LANCASTER, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall Athletic Department has announced an eight-member group for its 2024 Hall of Fame Class. This class includes six individuals and two teams who will be formally inducted into the F&M Hall of Fame as a part of the College's True Blue Weekend Festivities later this fall. The official Hall of Fame induction ceremony is set for Saturday, October 5 at 6 p.m.
Franklin & Marshall Class of 2024 Hall of Fame Inductees
- Dr. Robert Falk, Jr., M.D. '67 (squash, contributor)
- Jay Teagle III '74 (baseball)
- Emily Green Hayden '02 (volleyball)
- Georgio Milligan '12 (men's basketball)
- Sheena Crawley '13 (women's cross country, track & field)
- Ben Beaver '14 (men's soccer)
- 1964-65 Men's Swimming Team
- 1989-90 Women's Squash Team
Dr. Robert Falk, Jr., M.D. '67 (squash, contributor)
Dr. Robert Falk, Jr., M.D. '67 and his impact on the Franklin & Marshall squash teams can be traced back to the program's very first days when he was a part of the first varsity team. Since his undergraduate days, "Dr. Bob's" support of the program has helped the Diplomats to become one of the top teams in the country even with college squash being a single division sport where F&M competes against the nation's best, including all of the top Ivy League programs. After his graduation from Franklin & Marshall in 1967, Dr. Bob went on to graduate from Thomas Jefferson University's medical school in 1977. Following a tour in the Navy and several residencies, Falk joined the Anesthesia Associates/Lancaster General Hospital in 1977 where he had a long and successful medical career through his retirement in 2016.
Being a member of the local community, Falk continued to be a steadfast supporter of the Diplomats throughout his professional career. Just prior to his retirement in 2014, one of Falk's most notable contributions came when he established the Squash Endowment Fund. In 2022, Falk received Franklin & Marshall's Nevonian Medal for his extraordinary and sustained dedication to the College. Dr. Bob has also brought great national respect to F&M and the Lancaster area with his instrumental role in coordinating the Lancaster Piano Festival and Hamilton Open on campus. The Hamilton Open – a professional squash tournament held annually in the Mayser Center – has attracted professional women's squash players from 15 different countries to campus. Falk continues to be a mentor to current Franklin & Marshall squash players as he has served as an assistant coach with both the men's and women's squash programs since his retirement in 2016.
Jay Teagle III '74 (baseball)
Jay Teagle III '74 came to Franklin & Marshall during the era when the NCAA first allowed freshman to play as members of the varsity team. With that fourth year of eligibility, Teagle certainly made the most of his opportunity as he became one of the first four-year starters in Diplomats' history alongside teammate Clint Lynch. During those four seasons, Teagle dominated the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) as a three-time all-conference performer who additionally served as a team captain alongside Lynch in his senior season.
By the time Teagle finished his Hall of Fame career with the Diplomats, he had set new school records for games played (65), runs scored (47), doubles (18), triples (6), total bases (130), and slugging percentage (.500). All of these statistics came against challenging opponents as Franklin & Marshall played a number of Division I programs, including Duke, Wake Forest, Massachusetts, Penn, and many more in addition to the traditional MAC schedule. Playing with a wooden bat throughout his career, Teagle had a particularly strong senior season in which he batted .422 while scoring 17 runs and driving in 14 more during his 19 games played. During his historic 1974 campaign, he additionally set the school's single season record for slugging percentage (.672) and on-base percentage (.519), with those statistics still ranking among the top six single-season performances in program history over 50 years after his graduation.
Emily Green Hayden '02 (volleyball)
Emily Green Hayden '02 displayed both academic and athletic excellence during one of the finest eras in Franklin & Marshall volleyball history. A versatile player for the Diplomats who excelled in a number of facets of the game, Green's greatest accomplishments were elevating the team's success as Franklin & Marshall made three trips to the NCAA Tournament and another to the ECAC Semifinals during her decorated four-year career where she was a two-time All-Centennial Conference selection, all-region pick, and an Academic All-American. With all of that individual and team success, Green Hayden was ultimately selected for an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship following a career where she helped the team to 113 wins and a .774 winning percentage during her four seasons. That success additionally featured Franklin & Marshall winning the 2000 and 2001 Centennial Conference Championships while sporting a 35-5 conference record during Green Hayden's time on the court.
Although limited by injury during her first-year with the program, Green Hayden used that time to develop one of the best serves in program history. That hard work during her rookie season certainly paid off as she would graduate as the school record holder with 250 service aces over her career, a record that still stands to this day. When Green Hayden was able to make a full return to the court, she established the rest of her game and graduated with top 10 career marks in school history for points (1,1187.5), kills (834), digs (1,239), blocks (167), and assists (244). The Diplomats found their greatest team success during Green Hayden's junior season in 2000 when F&M reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. During that record-breaking season, she registered 98 service aces and 554 digs while the team completed an unblemished Centennial Conference record on its way to a 34-6 campaign. To this day, Green Hayden still holds top 20 marks in 12 different career statistical categories, while 12 of her single season record still rank among the top 20 performances in school history.
Georgio Milligan '12 (men's basketball)
Opponents knew that they had to stop Georgio Milligan '12 if they were going to stop the powerhouse Franklin & Marshall men's basketball team during its reign of dominance in the Centennial Conference. Despite all of the attention that the 20212 Division III News National Player of the Year received, seemingly nobody was able to stop Milligan as he finished his career as a four-time first-team All-Centennial Conference selection who led the Diplomats to conference championships during each of his final three seasons. Franklin & Marshall reached the national tournament in each of Milligan's four seasons, including a Final Four appearance in 2009 and two trips to the Elite 8 (2010, 12). In addition to being the first-ever four-time first-team All-Centennial Conference selection, Milligan was also a two-time Centennial Conference Player of the Year (2011, 12). He still stands as one of just six players in conference history to accomplish that feat.
With the Diplomats' team success came a number of individual accolades as Milligan graduated as the program leader with 1,932 career points, a mark that has only since been surpassed by fellow Brandon Federici who became just the second player in conference history to be a four-time first-team All-CC selection. At the time of his graduation, Milligan had also amassed the school records for assists (628), steals (282), free throws made (535), games played (124), games started (124), and minutes played (4,117), while ranking second in block shots (140) and third in field goals made (655). To this day, Milligan still holds the school's career record for free throws made, assists, steals, games played, games started, and minutes played. Even with those individual accolades, Milligan first made his impact as a tremendous teammate where he dished out 173 assists during his rookie campaign as F&M embarked on its trip to the Final Four in 2009. Averaging 15.6 points per game during his career, Milligan poured in 586 points as a senior (18.9 ppg) as the Diplomats went 28-3.
Sheena Crawley '13 (women's cross country, track & field)
An eight-time All-American, Sheena Crawley '13 graduated from Franklin & Marshall as one of the most credentialed runners in the history of the women's cross country and track & field programs. Crawley's dominance in running extended across her entire career as she earned multiple All-America honors across all three seasons. She currently holds 10 Franklin & Marshall records after being named both the Centennial Conference Indoor Track Performer of the Meet and the Mideast Region Runner of the Year during the 2012 spring semester. Crawley was seemingly at her best when it came to championship season as she was additionally a 15-time Centennial Conference Champion and still holds the conference's championship meet record in the indoor 800 meters.
Specializing in mid-distance events, throughout her track career, Crawley joined the cross country team as a sophomore and immediately hit the ground running as she was a two-time All-American during the fall season, earning 11th place (2011) and 13th place (2012) finishes at the national championships after qualifying for Division III Championship during her first year with the Diplomats' cross country team in 2010. Crawley was truly dominant during the indoor track & field season where she was a eight-time conference champion, including three straight wins in the mile and 4x400 relay, while twice capturing the 800 meter title. Crawley won all three of those events during both the 2011 and 2012 CC Championships. Her success was far from limited at the conference level. As a three-time national qualifier, Crawley earned her highest finish at the NCAA Division III Championships with a runner-up finish in the mile during her senior season after posting the top qualifying time in the preliminaries. That honor came just one year after she placed fifth in the same event. Not to be outdone on the outdoor track, Crawley was a seven-time Centennial Conference Champion who won the 1,500 meters during her final three seasons, while additionally taking home gold twice in the 800 meters and 4x400 relay. Crawley earned All-America during each of her four outdoor track & field seasons, taking home multiple national honors at both the 800 meter (2010, 12) and 1,500 meter (2011, 13) distances. Her best finish at the national outdoor championships came when she set her new personal best in the 1,500 meter race during a bronze medal finish in the final competition of her Diplomat career.
Ben Beaver '14 (men's soccer)
The Franklin & Marshall men's soccer team routinely competes for Centennial Conference Championships and NCAA Tournaments on an annual basis under head coach Dan Wagner. One of the instrumental figures in helping the Diplomats first achieve that success on the national stage was Ben Beaver '14. Beaver was just the second player in program history to be named a four-time first-team All-Centennial Conference selection during his career, joining Brandon Cordray '08. He was just the sixth player in Centennial Conference history to accomplish that feat and still stands as one of just seven to reach that milestone to this day. A four-year starter who played in 75 career matches, Beaver still holds the school record for points (104), goals (47), and game-winning goals (20) in a career.
Beaver's individual accolades continued to grow as the team found more success on the pitch. He earned all-region honors during his final three years in Lancaster, highlighted by first-team all-region honors in 2013 where he was additionally recognized as third-team All-American by both the National Soccer Coaches Association of American and D3Soccer.com. It was no coincidence that during the 2013 season where Beaver registered career highs in goals (15), points (32), and game-winning goals (7), Franklin & Marshall had one of its most successful years on Tylus Field as team captured its first Centennial Conference Championship in program history and advanced all the way to the Elite 8 of the national tournament. Beaver's senior season saw the Diplomats finish with an overall record of 17-4-2. That success came as part of 48 wins that Beaver and his Diplomat teammates achieved during his four seasons in Lancaster.
1964-65 Men's Swimming
Under the spell of a "victory psyche," in one of the finest seasons in school history, the 1964-65 Franklin & Marshall men's swimming team accomplished something no other team in school history had done when the Diplomats went a perfect 12-0 while capturing the Little Three and Middle Atlantic Conference Championships during that historic winter. That undefeated season was made even more impressive when looking at the competition that Franklin & Marshall faced as it went head-to-head against several Division I institutions with a schedule that featured dual meets against Delaware and Drexel. That success all led up to the team capturing one of its two Middle Atlantic Conference Championships in school history under legendary head coach George McGinness as F&M scored 103 team points at the conference championships.
Among the many outstanding performances, F&M was led by co-captains Nick Hoppner and Bill Smulyan. Hoppner was named the team's most valuable swimmer after setting school records in the 200 backstroke (2:13.0) and 200 individual medley (2:16.6), events where he took a pair of silvers at the conference meet. Smulyan gained his greatest individual success by winning the conference championship in both the 100 and 200 butterfly events. Sophomore Roger Garrison broke the school record in the 100 freestyle (51.1) before winning that event at the MAC Championships. Classmate Peter Eisenberg was renowned for his dominance in the distance events, highlighted by another school record and silver medal in the 500 freestyle. Junior John Hoffman was another record-setting swimmer on that championship team when he reset the school's best mark in the 200 breaststroke (2:31.9).
Members of the 1964-65 undefeated swimming team: Nick Hoppner '65 (captain), Bill Smulyan '65 (captain), Pete Eisenberg '65, Lee Newton '65 (manager), Phillip Dickinson '66, John Hoffman '66, Arthur Hooper '66, Jeffrey Ramer '66, Paul Axelrod '67, Willis Flower '67, Roger Garrison '67, L. Ginsburg '67, Geoffrey Hecht '67, Peter Keller '67, Frank Mercurio '67, Timothy Morse '67, Robert Stein '67, Jay Wolkov '67, John Sherwin '68, George McGinness (head coach).
1989-90 Women's Squash
With an incredible amount of talent throughout the lineup, the 1989-90 Franklin & Marshall women's squash team produced one of the greatest seasons in school history when the Diplomats advanced to the Howe Cup and finished as the fourth-ranked team in the entire country. That fourth place finish at the Howe Cup – a part of the national team championships – is made even more impressive when considering that squash competes under a single division, meaning the Diplomats were tested every time out by some of the finest Division I institutions from the Ivy League in addition to a number of traditional powers from the New England Small College Athletic Conference. Just some of those victories from the 12-6 campaign include wins against Cornell, Penn (twice), and Dartmouth. One of the season's most defining wins came during the aforementioned Howe Cup when Franklin & Marshall turned the tables on national power Trinity with a 6-3 win which avenged a 5-4 setback from the regular season.
Known for its veteran savvy that was complimented by youthful experience and outstanding conditioning, the 1989-90 team featured eight All-Americans and was represented by three Diplomats who competed among the final 12 players at the United States Women's Intercollege Squash Racquets Association Championships which were held at Brown University. The 1989-90 women's squash team was led by head coach Patricia S.W. Epps who praised the team's depth for its tremendous success. The Diplomats were led by returning All-American Lee Belknap, while fellow junior and classmate Misha Grewel had outstanding seasons on the courts. Seniors Erica Heard and Dorothy Klein provided outstanding leadership to the squad, with Erica Heard and Klein serving as the team's captains. Both McEwen and Klein finished their seasons with identical 19-3 individual records as the Diplomats counted on those players routinely to come up with key victories in the tightly-contest matches.
Members of the 1989-90 women's squash team: Erica Heard '90 (captain), Dorothy Klein '90 (captain), Karin Hyman '90, Kim McEwen '90, Lee Belknap '91, Monisha Grewal '91, Amrita Oomman '91, Amanda Long '92, Becky Snyder '92, Jennifer Boyer '93, Marie Johnson '93, Margaret Reed '93, Patricia S.W. Epps (head coach)
