Student Athlete
Captain of Skidmore's Men's Hockey Team from 1994 to 1996, Joseph L. Doldo '96 was three-time Eastern College Athletic Conference South Player of the Year, the first player in the conference ever to be so honored. In addition to holding the record for Skidmore's Men's Hockey as all-time leading scorer with 86 goals and 130 assists for 216 points, Doldo tied for the 1996 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III scoring title, with 21 goals and 42 assists for 63 points. During Doldo's career, Skidmore Men's Hockey racked up a stunning 68-23-4 record, including three regular-season ECAC South titles. The team established a new school-record of 20 wins during its 1994-95 season. Doldo also played two seasons of lacrosse, scoring 41 goals and adding 33 assists for 74 points. He was the recipient of Skidmore's College Senior Athletic Award in 1996. Doldo credits his experience on the hockey team for instilling leadership skills and a respect for team culture. Moreover, he forged close bonds with teammates that remain central to his life today. "I was very fortunate to be surrounded by some fantastic line mates, a good hockey team and more importantly, a great group of guys."
Doldo lives in Bedford, NH, with his wife, Dianthe Schroeder Doldo '96, a former member of Skidmore's Women's Tennis, and their daughter, 18-month-old Alexandra. A regional sales manager for A4 Health Systems, he holds an MBA from New Hampshire College. He continues playing hockey for a men's league in Manchester, NH.
"Athletics was important part of my college experience," he observes. "It's an honor to be selected for Skidmore's Hall of Fame."
Jamie Levine '98 (Women's Tennis)
Jamie Levine'98 led the women's tennis team to the 1998 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III national championship. During her career, Skidmore's Women's Tennis Team won four New York State titles. The winner of the 1998 NCAA Division III singles championship, she gave one of the most dominating performances in NCAA III history with a 6-0, 6-0 win in the championship match. A six-time All-American (four times in singles and twice in doubles), Levine compiled a stellar career singles record of 129-19. She finished second in the 1996 and 1997 NCAA singles tournament and played in the 1995 NCAA singles semifinals. The recipient of the 1998 Skidmore College Senior Athlete Award, Levine is Skidmore's first (and only) NCAA individual champion. Levine was also selected as the Honda Award Sports nominee in Tennis in 1998.
Levine and husband Brett live in Manhattan, where she works for Waterworks as a design consultant and project coordinator. A graduate of NYU's master's program in education, she is currently studying interior design at Parsons School of Design.
"It is very special for me to be part of the group to be inducted into the Skidmore College Sports Hall of Fame both as an individual and as a member of a team", she observes. The honor serves as reminder that hard work and teamwork pay off. "I am excited that the sports program has continued to grow and now will have a formal home in Skidmore's great history."
Heather Mitchell '99 (Field Hockey)
Field hockey All-American in 1997 and 1998 (the first All-American in Skidmore Field Hockey history), Heather Mitchell '99 graduated as Skidmore's all-time leading scorer with 50 goals and 30 assists for 130 points. She continues to hold claim to second place holder of that title. Mitchell led Skidmore's Women's Field Hockey Team to its first National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III tournament appearance in 1998. A three-time All-Region player, she was named Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association Field Hockey Player of the Year in 1998. Mitchell, who also played four seasons of basketball, garnered basketball all-conference honors in 1999. She was 1999 recipient of the Skidmore College Senior Athlete Award.
Mitchell's leadership helped move the field hockey program into the national spotlight. Since she led the team to its first NCAA event in 1998, the program has played in five of the last six NCAA Tournaments.
Assistant director of admissions at St. Johns University in Queens, NY, Mitchell resides in Westbury, NY.
David Hathaway '92 (Golf)
Skidmore's first four-time All-American in any sport, David Hathaway '92 was a four-time Golf Coaches Association District I Player of the Year and a four-time All-East Team selection. His remarkable career includes a second place finish in the 1992 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III tournament. He also finished third in 1989, 10th in 1990, and 11th in 1991. He shot the first Skidmore under-par round at NCAA Championships with a three-under-par 69 in 1990. Competing primarily against NCAA Division I teams, Hathaway participated in 52 intercollegiate tournaments, winning nine and finishing in the top ten 27 times (52 percent). He set several course records in including a 66 on the West Point course. The 66 still stands as the lowest round by a Skidmore golfer. As team captain, Hathaway led Skidmore Men's Golf Team to four straight NCAA Division III top-ten tournament finishes, including a fourth place finish in 1989. He received the Skidmore College Senior Athlete Award in 1992.
David lives in Pittsfield, MA, with his wife, Wendy.
Administrator/Staff
Timothy Brown (Athletic Director)When people refer to Thoroughbred golf coach Tim Brown as ?the father of Skidmore athletics,? they mean it quite literally. When he arrived on campus 25 years ago to head up the College's athletic program, he found a handful of sports clubs known as The Wombats, facilities that consisted of one basketball court and two office trailers, and an institution still widely perceived as an all-women's school. Brown, a Keene State College graduate (and member of its athletic hall of fame) who earned an M.S. and a P.E.D. from Indiana University, led the charge to transform several loosely run sports clubs into today's 19 highly respected, competitive varsity teams.
Brown was the driving force behind Skidmore's entry into an intercollegiate athletic conference and its founding membership in the Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association (with Clarkson, Hamilton, Hobart, and William Smith, RPI, Rochester, St. Lawrence, and Union), an enormous step forward for the College.
While upgrading Skidmore's level of athletic competition, Brown simultaneously spearheaded the construction of the Sports and Recreation Center (1984), Castle Baseball Diamond (1989), and the stadium, track, and artificial turf complex (1994).
Brown's contributions to the evolution of Skidmore Athletics include leading the Thoroughbred Men's golf program to 18 consecutive appearances in the NCAA Division III Championships and nine straight UCAA titles, as well as coaching 21 players to 45 all-American honors at Skidmore. The Golf Coaches Association of America named him the Division III National Coach of the Year in 1994 and 1996. He was also chosen by Golfweek as the National Coach of the Year in 1996 for building Men's Golf at Skidmore into one of the nation's top intercollegiate programs. In 2001 he was inducted into the Golf Coaches Hall of Fame.
Many other Skidmore athletic teams have flourished during the Brown era. National champions include five riding teams (1990, 1991, 1995, 1996, 1999) and the 1998 women's tennis team. And there have been 24 UCAA championships in baseball, field hockey, golf, women's lacrosse, men's and women's tennis, and volleyball.
Although Brown retired as athletic director in 2003, he continues to coach Men's Golf at Skidmore and enjoys traveling with his wife, Carol. This hall of fame induction honor is his first as a college administrator. "It's the best one ever", notes Brown. "Establishing a hall of fame for Skidmore athletics has been a dream of mine for a while now--to be recognized by those I've worked so closely with over the years is especially rewarding."
Team
1998 Women's Tennis Team
Under the leadership of team captains Samantha L. Brophy'98 and Jamie Levine Levine '98, Skidmore's Women's Tennis Team earned the College's first NCAA Division III Championship in 1998.
- Samantha L. Brophy '98
- Ann M. Gruber '00
- Alexis H. Karetzky '01
- Jamie Levine Levine '98
- Inke A. Noel '99
- Lisa L. Powers '01
- Heather J. Wood '01
Special Recognition
Marjorie Wendel Keenoy'44 (Golf)
Long before there was a formally recognized competitive athletics program at Skidmore, there were students like Marjorie Wendel Keenoy '44, who, as a sophomore, became a championship golfer. The winner of a city tournament in her hometown of Dayton, OH in 1941, she also competed in the first ever women's intercollegiate golf tournament, held in Columbus at the Ohio State course. In 1951, she reclaimed the Dayton city tournament championship.
Keenoy, who had played golf on a high school boy's team (there wasn't a team for girls), recalls taking a bus from Skidmore's former downtown campus to the grounds of the Gideon Putnam Hotel in Saratoga Springs Spa State Park, where she and another classmate were coached by pro Bob Cheshire.
Since then she has never strayed far from the greens for long. A longtime competitor in Ohio State and North South Senior tournaments, she accompanied a group of alumni led by Tim Brown to Scotland in 1999, where they sampled some of the best courses in the British Isles, and spent two days at the British Open.
Still a formidable golfer at 83, Keenoy continues to play three to four times a week. She resides in Naples, FL, with husband Charles, whom she met on a blind date, naturally, to play golf.
A longtime alumna volunteer, she has served as class agent and reunion volunteer. The Keenoy Room in Lucy Scribner Library was dedicated in 1994 and the Marjorie Wendel Keenoy '44 Merit Scholarship in Science was established in 1998.
"I don't feel that I have done anything special, she insists, but I certainly have enjoyed golf all these years and I am very honored to be selected."
Neil S. Kaye '80 (Founder of Crew Team)
Neil Kaye '80 founded Skidmore Crew in 1977. He is described by former teammates as a ?tireless and focused supporter of Skidmore Crew.? A biochemistry/psychology major, Kaye earned an MD at Albany Medical College. He is a nationally recognized forensic psychiatrist practicing in Wilmington, DE, has taught at law schools and medical colleges, published widely in his field, and served as an expert witness for the U.S. government as well as numerous other agencies.
Kaye arrived at Skidmore with impressive crew credentials as a former Exeter coxswain and junior national team member. In the fall of 1977, he located a four-man shell (circa 1910-1915) that was collecting dust in the barn of local melon farmer, A. A. Hand.
Kaye recruited four novice women, including Abby Peck '78 to sign on as Skidmore's first-ever crew team. After three weeks of training and a couple of chocolate chip cookie sales in Case Center, they headed to Cambridge, MA, for the country's premier regatta, the Head of the Charles. To the group's utter amazement and delight, the Thoroughbred four, with Kaye shouting commands, came in 25th of 40 boats. Back on campus, they laid claim to being the first Skidmore team to defeat Ivy League teams.
Kaye freely admits that he received an excellent education at Skidmore, not the least of which was learning how to put together a top-notch crew team. After graduating, he established crew teams for his other alma mater, Albany Medical College, as well as for Albany Law School, SUNY Albany, and the City of Albany. At home in Delaware, he spearheaded the establishment of a youth rowing club, for which he recently dedicated a new boathouse.
"This is a very big honor and a complete surprise," notes Kaye. "The fact that Skidmore's program has become so successful is ?especially gratifying." , Shells belonging to Skidmore Crew bear the names of Kaye and his wife, Susan to, who are both eager to continue watching the program grow.
