Sports Hall Of Fame Inducts Five Monarch Greats

Five alumni, including four All-Americans, were inducted into the ODU Sports Hall of Fame in April: Ticha Penicheiro and Clarisse Machanguana (basketball), Sean O’Hare (baseball), John Torgerson (sailing) and Winnifred Sanders (field hockey).

Penicheiro’s playing style was one of a unique mixture of panache and skill, which earned her many a fan as she led the Lady Monarchs to the 1997 NCAA championship game. She scored 1,304 career points, while becoming ODU’s all-time steal leader (591) and second all-time assist leader (939).

The two-time Kodak All-American also became ODU’s second winner of the prestigious Lifetime/Wade Trophy. Penicheiro was named CAA Player of the Year twice. She is currently a member of the Sacramento Monarchs and a four-time WNBA All-Star.

Machanguana, a 6-5 forward from Mozambique, teamed with Penicheiro to lead the Lady Monarchs to a 34-2 record in 1996-97, completing her career with 1,813 points. Every year she stepped onto the hardwood, she led ODU in scoring and field goal percentage.

The 1997 Kodak All-American shot .624 from the floor during her career and averaged 18.3 points. Machanguana, who was the 1995 CAA Player of the Year, played three seasons in the WNBA. She lives in Mozambique.

O’Hare was part of one of the most dominating Monarch baseball teams in school history. In 1985, ODU compiled a 50-11 record and captured the Sun Belt championship. He is the school’s fifth all-time home run hitter with 30.

The first baseman earned All-Sun Belt honors in 1984 and 1985. He knocked in 87 runs to lead the league in 1985, along with a .390 batting average. His 179 career RBIs rank him fifth all-time at ODU. O’Hare was drafted in the 17th round by the Cincinnati Reds. He lives in Hopewell, Va., and coaches and teaches at his old high school.

Torgerson, the 1998 ODU Alumni Association Male Athlete of the Year, was the No. 1-ranked sailor on the U.S. men’s national team as a senior. He helped lead the Monarchs to two ICYRA national titles his senior year, wining the Team Race and the Co-Ed Dinghy titles in 1997-98. As a junior, he won the ICYRA Singlehanded national championship.

The three-time All-American competed in the 1998 World Championships and 2000 U.S. Olympic trials. He lives in Annapolis, Md., and works for the Reymann Group, a financial consulting firm.

Sanders, who lives in London, England, lettered in field hockey from 1987-90, helping ODU win two national titles and one second-place finish. A 1990 first-team All-American, she was named the 1990-91 Alumni Association Female Athlete of the Year.

She led the Lady Monarchs with 46 assists on the 1989 NCAA runner-up squad and paced the 1988 national championship team with 34 assists. In 1990, Sanders ranked second in assists and third in total points on the national champion squad. She completed her career with 145 points and 134 assists.