BALTIMORE – Steve Stenersen, the president and CEO of the Baltimore-based US Lacrosse, is one of eleven Baltimore area lacrosse icons that will be inducted into US Lacrosse’s Greater Baltimore Chapter Hall of Fame on January 31, 2009. The induction ceremony will take place at The Grand Lodge in Hunt Valley, Md.

The 2009 induction class consists of: Scott Bacigalupo, Mark Darcangelo, Jeannette DeVos Ireland, Richard Grieves, Heather Klink, Steve Mitchell, Eliza Shoemaker Kelly, Steve Stenersen, Amy Ward, Monica Yeakel and Thomas A. Marechek.

"The Greater Baltimore Chapter is thrilled to celebrate the induction of these 11 outstanding candidates as the 13th Hall of Fame class," said Skip Lichtfuss, board member of the Greater Baltimore chapter of US Lacrosse. "Their accomplishments as players, coaches and contributors are exemplary and in keeping with past inductees represent the best that our chapter has to offer."

Bios of the inductees are as follows:

SCOTT S. BACIGALUPO
Beginning as an AA goalie at St. Paul’s School in 1990, Scott took his considerable talents to Princeton University where he started for all four years and spearheaded the Tiger teams that won NCAA championships in 1992 and 1994. In addition to earning the Most Outstanding Player in each of these championships, Scott earned All-American honors all four years including 1st team selections in 1992, ‘93 and ’94. In addition, he was named the Div. I USILA Goalie of the Year in each of those years. He capped these formidable accomplishments by being named the Div. I Player of the Year in 1994. Scott left Princeton University as the all-time saves leader, the recipient of the Daily Princetonian Male Athlete of the Year and the William W. Roper Award symbolic of the highest athletic award at Princeton. Subsequently, Scott was named to the NCAA Silver Anniversary Team in 1995 and recognized by Lacrosse Magazine as a member of the All-Century Team. He was elected to the St. Paul’s School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007.

MARK J. DARCANGELO
As a central figure during the first three of an NCAA record 12 consecutive Div. III national championships at Hobart, Mark was a four-time All-American midfielder. He played the position with great intelligence and unselfishness on the way to becoming one of only five Statesmen to earn first-team All-American accolades three times (1980-82). In 1980, Mark was also selected as the USILA Div. III Midfielder of the Year in 1981 and ’82, earning Most Outstanding Player in the 1981 championship game. He topped off the 1982 season by representing Hobart in the North-South game. Mark finished his career with 84 goals and 60 assists. He later played with the Baltimore Thunder in the MILL in the 1987. Mark was inducted into the Hobart College Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003.

JEANNETTE DeVOS IRELAND
Jeannette began her lacrosse career at Parkville Senior High School in 1971. She then played at Towson University in 1974-75, then transferred to Goucher for 1976-77. While at Towson, she was part of two Maryland College Women’s Lacrosse Championship teams, in both 1974 and 1975. These years predate collegiate national championships and collegiate All Americans. After graduation, Jeannette continued to play club lacrosse with the Baltimore Association until 1980. Jeannette also spent 20 years as the assistant coach at Johns Hopkins, from 1978-97.

RICHARD B. "DICKY" GRIEVES
An all-Maryland Scholastic Association (MSA) player Boys’ Latin School, Dicky led the Lakers to consecutive MSA Div. I championship games. As a freshman at Washington College in 1980, the switch to midfield occurred, leading to Div. III AA selections in 1981 (2nd Team) and 1st team status in 1982 and ’83. Sho’men teams reached the NCAA Div. III playoffs three consecutive times, losing in OT by a 9-8 score to Hobart in 1982. Dicky was named Div. III Midfielder of the Year in 1983. That same year he also won the Washington College Athletic Council Award and represented WC in the North-South game. Dicky totaled 120 goals and 91 assists as a Sho’men. In 1986, Dicky was selected to play on the US Men’s National Team that won the World Championship in Toronto, Canada.

HEATHER KLINK
Heather played field hockey, basketball and lacrosse at Maryvale High School, before attending college and playing lacrosse at Johns Hopkins, from 1985-1988. This was in the era of Hopkins playing at the DIII level. At the time, Hopkins was the Maryland Colleges State Champions in 1987 and the MAC west champs in 1988. Heather’s individual honors include All MAC conference in 1986, ‘87 and ‘88, Honorable Mention All American in 1986 and first team in ‘87 and ‘88. She was selected to play in the North/South All Star game in 1988. In Heather’s senior year, she was given the Catherine P. Cramer Award as the outstanding female athlete at Hopkins. She was inducted into the Hopkins Athletic Hall of Fame in 1999.

STEVEN C. MITCHELL
A multi-sport standout at St. Paul’s School, Steve moved on to Hopkins where he helped the Blue Jays to a four-year record of 47-6, four NCAA appearances and three NCAA Championships (1984, ’85, ’87). Steve attained Div. I HM AA honors as a junior in 1986 and was a 1st Team selection in 1987. As importantly, Steve set the standard for long-stick defensive midfielders. An imposing 6’5", Steve was the first-ever long-stick defensive middie to be honored as a 1st Team AA, prompting a separate spot to be created for that position in subsequent years. He was also named to the All-Time Johns Hopkins Team. After graduating, Steve played for the New York Athletic Club and was selected to play for the US Men’s National Teams in 1990 and 1994; both were World Champions in Perth, Australia and Manchester, England, respectively. He was named to the All-World Team for his performance in 1990.

ELIZA SHOEMAKER KELLY
Liza played lacrosse at Garrison Forest from 1991-94, where she was named an AIS all star from 1992-94 and a high school All American in 1993 and 1994. She went on to play at the University of Delaware where Liza was named a Conference All-star in both 1997 and 1998. In her sophomore year, Liza was named a Regional All American, a second team All American in her junior year and first team in her Senior year. She was selected to play in the North/South Sr. All Star game. After graduation, Liza was the assistant coach at Towson for 3 years, before becoming the Head Coach at Boston University. In the fall of 2006, Liza was named the Head Coach at Denver University. Liza has held numerous positions for the IWLCA, US Lacrosse and NCAA.

STEVEN B. STENERSEN
Probably no one individual has been more influential in the development and growth of the game of lacrosse in America over the past 25 years than Steve Stenersen. In his capacity as Executive Director of the Lacrosse Foundation, and now President and CEO of US Lacrosse, the game has seen monumental growth in every capacity.

An outstanding athlete, first at St. Paul’s School and then at the University of North Carolina, Steve’s talents have had a broad effect on many levels. At St. Paul’s, Steve excelled on the lacrosse and football fields, earning all-MSA honors in both sports as a midfielder and running back. At UNC, Steve played on two National Championship teams in 1981 and ’82, captaining the ’82 Tar Heels. An outstanding face off specialist, Steve represented UNC in the North-South game in 1982. From 1983-1990, Steve played for the Mt. Washington Wolfpack. He received the Krongard Award in 1990, signifying outstanding skill and contributions to the post-collegiate game. He also played for the Baltimore Thunder of the MILL in 1987.

During this time, Steve began a legacy of service and leadership becoming the Executive Director of the Lacrosse Foundation in 1984 at age 24. He has transformed the organization by increasing membership from less than 5,000 to more than 275,000 in 62 chapters nationwide. In the mid-‘90s, Steve played a leading role in the merger of eight national lacrosse organizations to form the first national governing body for lacrosse. The result of which was the creation of US Lacrosse in January, 1998.

Serving as the organization’s first President and CEO, Steve is leading the initiative to build a 42,000-square foot National Lacrosse Center coupled with a 3,000-seat exhibition field to serve as the sport’s national headquarters.

AMY WARD
Amy was a defender who played at St. Paul’s and Ursinus College. At Ursinus, she was part of a team that won two national championships in ’89 and’90. She was named to the All Tournament team both of these years. She was a USWLA honorable mention All American, as well as first team All American. Also, she was named a Brine 1st team All American for three consecutive years. Amy played on the US reserve team in 1989 and on the Elite team in 1990. She was also selected to play in the North/South College All Star game in 1991. Other awards include being named the Best Defensive Player in Div III in 1990 and the MVP of the NCAA championship game in 1989. While at Ursinus, she was named team captain and MVP in 1991, her senior year.

MONICA YEAKEL
Monica played lacrosse at Loyola College. She served as team captain in 1993, was named to the CAA All conference team in 1994, was first team all American in 1994 and was named to the U.S. National Team in 1994, 1995 and 1996. Upon graduation, she became the Loyola assistant coach for three years. She then became head coach at UMBC from 1998-2003. She was named NEC Coach of the Year in 2000 and 2002. Monica is now the current head coach at St. Paul’s School for Girls.

Tom Marechek, by virtue of his recent election into the National Hall of Fame, is automatically inducted into the Greater Baltimore Chapter Hall of Fame.

Full bios of all of the class of 2008 inductees at available on www.greaterbaltimorelax.com.

For tickets or more information, please contact Kerri Johnson O’Day at kjoday15@hotmail.com. Tickets for the event are $90. All proceeds benefit lacrosse in the greater Baltimore area.

About US Lacrosse
US Lacrosse, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, is the national governing body for men’s and women’s lacrosse. US Lacrosse has more than 250,000 members in 60 regional chapters around the country. Through responsive and effective leadership, US Lacrosse strives to provide programs and services to inspire participation while protecting the integrity of the game. To learn more about US Lacrosse, please visit www.uslacrosse.org.