ODU Sports Hall of Fame induction set for Oct. 9 at Constant Center
The 2009 Old Dominion University Sports Hall of Fame induction class features a wrestling All-American, sailing All-American, an all-conference baseball player and the school's first full-time sports information director.
The Hall of Fame program will be held at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 9, at the Ted Constant Convocation Center. The evening begins with a social, followed by the ceremony at 8 p.m. Tickets are $35 and may be purchased by calling the athletic ticket office at 683-4444.
The inductees will also be honored during the ODU-Presbyterian football game on Oct. 10.
This year's class includes Nick Hall (wrestling), Christine Accettella (sailing), Scott Thomson (baseball) and Joe Law (administration), posthumously.
Hall is arguably one of the top wrestlers in ODU history. The heavyweight wrestler finished fifth at the 1995 NCAA Championships.
In the 1995-96 season, he ranked third nationally and finished the season 36-1. In the national quarterfinals, he suffered a serious spinal injury, rupturing his fifth and sixth discs. He lost the match and was not able to continue in the tournament, which kept him from repeating as an All-American.
Hall completed his career with a 115-18-3 record, which ranks him fourth on ODU's all-time list. He is also tied for first with 29 career pins. Hall was an NCAA qualifier three successive years, from 1994-96. He captured Colonial Athletic Association titles in 1995 and 1996, and was named CAA Wrestler of the Year both of those years.
Hall graduated in 1996 with a degree in psychology. He returned to his home in the Long Island area of New York, where he works as an account manager in the wine and spirits industry. He also is a volunteer wrestling coach at his high school, Longwood In Middle Island, N.Y., where his oldest son is following in his footsteps.
Thomson came to Old Dominion in 1987 as the Maryland High School Baseball Player of the Year.
During his four seasons at ODU, he displayed his durability and consistency. He still ranks in the top four in seven ODU career baseball categories. He is No. 1 in games started (220), second in doubles (63) and triples (16), and ranks third with 278 career base hits.
As a freshman, Thomson was named to the Sun Belt Conference All-Rookie squad and led the Monarchs with 31 RBIs. In his junior season, he was selected as a preseason All-American by Baseball America. That year, he led the nation in triples with eight, hit .399 and was named first team All-Sun Belt as ODU ranked as high as 23rd in the nation.
The Monarchs also reached the conference finals and played in the NCAA Regional at the University of Texas, where Thomson led off the game against Cal State Fullerton with a home run. He later hit another homer in that game.
In 1991, Thomson led the team in home runs, was named first team All-Sun Belt Conference and was the Virginia College Player of the Year. ODU won 39 games that year and again reached the conference finals.
Thomson played two seasons of minor league baseball, and then returned to school to complete his degree in physical education at Western Maryland University.
He has been the head baseball coach at Mount St. Mary's for the past 12 years. In 2007, the Mounts had the best record in their history, and Thomson was named NEC Coach of the Year, winning the league title and advancing to the NCAA Regional.
Accettella was a first team All-America sailor in 1994. She served as team captain and earned MVP honors on the squad. In 1991, she was part of the second-place finish in the B division at the 1991 ICYRA Women's Sailing National Championships. She also skippered a crew to a first-place finish in the A division of the 1993 Navy Fall Women's Regatta.
In 1993, Accettella placed seventh in the ICYRA Women's National Championships. In 1993-94, she won the women's intersectional, and placed second at the Mid Atlantic Sailing Championships and the MAISA Women's District Championships. The Babylon, N.Y., native competed in the Gaastra J22 World 2000 Championships.
Accettella graduated in 1994 with a degree in sports medicine and in 1996 earned a master's in physical therapy. She served as an assistant coach at ODU for three years, and currently works in the physical therapy field in the Hampton Roads area.
Law served as the university's first full-time sports information director from 1972-79. A native of House, N.M., he joined ODU after retiring from the Navy. Law served on various CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) committees, and his publications won several awards from the organization.
A tireless worker, Law was a mentor to many in the field of sports media relations. He implemented much of ODU's athletic photography and historical record archives, and played a major role in the development of the ODU Sports Hall of Fame. He remained on the committee until 2005.
After leaving ODU, Law served as public affairs officer at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard for 14 years. He died Sept. 24, 2007.