The Westmont Athletics Hall of Fame is about to increase in number by three. In a ceremony to be held on Friday during Homecoming weekend, Tine Hardeman of the class of 1955 will be joined by two 1997 graduates as 2010 inductees – Miriam Niednagel Ryan and Riva DaSilva.
First established in 1995, this year’s honorees will comprise the eighth class admitted into the Hall of Fame, bringing its membership to 31. The induction ceremony, at which dessert will be served, is scheduled to begin at seven o’clock.
In the 55 seasons of men’s basketball that has been played since Hardeman’s senior year, no one has dethroned him as the record holder for most points scored in a single game. Hardeman scored 46 points in a game against Chapman College, edging out his former teammate John Crew who had established the previous record of 45 just one year earlier. The most scored since that time was 43 points by Ron Estes in a game against Southern Utah during the 1965-66 season.
“It has been a long time coming,” said Westmont men’s basketball head coach John Moore, who, as associate athletic director, also chairs the Hall of Fame committee. “He was one the top players in the 50s.”
Hardeman scored 624 points during the 1954-55 season (sixth all-time), averaging 24.0 points per game, which is second only to Crew who averaged 26.2 in the 1952-53 season. Hardeman’s 237 field goals during his senior year ranks fourth in a single season.
Hardeman’s legacy at Westmont, however, is not limited to the record books. All four of his children attended Westmont and two of his sons played for Westmont – T.J. (1974-78) and Todd (1982-86). Two of his granddaughters also put on a Warriors’ uniform and took to the hard court – Katie (2000-04) and Kelsey (2008-10). T.J., who currently serves as the women’s basketball head coach at Azusa Pacific, is scheduled to present his father at Friday night’s Hall of Fame Induction ceremony.
“Tine is a fabulous ambassador for Westmont College,” said Moore. “He has been a missionary for more than 50 years in the Philippines and came back to serve for one year as the Warriors’ head coach (1974-75).”
“Miriam was a highly respected team leader and a humble champion,” said Westmont cross country and track and field head coach Russell Smelley.
“There has not been a more decorated athlete in the history of Westmont,” noted Moore.
The distance runner was a ten-time NAIA All-American. Four times Ryan earned All-NAIA Cross Country recognition. She posted the fastest time ever recorded by a Westmont athlete in a national championship race (18:12) when she finished tenth in the nation her sophomore year. Also a four-time All-Golden State Athletic Conference honoree, Ryan won the GSAC Championship as a sophomore and again as a junior and finished second to teammate Julie Hansen as a senior.
As a team, the Warriors finished fifth in the nation in her freshman year, fourteenth a year later, fourth in her junior year and third when she was a senior.
Six of her All-American Awards came as a result of her competition at the NAIA Track and Field Championships. As a freshman, she was part of the indoor two-mile relay team and in her junior and senior years she earned national honors as part of the indoor distance medley relay teams.
In 1995, she picked up her first individual All-American Track and Field honor in the indoor 3,000 metters and then later that same year received the same recognition in the outdoor version of the same event. As a junior, her individual national honors came in the indoor mile.
Ryan is a Westmont record holder in the 4 x 1600 meter relay (21:09.69) and the distance medley relay (12:12.42) and ranks second in the 3,000 meters (10:06.78). Ryan will be presented for induction by Smelley and her father, Roland Niednagel.
“There are not many people at Westmont who have won national championships in individual sports,” said Moore. “Riva DaSilva is one of the few and the only to ever do it in tennis.”
The 1997 men’s tennis team was the most successful in Warrior history. After earning NAIA All-American honors in both singles and doubles in 1996, DaSilva added NAIA Singles Champion to his resume in 1997. Ironically, DaSilva defeated his own doubles partner, Ashley Fickel, in an all-Westmont singles championship match. The team finished third nationally, the highest in school history.
DaSilva, a two-time All-GSAC selection, was also the 1997 GSAC Singles Champion and paired with Fickel to win the GSAC Doubles Championship.
As a result of his accomplishments, DaSilva was also named to the 1997 Rolex Collegiate All-Star Team, selected from all divisions of collegiate tennis. Former Westmont men’s tennis coach and player Chris Elwood will present DaSilva for induction into the Hall of Fame.
