Albany, NY--The Sage Colleges' Department of Athletics proudly announces its class for the 2017 Hall of Fame induction. Entering in 2017 will be former Russell Sage College women's volleyball player, Kaitlin Olmstead (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads), and former Russell Sage College women's soccer player Rebecca Marszalek (Adams, MA/Hoosac Valley). In addition to inducting these two former outstanding student-athletes, Sage will also be adding a new element with the addition of a "Team of Distinction." The inaugural team of distinction is the 2007 Russell Sage College Women's Volleyball Team.
With this year's induction, Olmstead and Marszalek become the 35th and 36th inductees in the Sage Athletic Hall of Fame, which started in 1993. Olmstead is the fifth women's volleyballstudent-athlete to be inducted into the hall of fame, while Marszalek is also the fifth women's soccer student-athlete to be honored.
As a senior setter on the 2005-2008 Sage women's volleyball teams, Olmstead excelled both on the court and in the classroom. As a senior, she was recognized by the NCAA as she was named the Skyline Conference Woman of the Year nominee for the 2009 NCAA Women of the Year. She was one of 132 women that vied for recognition as the NCAA Woman of the Year.
In 2008, Olmstead became the first Russell Sage women's volleyball player to be named Skyline Conference Player of the Year. She led Sage to a 24-12 mark as well as an appearance in the 2008 NCAA Division III Tournament. Over the course of her senior season, the Gators posted a 9-0 Skyline Conference record, while earning the program's second straight Skyline Conference title as well as a second straight trip to the NCAA tournament.
Over the course of her outstanding career, she was part of two Skyline Conference Championship Teams as both the 2007 and 2008 teams won the league title and earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Nearly one decade after her graduation, her performances still rank among the all-time leader board at Sage. She holds the all-time record for most career aces at 280, most career setting assists (4,479). And best setting assist per set average (9.07). She also added 1,208 career digs, which during her time in a Gator uniform stood third best.
An education major at Sage, Olmstead was also named to the 2008 Skyline Conference Fall Scholar-Athlete Team for her outstanding efforts in the classroom and graduated from RSC in 2009.
Former women's soccer all-star, Rebecca Marszalek joins the hall of fame after starring on the soccer pitch. She also participated for two seasons as a member of the Sage women's basketball team. As a senior on the women's soccer team, she was chosen as the 2011 Gator of the Year Award as the team Most Valuable Player. Marszalek was named to the Skyline Conference All-Star First Team three times (2009, 2010, 2011).
As a senior in 2011, she was named the Skyline Conference and the Eastern College Athletic Conference Women's Soccer Player of Week to close out the month of October. She finished the 2011 season as the Gators' leading scorer with nine goals and two assists for 20 points with three game-winning goals on the season. She career resume includes numerous records that still stand today. She is Sage's all-time career point leader (115) and goal scorer (52). She tallied 52 career goals with 11 assists for 115 points. In addition, she also contributed 16 career game-winning goals. She currently resides in Burnt Hills, NY and is a 2012 RSC graduate.
Under the guidance of Head Coach Lisa Gallagher, the 2007 Women's Volleyball Team became the first RSC and TSC athletic team to garner a Skyline Conference Championship and the first team to earn an NCAA Division III appearance. Her assistant coaches were Kerri Culpepper and Elizabeth Merrill. The 2007 Gators went unbeaten in the Skyline Conference with a perfect 11-0 mark and did not lose a set in the conference tournament, besting Mt. St. Mary College and Farmingdale State College, 3-0 in the tournament.
The 2007 roster was led the player of seniors Catelyn Samoranski, Shannon Young, and Jessica Nelson. Olmstead was the lone junior on the team, while Kellie Jones and Krista Provost were sophomores and Nicole Corbett and Cheryce Harvey were the two newcomers on the record-setting squad.
Tickets are available for $50/person, which includes cocktail reception at 5 p.m., followed a dinner at 6 p.m. and the induction ceremony to follow the dinner. The event will take place at the Colonie Country Club (Voorheesville, NY). The 2017 class will be honored at halftime of the Sage men's basketball game on December 9, which tips at 2 p.m. in Kahl Gym. The meal choices include Prime Rib, Chicken Marsala, and a vegetarian and gluten free meal, grilled vegetables over a gluten free pasta.
Please RSVP by November 30 by contacting the athletic department office, athletics@sage.edu. For additional questions, please contact Director of Athletics, Sandy Augstein-Collins at augsts@sage.edu