Nasser Kiragga ’19
Merrimack College Department of Athletics recently held its annual Hall of Fame Ceremony where eight members were inducted. The class of 2018 was made up of former student athletes, a national champion winning squad, and an individual that not only had an impact as a student athlete but had an impact in prospering the athletic department into one of the prominent programs in New England.
The following inducted into the hall of fame were Amanda (Baldwin) Mayock ’01 (Women’s Lacrosse), Nancy (Daly) Dwyer ’94 (Women’s Soccer), April Daugherty ’13 (Field Hockey), Jim Hrivnak ’89 (Men’s Ice Hockey), Corey Lunney ’13 (Men’s Lacrosse), Judy O’Connell ’95 (Softball), and Ken Duane ’80, H’16 (Distinguished Honoree). The ceremony took place during the nightcap of the always exciting homecoming weekend, which featured four teams hosting contests on campus prior to the ceremony during the day.
Merrimack President Dr. Christopher E. Hopey touched upon the class of 2018 stating, “”We are proud to honor all these outstanding student-athletes, and generous supporters of our programs, who helped make Merrimack the success it is today.”
“These men and women excelled on and off the field as members of the Merrimack community, and we hold them up as examples to current and future students, and to the world, of what the Warrior spirit embodies,” Hopey continued.
Inductee Amanda Maycock of the women’s lacrosse team was a two time All-American in both 2000 and 2001 and a captain three years running. A couple of her accolades include the NE-10 Offensive Player of the Year in 2000 as well as winning the NE-10 Defensive Player of the year the following season. Maycock was the engine of the women’s lacrosse program in the early years as they posted a 10-5 record during her senior year campaign, their best record to date at that point of time and posted 60 ground balls (4.00/game), 57 draw controls (3.80/game), and 81 caused turnovers (5.40/game).
Nancy Dwyer of the women’s soccer squad was also a standout female student athlete with two All-American nods to her resume. The three-time NE-10 all conference standout was also named NE-10 player of the year in 1993. Two of the top 10 best scoring seasons in women’s soccer history belong to her and she’s ranks third in career goals, second in career assists, and third in career points.
Another two time All-American player representing the men’s lacrosse team is inductee Corey Lunney ‘13. Lunney was the USILA National Player of the Year in 2013 leading the league in goals scored and in the same year led the Warriors to the regular season conference title. His all time Merrimack ranks are second in both goals scored & points and sixth in assists.
The class of 2013 also featured April Daughtery who was an all time great for the women’s field hockey team. The two time captain was a three time All-American in ‘09, ‘11, and ‘12. Daughtery was a member of the only two NE-10 conference titles the women’s field hockey have in the record books. Daughtery is Merrimack’s all time leader in goals, assists, and points scored and is also in the top 10 in all three of those categories in NE-10 all time ranks.
Also being inducted into the hall of fame is the 1994 national championship winning softball team, which was the first team representing the NE-10 conference to win it all. The team was also inducted into the NE-10 hall of fame and featured three All-Americans. Out of the three All-Americans on the champion squad one of them included Judy O’Connell who was a three time All-American herself and also was inducted into the hall of fame this past weekend. On the 1994 national championship winning squad O’Connell batted .482, scored 35 runs, hit 10 HR, racked in 54 RBIs all while only striking out 9 times the whole year. She led the Warriors to three NCAA tournament berths and ranks seventh in career batting average, fourth in both career home runs and RBI’s.
The last two former student athletes that were inducted were both Merrimack Hockey alums in Ken Duane ‘80 and Jim Hrivnak ‘89. Hrivnak was a two time All-American stand out in 1987 and 1988. Hrivnak is the school record holder for shutouts in a season and career, he posted the seventh all-time best single season save percentage (.921) in the 1987-1988 season. Hrivnak was also drafted in the third round, 61st overall by the Washington Capitals and is the highest Merrimack Men’s Hockey player alum has ever been drafted.
Ken Duane not only played an impact as a student athlete during his time at Merrimack but is one of the reasons the Merrimack Athletic Department is where it’s at today. Duane was a member of both the Men’s Hockey Team (1977) & Lacrosse Team (1977- 1980). Post-graduation he made significant contributions to the athletic department at Merrimack where he served on Merrimack’s Board of Trustees from 2006-2014. He played a vital factor in making sure the men’s hockey team retained their division one affiliation and in the elite Hockey East conference. Duane received an Honorary Doctor of Business Administration from Merrimack in 2016 and is now the vice chairman of PVH Corporation which is a global clothing brand that has eight billion dollars in revenue.
Merrimack has continued to evolve as one of the more well known New England schools, and each one of these inductees have done their fair share in helping their alum school evolve into the prominent school it now stands as. Their recent promotion to division one shows there is a bright future shining down on this institution.
