Five talented athletes and an enthusiastic basketball manager were inducted into the Dominican College Athletic Hall of Fame during a ceremony on September 24, 2021, in the Granito Center. The new inductees included: John Clarke 鈥�75, men鈥檚 basketball; Dana Rotio 鈥�08; women鈥檚 basketball; Ryan Clancy 鈥�08, men鈥檚 soccer; Margaret Porter Hamilton 鈥�12, women鈥檚 soccer; Tom Maloney 鈥�10, baseball; and Derek Funsch for service.
John Clarke 鈥�75, Men鈥檚 Basketball
Athletic Director and Head Men鈥檚 Basketball Coach Joseph Clinton marveled at Clarke鈥檚 statistics and said he asked Clarke鈥檚 former teammates to tell him what made Clarke so good. Among the answers, said Clinton, were, 鈥淭enacious, he had a fire that burned inside that he was going to make sure his team won, very skilled player, had every shot in the book鈥e did amazing things in the clutch, if his team needed him, it was done.鈥�
Clarke ranks fourth all time in men鈥檚 basketball history in points with 1,700 career points. In 77 games, he had 331 total free throws, 609 career field goals, and averaged 23 points per game.
Clarke was a transfer student and said his biggest accomplishment at Dominican College was meeting his wife Dora who was a student here as well.
Dana Rotio 鈥�08, Women鈥檚 Basketball
John Burke, Vice President for Student Development, described Rotio as one of the all-time greatest basketball players at Dominican College because she had the ability and instincts to leap, steal, make things happen, and change the game on a dime. 鈥淎nd most importantly, every year that Dana was here the program got better,鈥� he said.
Rotio sits eighth all-time in the Sue Heller 1,000 point club with 1,265 career points. A four-year member of the Lady Chargers she earned both All-CACC and All-Met honors, along with being named the 2007 ECAC Tournament Most Valuable Player. In her 120 game career she hit 400 career goals, 103 career three-point field goals and 355 career free throws.
At the ceremony, Rotio said she learned so many lessons and values playing at Dominican College that have helped her be successful both on and off the court. 鈥淒iscipline, leadership, hard work, determination, and resiliency, are some of the other values that were instilled in me during my time as a Lady Charger,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 learned that giving up was never an option. We were physically tough, but we also learned the importance of mental toughness.鈥�
Ryan Clancy 鈥�08, Men鈥檚 Soccer
Clancy鈥檚 father, Jim, presented his son at the induction ceremony and described him as a natural athlete who began playing soccer in the backyard from the age of three. He recalled that his son played soccer, basketball, and baseball in high school 鈥� but particularly excelled at soccer.
At Dominican College, Clancy was a four year starter on the men鈥檚 soccer team. He ranks second all-time in program history in assists and is fifth in total points and goals scored. Along with his place in the Charger record book, Clancy was a three-time All-CACC honoree, a three-time CACC All-Tournament pick and a three-time All-Region selection. He also earned two CACC tournament Most Valuable Player (MVP) Awards.
In accepting the honor, Clancy referred to the title of entrepreneur Grant Cardone鈥檚 book 鈥淏e Obsessed or Be Average.鈥� He then followed up with this advice, 鈥淲hatever you do, be obsessed and if you are not obsessed with it, find something you are obsessed with. I was obsessed with soccer and it will forever be a big part of my life.鈥�
Margaret Porter Hamilton 鈥�12, Women鈥檚 Soccer
Former Women鈥檚 Soccer Coach Phil Fluhr said Hamilton was a fantastic player who was fast, tough, and had both good instincts and soccer intelligence. 鈥淪he was so aggressive that in a sense she didn鈥檛 show any fear all,鈥� he said. 鈥淪he just played hard. She was aggressive. She dived in a lot. She challenged and I don鈥檛 think anybody could withstand her shoulder charge.鈥�
Hamilton was a two-year team captain and two-time CACC All-Tournament honoree.聽 She ranks fifth all-time in Lady Chargers history in goals and eighth all-time in career points.聽 Hamilton earned two All-CACC selections and one All-Region accolades.
In her remarks, Hamilton said, 鈥淓verything with Dominican has been special to me. There鈥檚 been a lot of ups and downs and my team has brought me a lot of joy.鈥�
Tom Maloney 鈥�10, Baseball
Maloney ranks sixth in the Charger 200 hit club with 207 career hits. Baseball Head Coach Rick Giannetti said the number of hits puts him in an elite club of only 11 players in the history of the program. 鈥淎nd he was by far our best player on a team that was #1 from day one to the last day of the season,鈥� said Giannetti.
Maloney was both an all-CACC and All-Region honoree, along with receiving a CACC All-Tournament selection and was on the ECAC Division II All-Star First Team. Maloney is ninth all-time in Charger history in runs batted in.
Maloney thanked Coach Giannetti and said they shared a passion for winning. 鈥淚 never met somebody who hated losing as much as I did until we met,鈥� said Maloney.
Derek Funsch, Service
For the past 11 years, Funsch has worked as the men鈥檚 basketball team manager. Funsch thanked the incredible coaches and players for taking him along for an amazing ride. 鈥淭hank you Coach Clinton for taking me under your wing. You have been a mentor, a friend, and you have filled my days here at Dominican College with joy and humor.鈥�
Clinton said Funsch was a great friend, the players love him, and he gets everyone 鈥渇ired up鈥� during practices and games. 鈥淭he theme with Derek is the energy, the enthusiasm, the commitment, the loyalty, the responsibility,鈥� said Clinton. 鈥淗e is the heart and soul of our team.鈥�