Press Release

National Alumni Association Announces 2007 Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees

ATLANTA – Oglethorpe University's National Alumni Association announced the 2007 Athletic Hall of Fame members, who will be inducted during Alumni Weekend March 30-April 1.

Cumming Resident Inducted into Hall of Fame

John T. "Chip" Evans IV '95 of Cumming will be inducted into the Oglethorpe University Athletic Hall of Fame during the annual Alumni Awards Banquet Friday, March 30. Chip will be honored for his performance on the Stormy Petrel baseball team.

Born in Savannah, Chip Evans grew up in Fayetteville competing in swimming, baseball, basketball and football. At Fayette County High School Chip was a standout in football, baseball and basketball, lettering three years in all three sports. He was named the 11 Alive Prep Athlete of the Week for football and All-South Atlanta pitcher and was voted “Most Athletic” by his classmates.

While he was recruited by major colleges to play football and offered several scholarships, Chip decided to play baseball at Oglethorpe because it was a new program where he felt he could make a bigger impact. Oglethorpe also offered him the opportunity to pitch and play first base.

In 1991, Chip was the winning starting pitcher in Oglethorpe’s first baseball game in 20+ years. His first hit at Oglethorpe was a grand slam. He set records for most wins by a pitcher and most strike outs, both of which still stand today.

Chip credits his great teammates, Coach Pete Myers, Coach Billy Popp and his parents for helping him succeed both on and off the field. “I would not have accomplished as much without their support and guidance,” said Chip.

Today, Chip resides in Cumming where he owns his own graphic/web design business, Point Seven Design Studio. He and his wife, Jennafer have a two-year-old daughter, Jaden.

Cobb County Resident Inducted into Hall of Fame

Cornell Longino '95 of Mableton will be inducted into the Oglethorpe University Athletic Hall of Fame during the annual Alumni Awards Banquet Friday, March 30. Cornell will be honored for his performance on the Stormy Petrel basketball team.

Cornell played baseball and football at a young age, but found his niche in the game of basketball. At Henderson High School, he was a three-year starter on the varsity basketball team.

While at Oglethorpe, Cornell was a three-year starter and helped lead the Petrels to 69 victories over his four-year career. Following his junior and senior campaigns, Cornell was named to the All-SCAC 2nd team. He is still the career leader in assists and in the top 10 for rebounds in Oglethorpe history.

After graduating with a degree in Business Administration in 1995, Cornell went on to work for Georgia-Pacific as an accountant. Currently, he works as a senior consultant for Strategic Information Systems, a Microsoft Business Solutions partner. He and his wife Tamika are the parents of a daughter, Riley, age 2, and are expecting their second child in July.

“My accomplishments are largely due to my teammates and coaches, Jack Berkshire and Jim Owens. My experiences on the basketball court are only a fraction of what I gained from the university,” said Cornell.

Indianapolis Resident Inducted into Hall of Fame

Lori "Lu" Green LeRoy '95 of Indianapolis will be inducted into the Oglethorpe University Athletic Hall of Fame during the annual Alumni Awards Banquet Friday, March 30. Lu will be honored for her performance on the Stormy Petrel volleyball team.

As a child Lu played volleyball and basketball and decided to focus solely on volleyball upon entering high school. She played volleyball for Our Lady of Providence and by her junior year the team was ranked #2 in the state of Indiana and was #25 in the nation.

At Oglethorpe, Lu started as an outside hitter as a freshman and holds school records in kills, digs, digs per game and has the number one hitting percentage. She was also named to the All-Conference team all four years and is still ranked in digs and digs per game in the SCAC Conference. Lu is a member of the National 1,000-1,000 Club, an elite listing of the less than 200 Division III players who tallied more than 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs over their four-year college career.

Lu credits her amazing parents with her success. “They never missed any of my sporting events, all basketball and volleyball games from the 5th through 12th grades. Even in college, my parents attended as many games as possible, driving from Indiana to Atlanta.”

Lu has completed the Chicago Marathon and Marine Corp Marathon in Washington D.C. and 10 half-marathons. Lu is a public relations manager for Roche Diagnostics and stays busy with work, running, horseback riding, creative writing and spending time with her husband, Nick.

Mt. Pleasant Resident Inducted into Hall of Fame

Matthew Weiner '95 of Mt. Pleasant will be inducted into the Oglethorpe University Athletic Hall of Fame during the annual Alumni Awards Banquet Friday, March 30. Matt will be honored for his performance on the Stormy Petrel baseball team.

As a kid Matt played baseball, ice hockey, football, soccer and wrestled. It was his love for baseball that eventually dominated his athletic attention. He never played on a baseball team that didn’t finish in first place including his four years at Oglethorpe. He was All League for Kings Park High School as both a junior and senior. At 16, Matt went to the NABF World Series with his summer team the Long Island Tigers where he batted .600.

At Oglethorpe Matt was named All SCAC all four years and Honorable Mention All South his senior year. He ended his Oglethorpe career by hitting a home run in his final at bat in the SCAC playoffs.

After Oglethorpe Matt went on to receive his Masters in Physical Therapy from Emory University and is now practicing in Charleston. He and his wife, Gina have a two-year-old son, Brooks and a son on the way, Jackson.

“I am grateful to my parents, coaches Pete Myers, Bill Popp and Brady Wiederhold, and all the Oglethorpe professors for encouraging and supporting me in both my athletic and academic endeavors,” said Matt.

Cumming Resident Inducted into Hall of Fame

Andrew Schutt '95 of Cumming will be inducted into the Oglethorpe University Athletic Hall of Fame during the annual Alumni Awards Banquet Friday, March 30. Andy will be honored for his performance on the Stormy Petrel basketball team.

Growing up in Marietta, Andy played basketball, baseball and soccer and decided to focus solely on basketball upon entering high school. He played two years of varsity basketball at Lassiter High School and in his senior season Lassiter won its first regional championship and advanced to the second round of the state playoffs.

At Oglethorpe, Andy was on the men’s basketball team four years, was a two-year starter and was a co-captain his senior year. In his junior and senior seasons, he helped lead Oglethorpe to two NCAA Division III Tournament appearances. The 1993-94 NCAA Tournament bid followed Oglethorpe’s first SCAC championship.

During his basketball career at Oglethorpe, Andy was selected twice as a Second Team All-Conference player. He led the SCAC in free throw percentage during the 1993-94 season and, in the following year, led the conference in field goal percentage. He was selected to multiple all-tournament teams and received MVP recognition at the Colorado College Invitational Tournament his senior year. Andy finished his career with 1,318 points and 520 rebounds and remains listed in the Oglethorpe and SCAC record books in multiple categories.

Andy earned a BBA from Oglethorpe in 1995 and began his career as a CPA at Arthur Andersen. He currently works in finance at UCB, Inc., a Belgian based pharmaceutical company. He and his wife Kirsten have two sons, Noah age 5 and Ryan 11 months.