time at Hunter and 13th all-time in the CUNYAC. Today, over ten years later, she still ranks second in career rebounds with 915, third in career field goal percentage (.472) and third in career free throws with 253 made. A three-time CUNYAC and Skyline All-Star, Henry guided her team to a CUNYAC Championship in 1997-98, while being named the CUNYAC Player of the Year and tournament MVP.

McBride was a skilled, two-sport athlete that dominated the competition on a local and regional level. In swimming, she was a two-time CUNYAC Swimmer of the Year, a three-time Championship MVP, and to this day still holds eight CUNYAC records and five Hunter records. On the regional level, she placed in the top 24 at the Metropolitan Conference Championships more times than anyone in program history. On the tennis courts, she was a three-time CUNYAC Champion, was the #1 singles champion her senior year and #2 singles champion in her junior year. She finished her career with a 40-7 singles record, highest at the time, fourth best today, and was 25-0 against conference opponents.

Wurmser Van Valkenburg was a multi-sport athlete, playing four-years of varsity softball and basketball and three years of field hockey. She finished her softball career with a .564 batting average and hit .714 in her senior year. In 1967, she was named the Senior Athlete of the Year, won the Dr. Augusta W. Neidhardt Award and won the Department of Physical Education Scholar Award.

The Hunter College Athletic Hall of Fame was founded in 1982 by then Director of Athletics Dr. Charles Brown as a way to honor the achievements of those who have put in years of hard work and dedication while representing Hunter Athletics. In the last 27 years, over 100 student-athletes have been inducted with representatives from 21 sports and each decade since the 1920's.