ROHNERT PARK -- The Sonoma State University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics is pleased to announce the 2013 induction class of the SSU Athletics Hall of Fame. Kim Abbott, Jim Baker, Bill Belander, Paige Dumont, J.T. Tipton, and Tara Whiteside will be honored for their athletic excellence and contributions to the history of Sonoma State University athletics.  In addition, a special induction of the 2002 Men's Soccer National Championship team will highlight the October 5th event.

Tickets are now available for purchase by clicking here.

Kim Abbott (Fremont/Irvington HS) spent four years in goal for the Sonoma State women's soccer team, from 1988 to 1991.  The starting goalkeeper on the first national championship team in school history (1990), Abbott remains Sonoma State's all-time leader with 248 career saves.  She is also second in career shutouts and fourth in goals against average.  A First Team NSCAA All-American in 1990, Abbott was a three-time All-Northern California Athletic Conference (NCAC) selection.

One of the true pioneers in SSU Athletics history, Jim Baker was a three-sport star between 1969 and 1971.  A member of the first football team in school history in 1969, Baker also lettered in track & field and golf.  He was the team's most valuable lineman and was regarded by teammates and opponents alike as complete athlete and fearless competitor.  Following an opportunity to tryout with the Oakland Raiders, Baker went into law enforcement and recently retired as the senior ranking lieutenant in the Rohnert Park Police Department.

Bill Belander (Spring Valley/Grossmont College) played two seasons for Hall of Fame men's basketball coach Bill Trumbo, from 1972 to 1974.  An outstanding scorer and rebounder, Belander helped lead the Cossacks to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, the first in the department's history.  He led the team in scoring as a senior at 23.9 points per game and was named the Far West Conference's Player of the Year that season.  He was also named Second Team All-District and UPI All-Pacific Coast during his memorable 1973-74 season.

A rarity in his era, Paige Dumont (Lakeport/Clearlake HS/Santa Rosa JC) excelled in two sports as a student-athlete at Sonoma State.  A starter on the Seawolves' 2006 CCAA Champion Men's Basketball Team, Dumont was an All-American closer for the 2007 CCAA Champion Baseball Team as well.  An all-conference performer on the hardwood in 2005-06, Dumont owns the school's single-game block record with six.  On the diamond, Dumont established a school record with 16 saves in 2007, garnering All-Conference, All-Region, and All-America honors.  He was also an Academic All-American.  Following several seasons in the Philadelphia Phillies farm system, Dumont was named the head baseball coach at Santa Rosa High School, a post he holds today.

A teammate of Dumont's on the 2006 CCAA Champion Men's Baskeball Team, J.T. Tipton (Watsonville/Monte Vista Christian HS) enjoyed a tremendous four-year career at Sonoma State.  Bursting on to the scene in 2003-04 with CCAA Freshman of the Year honors, Tipton developed into a three-time All-West Region and First Team All-CCAA selection.  He graduated as the school's all-time leader in scoring and rebounding and he's one of just two basketball student-athletes to have their number retired (Jann Thorpe). Prior to his senior season, Tipton gained national attention with his selection to the Street & Smith's Pre-Season All-America Team. 

A four-year star on the Sonoma State women's basketball team, Tara Whiteside (Manhattan Beach/Mira Costa HS) plied her trade on campus from 2001 to 2005.  SSU's Female Athlete of the Year as a senior, Whiteside was a four-time All-CCAA selection.  Following her graduation, she ranked second in school history with 1,340 points.  A leader both on and off the court (she served as Student-Athlete Advisory Committee President), Whiteside started for two NCAA Tournament teams and is the program's all-time leader in games played with 111.

Just the fifth team to be inducted into the Sonoma State Athletics Hall of Fame, the 2002 Men's Soccer Team enjoyed one of the most memorable runs in the program's history.  Following a heartbreaking penalty kick defeat in the CCAA Championship Semifinals, there was thought that a post-season run might not be in the cards.  However, when the brackets were announced, the Seawolves were included in the field and slated to face a highly-ranked Cal State Dominguez Hills squad on the road.  Sonoma trailed 2-0 midway through the second half before Tony Bussard, a 2012 Hall of Fame inductee, scored three times to propel the Seawolves into the national quarterfinals and set the stage for an improbable run.  The team captured just the second NCAA title in the department's history with a 4-3 win over Southern New Hampshire.  Several student-athletes earned All-America honors and head coach Marcus Ziemer was named the National Coach of the Year. 

The induction ceremony will be held on Saturday, October 5th at Sally Tomatoes in Rohnert Park (1100 Valley House Drive).  A no-host reception will start at 5:30 p.m. with dinner to follow at 6:30 p.m. and the program starting at approximately 7:30 p.m.  Tickets are now available for purchase by clicking here.