Three Fanshawe alumni enter OCAA Hall of Fame

Header image for Interrobang article CREDIT: FANSHAWE ALUMNI REBECCA ELLIOTT (HUNTLEY) (LEFT), TUNDE RETI (RIGHT) AND PAT SEWELL (MIDDLE, LEFT) ARE THE LATEST FALCON INDUCTEES INTO THE ONTARIO COLLEGES ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION (OCAA) HALL OF FAME.
PROVIDED BY FANSHAWE ATHLETICS

Three Fanshawe College alumni have officially been inducted into the Ontario Collegiate Athletic Association (OCAA) Hall of Fame.

Rebecca Elliot (Huntley), Tunde Reti and Pat Sewell all received the prestigious award through their efforts on the hardwood, on May 8 in Toronto, Ont.

The OCAA inducts new members into its elite program every two years, and currently consists of 422 members over its 16 years of operation (2003). The award is presented to student-athletes, coaches and builders of athletic programs throughout Ontario.

The criteria to be considered for induction covers individual skill set, contribution, statistics, leadership and successful team accomplishments while in college and thereafter. Nominees also need to have graduated from their respective programs while enrolled as student-athletes.

Elliot played for the Falcons for four seasons, winning two OCAA Championships and amassing multiple awards and accommodations over that span. With each passing season her game evolved more and more. In her second year, she led her team to the Championships after a second place provincial finish the previous year.

The following year Elliot led the team again to the Championships and successfully obtained another provincial trophy. This accomplishment marked the third time that the Fanshawe women’s basketball program had won backto- back gold medal OCAA Championships and cemented Elliot’s pedigree as a winner.

When asked what the induction meant to her, Elliot told Interrobang, “When I was notified about the induction I was pretty much speechless. This is such an honour; I have trouble putting words together to describe it”.

Her appreciation for the honour is derived partly due to the associations she was fortunate enough to have been a part of during her years of escalating dominance on the hardwood.

“I played with some great players and had a couple of amazing coaches who also played a huge role in getting me into the Hall of Fame. I would like to thank all of them for pushing me to be a better player,” Elliot said.

Another hero of the hardwood was Tunde Reti, a three-year member of the women’s basketball team from 1986 to 1989. During her prolific career, Reti experienced Fanshawe’s second back-to-back championship seasons. In the first of her two back-to-back seasons, Reti was named the Championship MVP as well as the Female Athlete of the year for Fanshawe College.

In her final season, Reti helped to take the Falcons to the National Championship tournament, unfortunately coming up short in the bronze medal game to Grand Prairie Regional College 48 – 47.

Sewell graced the hardwood for three consecutive seasons at Fanshawe, although his last season was arguably his best. In that season Sewell garnered every possible individual and team award that could be obtained. His 2006/2007 season saw him take home two league Player of the Year Awards (OCAA, Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association [CCAA]), an OCAA Championship and an OCAA and CCAA all star honours, just to name a few.

Sewell was also a member of the inaugural 2011/2012 London Lightning Semi-Professional Basketball team.

This year’s event inducted 25 new members from partnering colleges throughout the province. The May 5 event marked only the ninth time that the induction ceremony has taken place, and with the three new inductions, Fanshawe College now has 24 of the 422 members in the OCAA Hall of Fame.

A memorial commemorating successful Falcon inductees into the Hall of Fame can be found on campus just outside of room J1034-2 in J building. The addition of the new members to Fanshawe’s commemorative Hall of Fame wall is scheduled for early August.