Four former student-athletes and the most successful women’s tennis team in school history will be inducted into the Northern Arizona University Athletics Hall of Fame during ceremonies next month.<\/p>\n
The 2008 class includes\u00a0Bruce Bernhardi<\/strong>\u00a0(football, 1955-58),\u00a0Sierra Cristiano<\/strong>\u00a0(soccer, 2002-03),Mark Gould<\/strong>\u00a0(football, 2000-03),\u00a0Ed Knecht\u00a0<\/strong>(wrestling, 1973-75) and the 1999 women’s tennis team.<\/p>\n They will be inducted as part of the 28th annual Hall of Fame weekend that will feature a banquet Sept. 5 with the induction ceremony taking place at halftime of the NAU-New Mexico Highlands game Sept. 6.<\/p>\n Bernhardi was a two-time All-Frontier Conference selection, ranking among the top 20 reception leaders nationally his senior year. He also lettered in basketball and track.<\/p>\n Cristiano was a unanimous selection as the Big Sky Offensive Most Valuable Player in 2003 and the first player in conference history to win consecutive MVP honors. She set a school record for most assists in one season (12) and tied the Big Sky record set by Idaho State’s Jill Schade in 2000.<\/p>\n A three-time Golden Eagle Scholar Athlete Award recipient, Gould’s 2002 punting average was the best in I-AA history. His career mark of 44.8 yards is the best in I-AA history and sixth-best mark in Division I history. He was named to Don Hansen’s Football Gazette All-America first-team choice and Associated Press and The Sports Network All-America second-team in 2002.<\/p>\n Knecht captured two Big Sky Wrestling Championships at 118 pounds in 1974 and 1975 and won six national wrestling championships. He was a member of the 1980 and 1984 U.S. Olympic teams.<\/p>\n Coached by\u00a0Mark Tichenor<\/strong>\u00a0and assistant\u00a0Ann Olsson<\/strong>, the 1999 women’s tennis team recorded the best record in school history at 20-3, winning the third straight Big Sky Conference title and earning the first berth into the NCAA Championships in school history. The team had four members on the All-Big Sky team:\u00a0Vickie Gunnarsson<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Susanna Wallin<\/strong>\u00a0were first-team selections, while\u00a0Kim Bruno<\/strong>\u00a0andSylvania Navarro<\/strong>\u00a0were second-team selections.<\/p>\n The roster included Gunnarsson of Varberg, Sweden; Wallin of Ludvika, Sweden; Bruno of Wilmette, Ill.; Navarro of Cochabamba, Bolivia;\u00a0Nicole Birk<\/strong>\u00a0of Scottsdale;\u00a0Carin Bjorkholm<\/strong>\u00a0of Stockholm, Sweden;\u00a0Kathy Kmiec\u00a0<\/strong>of Burr Ridge, Ill.;\u00a0Maggie Knight<\/strong>\u00a0of Paradise Valley;\u00a0Michelle Mohr<\/strong>\u00a0of Fort Collins, Colo.; and\u00a0Sandra Trefler<\/strong>\u00a0of Munich, Germany.<\/p>\n For information on the Hall of Fame inductees, contact NAU media relations director\u00a0Steve Shaff\u00a0<\/strong>at (928) 523-6792 or\u00a0steven.shaff@nau.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"