HACKENSACK, N.J. - FDU Athletics revealed Monday the 2022-23 inductees to the FDU Athletics Hall of Fame. This is the 23rd class since the Hall was established in 1999. In a ceremony scheduled to be held on February 3 at Stratis Arena inside the Rothman Center, FDU will welcome Bart Bailey '90 (men's track and field), Michele Holzwarth '11 (women's golf), Anna Rapoport '13 (women's tennis), Daniel Wynne '06 (men's tennis) and the 2007-08 women's golf team. 

Register here for the Feb. 3 ceremony.
 
"I am delighted to welcome four outstanding individuals and one incredibly deserving team to our Hall of Fame," commented Director of Athletics Bradford Hurlbut. "Each year our Hall of Fame induction ceremony brings together generations of Knights to celebrate the Burgundy and Blue and I look forward to what is sure to be a great evening on February 3."

Bart Bailey joins a storied group of former track and field student-athletes and coaches in the Hall of Fame. Bailey was a two-time Northeast Conference champion in the 55-meter hurdles - first winning the gold in 1988. He followed-up that performance with another individual win, helping lift FDU to two team titles in the first two NEC Men's Indoor Track and Field Championships. From Maryland, Bailey qualified twice for the NCAA Championships, once outdoors in 1989 and a trip indoors the following year. As a freshman, Bailey would capture the 60-meter hurdles titles at the Metropolitan and New Jersey Championships. On his way to the NCAA Championships, Bailey earned the outdoor 110-meter hurdles title at the 1989 Metropolitan Championships, along with indoor and outdoor titles at the Collegiate Track Championships (CTC). Bailey becomes the 17th men's track and field alum inducted to the Hall.

On the links, Michele Holzwarth makes history as the first women's golfer inducted to the Knights Hall of Fame. Still standing in the FDU record book over a decade after graduation, Holzwarth, from Berlin, Germany, boasts the Knights' lowest-ever round, shooting a 68 in the first round of the Yale Women's Fall Intercollegiate in 2009. A member of the 2007-08 team which went on to capture the first conference title in program history in just their second season as a program, Holzwarth would go on to win the NEC individual title in 2009. She would receive more hardware as the NEC's Rookie and Golfer of the Year in 2008, earning the latter two more times (2010 and 2011). She is still ranked in the top-10 performances over 36 holes at the NEC Championships with a 146 (fifth) and sits in the top-10 over 54 holes, carding a 223 in 2009. A four-time All-NEC Selection, Holzwarth was named to the First Team All-NEC three times. In addition to the first-place finish in 2009, she would log two top-five finishes at the league championship. Participating in 39 tournaments over four seasons, Holzwarth tallied 11 victories with a career average of 78.25 in 83 rounds, good for fourth all-time. She is the highest-ranked FDU golfer in program history in the national rankings according to Golfstat.

The first of two tennis players inducted in this class, Anna Rapoport came to FDU from Moscow, Russia where she played her first two collegiate seasons at the Russian State University of Physical Education, Sports and Tourism. Once she arrived at FDU, Rapoport immediately made waves as the 2011-12 NEC Player of the Year while winning the first of two NEC team titles. In her first campaign at FDU, Rapoport was tabbed to the First Team All-NEC in the top singles position and earned a slot on the Second Team All-NEC for doubles alongside Irina Dementyeva. The first Knights' tennis player to be ranked nationally by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), Rapoport went 18-3 in 2011-12 and advanced to the NCAA tournament that season. In her final year at FDU, Rapoport became the second-ever to win back-to-back NEC Player of the Year, en route to winning another team title. She was a First Team All-NEC selection in both singles and doubles, partnered with Nicole Chis, to close a stellar two-year stint on the Hackensack.

Also hailing from across the pond, Daniel Wynne arrived at FDU in the fall of 2002 beginning a decorated four-year tennis career. As a junior and senior, Wynne took home the most distinguished NEC tennis honor as back-to-back NEC Player of the Year in 2005 and 2006. A Second Team All-NEC selection as a freshman in singles action, Wynne would go on to earn three-straight appearances on the First Team in the NEC. Wynne led the Knights with 20 singles wins as a freshman, victorious in his last 11 matches to close out the year and in doubles was primarily partnered with Alex Sarria, posting a 16-7 mark. As a sophomore, Wynne went 15-8 and undefeated against NEC foes (7-0) and was a two-time NEC Player of the Week selection,. Remaining dominant in his junior and senior campaigns, Wynne stayed at the top-flight singles slot for the Burgundy and Blue, garnering numerous honors in the NEC.

Marking another first this year, the 2007-08 women's golf team further cements its spot in FDU's history book as the first women's golf team to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.. Notching FDU's first NEC title in just their second season as a program by two strokes over Saint Francis U (Pa.), FDU was sent to the NCAA Central Regional, marking their first NCAA tournament appearance. Led by head coach Michelle Melia and assistant coach Joe Porter, the program improved from a ninth-place finish in their inaugural season to winning the league title. The Knights were comprised of Jessica Benoit '11, Lauren Chapman '11, Sarah Feldman '09, Eva Mayr '09, Lisa Warrilow '11 and Michele Holzwarth '11. In their historic season, the Knights averaged 332.85 and their six tournament wins are still the most of any FDU women's golf team; they finished with a winning percentage of .667. Holzwarth, Mayr and Marrilow earned spots on the All-Conference Team that season, capping a brilliant campaign. Holzwarth was the second-ever NEC golfer, after Mayr, to be named Golfer and Rookie of the Year in the same season with Mayr accomplishing the feat the prior season.

The inductees will also be recognized at halftime of the Knights men's basketball game on Saturday, February 4 against NEC foe Wagner at 1 p.m. Tickets for the matchup versus the Seahawks are on-sale now at FDUKnights.com/Tickets.

Friends, alumni and supporters of FDU Athletics can register for the 2023 FDU Athletic Hall of Fame Ceremony at FDUKnights.com/HOF23 or by clicking the link above. For questions regarding the ceremony and registration, please contact Lorraine Fecanin in the Knights' athletic office via email at lfecanin@fdu.edu.