Almost seven years after the originally planned event, Sonoma State University will honor five student-athletes and members of the 1972-74 men’s basketball teams with induction into the Sonoma State University Athletics Hall of Fame at a dinner celebration Oct. 5 at the Doubletree Hotel in Rohnert Park.
Wildfires that swept through Sonoma County in 2017 caused the ceremony to be postponed. Attempts to reschedule it were further delayed by the COVID pandemic.
Inductees will include women’s soccer players Stacy Ball, Karen Beckner, and Carolyn Wellman-Sanchez; men’s soccer player Eric Cunningham; men’s basketball player Steven Pratt; and members of the 1972-73 and 1973-74 men's basketball teams. They will be honored for their athletic excellence and contributions to the history of Sonoma State University athletics.
Longtime SSU Police Department member and SSU Women's Soccer All-American Judy (Vonheeder) Mefferd will be presented with the Dr. G. Edward Rudloff Distinguished Student-Athlete Alumni Award at the ceremony.
The Sonoma State University Athletics Hall of Fame was founded in 1998 to recognize the outstanding athletic achievements of its former student-athletes and coaches and the meritorious efforts of administrators, alumni, and friends on behalf of the University's athletic program.
Event details:
Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024
No-host reception: 5:30-6:30 p.m.
Dinner and Induction Ceremony: 6:30-9 p.m.
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Sonoma Wine Country, One Doubletree, Rohnert Park, CA
Tickets: $80; available online.
Inductee Bios:
Stacy Ball is one of the greatest players in the history of women's soccer at SSU and was an All-American on Sonoma State's first national championship team in 1990. A three-time All-NCAC pick, Ball scored 25 goals and remains tied for second all-time in school history with 25 assists in a career that spanned 1987-90.
Karen Beckner was a four-year star (1988-91) in women's soccer and was part of SSU’s 1990 national championship team. She remains tied for second in school history with 25 assists. A two-time All-American, she also earned First Team All-West Region and All-NCAC accolades.
Eric Cunningham (1991-93) earned First Team All-America honors as a defender on SSU's 1993 league championship soccer team that went 17-3-2. As a senior, Cunningham was a First Team All-West Region and All-NCAC pick in 1992 and 1993.
Steven Pratt (2008-12) is the SSU men's basketball program all-time leader with 430 assists. He also ranks fifth in the record books in points, rebounds, steals, and games played.
Carolyn Wellman played four seasons of soccer (1990-93,) was named First Team All-American as a senior in 1993, and is the school's record holder in career shutouts (28) and goals against average (0.45).
The 1972-73 and 1973-74 men's basketball teams won back-to-back Far West Conference Championships and were the first in SSU history to make it to the NCAA Tournament.
They were coached by Bill Trumbo and led by student-athletes (and SSU Hall of Famers) Steve Tiedeman, Tom Fitchie, and Bill Belander.
Judy (Vonheeder) Mefferd was one of SSU’s most respected and dominating soccer players. She was named All-Conference, All-Region, Honorable Mention All-American (1988) and First Team All-American (1989). After graduating from SSU, she joined the Police Academy and earned the California Academy Directors Award for Leadership. Mefferd is retired from the Sonoma State University Police Department and was inducted into the SSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2005.