Jan. 14, 2006

ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. - Mike Bennett '95, Suzie Dailer '95, Becky (Okoniewski) Sapio '94 and David Vanterpool '95 were inducted into the St. Bonaventure University Athletics Hall of Fame on Saturday morning in ceremonies at the Robert R. Jones Trustees Room in Doyle Hall.

Dailer and Vanterpool were both basketball players, Okoniewski was a swimmer and Bennett was a baseball player.

Inductees Becky Sapio (left), Suzie Dailer (right) and Mike Bennett (second from right) pose with Director of Athletics Dr. Ron Zwierlein. Missing is David Vanterpool, who could not attend due to obligations with his pro basketball team.

"This honor is certainly well-deserved and fitting for all four of our former student-athletes," said Dr. Ron Zwierlein, Director of Intercollegiate Athletics. "It is a privilege to be able to name them our Hall of Fame Class of 2006."

Bennett helped elevate the Bonnies baseball program into a regular contender for postseason play. He is the only St. Bonaventure baseball player to earn first team Atlantic 10 All-Conference accolades three times - 1993, 1994 and 1995 - and his .365 career batting average remains the school record. Bennett also ranks among the program's all-time leaders in hits (194), RBI (138), runs (121), home runs (18) and doubles (42). He helped lead the Bonnies to their first berth in the Atlantic 10 Tournament in 1994 and a repeat appearance in 1995. Bennett went on to a three-year career in minor league baseball and is now a teacher and coach at Thomas Edison High School in his native Elmira, N.Y.

Best known as a scorer with long-range accuracy, Dailer set and still holds all the school records for three-point field goals. As a sophomore in 1993, she led the nation in three-pointers (99) and also led the Atlantic 10 Conference in scoring (19.4 points per game) and assists (6.0 per game). Over her career, Dailer scored 1,422 points and made 291 three-pointers. She now stands fifth in program history in scoring. However, Dailer truly was an all-around player, as evidenced by her impressive statistics in many areas. She ranks fifth all-time in school history in assists (449), seventh in steals (178) and 14th in rebounding (466). The Wheeling, W.Va., native was named All-Conference by the Atlantic 10 in 1993, 1994 and 1995. Her senior season, Dailer won the State Farm National Women's 3-Point Shootout at the men's Final Four in Seattle. Dailer now works as a nurse and is an assistant coach for a girls high school basketball team in her home state.

One of the top sprinters in the history of the women's swimming program, Sapio made her mark over four seasons of competition (1991-94) at the Eastern Intercollegiate Championship and the first two seasons the Atlantic 10 Championship was held. She won nine events at Easterns over her career - three individual and six as part of relays - and led the Bonnies to the Eastern title her senior season. She also won nine events at the Atlantic 10 Championships. Over her four years, Sapio set school records in eight events - the 50 freestyle, 100 free, 200 free and 200 individual medley as well as five relays. Her times in the 200 and 400 medley relays still stand as program records. A native of Depew, N.Y., Sapio resides in Buffalo and is the mother of three young children.

Vanterpool helped lead the Bonnies men's basketball back to national respect over his four seasons (1991-95). An Atlantic 10 All-Rookie team selection in 1991-92 when he averaged nine points per game, the 6-foot-5 guard developed into a superb all-around player. He averaged better than 12 points per game his sophomore and junior seasons. As a senior, he averaged 17.5 points per game and was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Conference first team. More importantly, he led the 1994-95 team to an 18-13 record and a berth in the NIT -- St. Bonaventure's first postseason appearance since 1983. Vanterpool scored 1,474 points over his four seasons and today ranks 13th in school history in scoring. He is also listed among the program's all-time leaders in assists (3.6 per game), rebounding (5.6 per game), steals (2.2 per game) and three-pointers (106). His 247 steals were at the time a school record. Vanterpool went on to a lengthy career in professional basketball including stints in the NBA with Washington and New Jersey. A native of Silver Spring, Md., he is currently playing for CSKA Moscow in Russia.