ROHNERT PARK -- The Sonoma State University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics is pleased to announce the 2014 induction class of the SSU Athletics Hall of Fame.  Matt Bernard, Dan Calcagno, Trevor Howe, Jarin Todd, Jennifer Tomczik (Killian), and Danae Wellander will be honored for their athletic excellence and contributions to the history of Sonoma State University athletics.  In addition, a special induction of the 1969 Football Team will highlight the October 25th event.

Tickets are now available for purchase by clicking here.

Matt Bernard (Roseville/Woodcreek HS) played three seasons as the starting goalkeeper at Sonoma State, from 2001 to 2003.  His most memorable year was his junior campaign, when he helped lead the Seawolves to the first national championship in the program's impressive history.  The Most Valuable Defensive Player at the Final Four, Bernard earned Third Team All-America honors in 2002 after recording five shutouts and holding opponents to less than a goal per game.  Bernard ended his career as a two-time First Team All-CCAA and All-West Region pick and he ranks 5th in school history in shutouts, 4th in saves, and 8th in goals against average.  

Dan Calcagno (San Leandro/San Leandro HS) was a two-sport performer for Sonoma State, starring on the diamond and the gridiron between 1989 and 1991.  A member of the first two league championship teams in baseball history, Calcagno's finest season was 1991, when he hit .357 and helped guide the Cossacks to their first NCAA Tournament appearance.  Remembered as a great team leader and a hard-nosed competitor, Calcagno was a quarterback on the football team, earning the starting nod during his senior season of 1990.  That year he led SSU to what was then the best season in school history with a 7-3 overall record and a 4-1 mark in NCAC play.  Following his collegiate career, Calcagno went on to play several seasons in the San Francisco Giants organization before embarking on a successful career as a football coach.

Over his four-year playing career, Trevor Howe (Danville/Monte Vista HS) was regarded as on one of the most consistent post presences in school history.  A member of the exclusive 1,000-point club, Howe played at Sonoma State from 1998 to 2003 (he missed the 2001-02 season due to injury).  One of but a few student-athletes to play in multiple NCAA Tournaments, Howe's finest season was 2002-03, when he earned First Team All-CCAA and All-West Region honors after averaging 14.6 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.  Over the course of his career, Howe found his way on to the all-time lists in scoring (12th), rebounding (6th), field goal percentage (4th), games played (12th), and double-doubles (7th).  

In the long history of Sonoma State Athletics, there may have been no student-athlete more dominant than Jarin Todd (Redmond, WA/Woodinville HS). A four-year star on the golf team, Todd is not only the only student-athlete in SSU history to be named his sport's national player of the year - he accomplished the feat twice, earning the Jack Nicklaus Award in 2007 and 2008.  The owner of just about every record the program has, Todd's impressive play paved the way for team success as well, as he led the Seawolves to two league championships, a west region title, and the 2009 NCAA Division II national championship.  A three-time All-American, Todd was the department's male student-athlete of the year twice and he competed in several collegiate all-star events, often times as the only NCAA Division II representative.  Todd has played professionaly on several tours, both in the US and internationally.

A four-year contributor to the women's soccer team, Jennifer Tomczik (Killian) (Mission Viejo/Capistrano Valley HS) was a major force in one of the nation's top defenses from 1996 to 2000 (she did not play in 1999).  A three-time All-Conference and All-West Region selection, Tomczik earned her highest accolade in 2000, when she was named an All-American by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).  As is often the case with defenders, statistics tell but a small part of her story - though she did assist on 12 goals in her career.  A member of the 1998 NCAA Division II runner-up team that went 22-2-1, Tomczik's teams went a spectacular 50-11-6 over her final three seasons.

While it would be easy to capture Danae Wellander's (Sonoma/Sonoma Valley HS/Santa Rosa JC) impact at Sonoma State by consulting the record books and reading her long list of accolades - she's the only two-time First Team All-CCAA pick in the program's history - it is her contributions to her team's performance that tell the story best.  Wellander guided the Seawolves to two of the best seasons in the record books, accumulating a 34-23 record and making back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances.  That she ranks among the school's all-time leaders in scoring (16th) and assists (4th), is even more remarkable when you consider that she played just two seasons at SSU.  Her senior season saw her lead the CCAA in assists and come close to the program's all-time record with 146.  

Though Sonoma State no longer sponsors a football program, the sport's history at the school is remembered fondly.  And for all the successes enjoyed in the program's later years - including the career of an eventual Pro Football Hall of Famer and a memorable league championship in 1991 - it all started with the 1969 Sonoma State Football Team.  A new program on a new campus, the '69 Cossacks were coached by Lloyd Helgeson.  Winners of five of their eight games that year, playing mostly JV teams, the Cossacks had a memorable finale in which they knocked off Sac State's JV side 20-15 in what was dubbed "the JV Championship of the Far West Conference.  Many of the young men on the roster went on to successful and rewarding careers. Though equipment was scarce and the team played home games in rented high school stadiums, the '69 Cossacks forged a bond that holds strong some 45 years later.  

The induction ceremony will be held on Saturday, October 25th at the Student Center on the Sonoma State University campus.  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.