Fairfield County Sports Hall Of Fame’s Next Class Class Of Honorees For The UConn Wing

Congratulations to all…nice honor

From UConn…

UConn Athletic Communications – May 31, 2012 – Fairfield County Sports Hall of Fame

FAIRFIELD, Conn. (May 31, 2012) –  The Fairfield County Sports Hall of Fame has announced its next class of honorees to be recognized in the Hall of Fame’s University of Connecticut wing, which pays tribute to athletes from the county that went on to stellar careers at the state university. The UConn wing is sponsored by People’s United Bank and is housed at the UConn Stamford Campus.

Former Husky athletes to be saluted at the Fourth Annual UConn Fairfield County Day ceremony on Thurs., June 14 at 5:30 pm at the Stamford campus are: Ryan Equale (men’s ice hockey, Wilton), Rocco Murano (football, Greenwich), Robert Ross (men’s soccer, Norwalk) and Christine Vorvis (women’s tennis, Fairfield). With the induction of its four newest members, the UConn Wing now has 21 athletes enshrined.

Equale played four seasons for the Huskies men’s ice hockey team and was one of the school’s all-time great offensive performers. When he finished his career in 1996, he was near the top of the UConn record book in goals (79, third all-time), assists (109, second) and points (188, third). Captain of the squad his senior year, Equale earned first-team All-American honors and led the NCAA in points and assists per game. An All-Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference center at Wilton High, he went on to play four years of professional minor league hockey.

Murano was a three-year varsity starter at middle linebacker from 1950-52. His senior year he was a co-captain and helped lead the Huskies to their first ever Yankee Conference championship. He led the team in tackles and interceptions and was named first team
All-Yankee Conference and honorable mention All-American. In 2003, Murano was selected to represent UConn’s 1950’s era former players at the opening of Rentschler Field. As a junior at Greenwich High in 1946, he was a center and middle linebacker as the school won its first ever state football title.

Ross was one of the top soccer goalkeepers in UConn history. As a sophomore in 1976, the Brien McMahon of Norwalk graduate turned in one of the greatest seasons ever in net for the Huskies. The team went 18-2-2 with Ross recording all the victories, including 14 by shutout with a 0.50 goals against average that earned him All-Yankee Conference honors. His junior year never got off the ground as he sustained a serious neck injury at the start of the season and missed the entire campaign. He captained the 1978 team and still holds school records for the lowest career GAA (0.35), fewest goals allowed (14) and fewest losses (3).

Vorvis was a four-year letter winner for the women’s tennis team from the 1997-98 season thru 2000-01. She was one of the top six players as a freshman and played in the top three singles positions the rest of her career. Vorvis also was part of the top doubles tandems for the Huskies. She reached the New England finals in both singles and doubles as a junior. Her senior season was highlighted by being named captain and also earning the first full scholarship for the women’s tennis program. At Fairfield High she went 18-3 as a senior and also was a starting guard for the school’s FCIAC championship basketball team.

The UConn wing of the Hall of Fame was started in 2007. Here is the list of the previous inductees:

2007 — Moira & Tara Buckley (Trumbull, women’s soccer), Chris Smith (Bridgeport, men’s basketball), Brian Usher (Stamford, football).

2008 – Nick Giaquinto (Stratford, football), Paul & Tim Hunter (Westport, men’s soccer).

2009 – Rashamel Jones (Stamford, men’s basketball), Joe Markus (Trumbull, football), Tom Penders (Stratford, baseball and men’s basketball), Rita Williams (Norwalk, women’s basketball).

2010 – Mary Schmidt (Stamford, women’s swimming), Bob Staak (Darien, men’s basketball).

2011 – Donna Fagan (Norwalk, softball), Gregg Hutchings (Ridgefield, men’s ice hockey), Sean Mulcahy (Westport, football) and Ken Murphy (Westport, men’s soccer).

The Hall of Fame is open six days a week from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday thru Friday and 9 a.m. noon on Saturday.

The Fairfield County Sports Commission is a 501c (3) non-profit organization whose mission is to promote fitness awareness and to educate county residents on the benefits of leading an active, healthy, lifestyle, as well as put a focus on sports as a vehicle for personal development. For more information visit www.fairfieldcountysports.com or email to: tomc@fairfieldcountysports.com.