Aug. 10, 2009
New Orleans - The 2009 edition of the Tulane University Athletics Hall of Fame will feature three Green Wave All-America student-athletes from the early 2000's, including Michael Aubrey, Solomon Kandie and Seth Marler, a two-sport female athlete in Mashandra Hall and George Sweeney, who served as the Tulane beatwriter for Times-Picayune and its predecessor newspapers for almost half a century, was the recipient of the Billy Slatten Award.
The 2009 class of Michael Aubrey (baseball), Mashandra Hall (women's basketball/track & field), Solomon Kandie (track & field/cross country), Seth Marler (football) and George Sweeney (Billy Slatten Award) will be inducted on Friday, October 9, 2009, from 12-2 p.m. at the Lavin-Bernick Center on the Tulane campus. The inductees will also be honored at halftime of TU's homecoming game against Marshall at the Louisiana Superdome the following day. For banquet reservations, please call Sue Bower at (504) 865-5513 or email sbower@tulane.edu.
"The 2009 class represents an accomplished and diverse collection of individuals who achieved many milestones in their tenure at Tulane," Tulane Director of Athletics Rick Dickson said. "They are an important cornerstone of our history, and their legacies have helped shape who we are today. We are privileged to honor each of them."
A native of Shreveport, La., Aubrey was a three-year starter at first base and on the mound for the Wave. He helped Tulane to a combined record of 136-59 from 2001-03 and to three consecutive NCAA Regionals and the school's first trip to the College World Series in 2001. He was named the National Freshman of the Year by Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball and The Sporting News while garnering Freshman All-America honors from Baseball America, Baseball Weekly and Collegiate Baseball, Conference USA and also earned Louisiana Freshman of the Year, first-team All C-USA and C-USA All-Freshman team honors in 2001.
During his junior campaign, Aubrey was selected first-team All-America by the American Baseball Coaches Association, Baseball America, Baseball Weekly, College Baseball Insider, Collegiate Baseball and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. He claimed NCBWA District VII Player of the Year in 2003 and was also named C-USA Player of the Year and first-team All C-USA.
Off the diamond, he was named to C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll and Tulane's 3.0 Club all three seasons. Aubrey played two seasons on the U.S. National Team and was named USA Baseball Amateur Athlete of the Year in 2002. He was drafted 11th overall in the first round of the 2003 Major League Baseball Draft by the Cleveland Indians, the highest by any Tulane baseball player. He saw his first Major League action with the Indians in 2008 and was traded in June of 2009 to the Baltimore Orioles.
Mashandra Hall a two-sport athlete in basketball and track &field for the Green Wave from 1989-1994  |
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Hall, who hails from Memphis, Tenn., was a two-sport athlete for the Green Wave from 1989-1994, and later served as a track & field assistant coach. As a standout on the Tulane women's track and field team, Hall was a two-time Metro Conference Track & Field Most Valuable Player in 1993 and 1994, the Tulane Female Athlete of the Year in 1993 and 1994 and ranked No. 8 in the nation among United States women in the
She holds the Tulane record in the long jump, ranks fourth all time in the 400-meter dash and was the Green Wave's three-time MVP of running and field events (1992, 1993 and 1994). Upon completion of her eligibility, she returned to her alma mater as an assistant coach for the track & field program in 1994.
When she wasn't performing on the track, Hall was a defensive standout for the TU women's basketball team from 1989-91. She was voted defensive MVP in 1989-90 and played her final hoops season in 1990-91.
In the classroom, she received the Sophie B. Newcomb Academic Award in 1993, served on the African-American Congress of Tulane from 1989-94, was a Tulane Student-Athlete Advisory Board member from 1991-93 and was a member of Tulane's 3.0/4.0 GPA Club in 1993 and 1994.
Solomon Kandie led the Wave to the 2001 Conference USA Cross Country title in 2001. |
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Kandie concluded his career at Tulane as one of the school's most decorated men's distance student-athletes. The Nairobi, Kenya, native holds three school records - cross country 8K and 10K - and the outdoor 3,000-meter steeplechase. He also ranks in the top 10 in school history in the cross country 5K and four miles, and the outdoor 1,500-meter run and the 5,000-meter run.
He was a three-time All-American in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (2000, 2001, 2002), finishing third at the NCAA Championships twice. He qualified for the NCAA Cross Country Championships in 2000. Kandie won individual Conference USA Championships in the indoor mile run (2000), and the outdoor 1,500m (2000 and 2002), 3,000m steeplechase (2000, 2001, 2002) and the 5,000-meters (2001). He was named the C-USA Athlete of the Year in 2000 and 2001.
He led the Tulane men's cross country team to the 2001 C-USA Championship when he finished second overall at the conference championships. His time set at that meet is still the second-best 8K time in conference history. He was an All-C-USA cross country first team selection in 2000 and 2001, and a second-team selection in 1999. He was named C-USA Cross Country Male Athlete of the Week four times and Indoor Athlete of the Week once as well as Outdoor Athlete of the Week.
Seth Marler was the recipient of the Lou Groza Award in 2001 and was also named to the Conference USA All-Decade Team. |
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Marler came to Tulane from Lilburn, Ga., and departed four years later as one of the school's most prolific place kickers. From 1999-2003, Marler established himself as one of the nation's top kickers and received numerous conference and national accolades. He was the recipient of the Lou Groza Award in 2001, which is presented to the top place kicker in the nation, was named to the Football Writers Association of America All-America First Team, the Collegefootballnews.com All-America First Team and was tabbed to numerous All-America Second, Third and Fourth Team lists. He was also a Lou Groza Award finalist in 2000.
On the league level, he was named to the Conference USA All-Decade Team, the C-USA Special Teams Player of the Year in 2001, the All-Conference USA First Team (2001), the All-Conference USA Second Team (2002) and All-Conference USA Second Team and C-USA All-Freshman Team in 1999.
Marler owns TU's career records for made field goals (66), field goals attempted (91), points (333) and ranks second in field goal percentage (.725), PATs made (135), PATs attempted (143) and ranks 7th for PAT percentage (.944).
Following his collegiate career, he signed as a free agent with the Jacksonville Jaguars and played three seasons in the NFL. Marler remained close to the Tulane football program serving as the sideline reporter for the Green Wave radio broadcast during the 2007 and 2008 seasons.
Former Tulane beatwriter George Sweeney covered Tulane athletics for 45 years. |
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Sweeney is the third recipient of the Billy Slatten Award, which was established in 2004 in honor of William A. "Billy" Slatten, a longtime supporter of Tulane Athletics, a member of the Tulane Board of Trustees and the Intercollegiate Athletics Committee.
Sweeney began covering Tulane University athletics shortly after becoming a full-time sportswriter in 1956 for the States and later The States-Item and went on to cover Green Wave athletes for 45 years. He wrote the definitive book on Tulane football, "The Green Wave," in 1979, putting in perspective the triumphs and trials of the school's storied teams of decades earlier and the pitfalls and problems of more recent times.
Among his numerous awards for he received for his sports writing was the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Distinguished Service Award in 2002.
Sweeney died in 1997 and will be inducted posthumously.
2009 Tulane Athletics Hall of Fame Class
Michael Aubrey, Baseball, 2001-03
Mashandra Hall, Women's Basketball/Track & Field, 1989-1994
Solomon Kandie, Track & Field/Cross Country, 1999-2002
Seth Marler, Football, 1999-2003
George Sweeney, Times-Picayune Tulane Beatwriter, Billy Slatten Award Winner