Toledo, Ohio - The University of Toledo Varsity T Club announced its 2022 Hall of Fame inductees today.
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Members of the Class of 2022 include seven former student-athletes: Julius "Juice" Brown, Men's Basketball (2011-15);
Craig Kuligowski, Football (1987-90); Tanika Mays, Women's Basketball (2008-10); Carly Harter-Pletz, Women's Swimming (2009-13); Stjepan Sisko, Men's Tennis (2013-17); Brad Smith, Wrestling (1975-78); and Matt Zimmer, Men's Swimming (1990-94).
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The 2022 Varsity T Hall of Fame induction banquet is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 14 at the Pinnacle in Maumee. The class is also scheduled be introduced at halftime of the Rockets' football game vs. Kent State on Oct. 15.
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Receiving the Distinguished Service Award from the Varsity T Club will be former Rocket football player Rick Isaiah, who served for more than a decade as the team chaplain for the football team.
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Tickets for the Varsity T Hall of Fame induction dinner are $45 or $450 for a table of 10 and can be purchased by calling the Athletic Development Office at 419-530-5087.
Tickets for Rocket football games can be purchased at the Athletic Ticket Office, online at UTRockets.com/tix, or by calling/texting 419-530-GOLD (4653).
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The 2022 Varsity T Hall of Fame inductees are as follows:
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Julius "Juice" Brown, Men's Basketball (2011-15)
Julius 'Juice' Brown earned All-MAC selections on three occasions during his Rocket career, including first-team honors as a junior and senior and third-team accolades as a sophomore. Brown was named to the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major All-America Team and served as a team captain as a junior and senior as well. Toledo registered the second-best win improvement (plus-15) in the nation in Brown's first season when he was named MAC Freshman of the Year by averaging 11.9 ppg and 4.9 apg. As a sophomore, Brown earned third-team All-MAC honors, averaging 13.1 ppg and 6.0 apg. Brown received first-team All-MAC honors for the first time as a junior when he helped the Rockets win the 2013-14 Mid-American Conference title and a school-record 27 victories. In that season, he ranked 13th nationally with 6.1 apg, seventh in the MAC with 14.9 ppg and dished out the second-most assists (205) in program history. Brown capped off his career by helping Toledo to a 20-11 record and scored a career-high 16.3 ppg that ranked third in the MAC in scoring. Brown ranks second in Rocket history with 695 assists and third with 1,838 points.
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Craig Kuligowski, Football (1987-90)
Craig Kuligowski was a four-year letterwinner and a two-time first-team All-MAC offensive lineman who played for the Rockets from 1987-90. He earned first-team All-MAC honors in both 1989 and 1990. The 1990 team went 9-2, led the league in rushing (224.9 yards per game) and scoring (25.8) and won a MAC Championship under head coach Nick Saban. After graduation, Kuligowski joined the Rockets' coaching staff in 1992 as a recruiting coordinator. He coached the offensive line and tight ends from 1993-95, then the defensive line from 1996-2000. In his nine years as an assistant, Toledo won one MAC title and two MAC West Division crowns. Kuligowski followed Gary Pinkel to Missouri, where he coached the defensive line from 2001-15 and was the longest tenured position coach in the SEC. In 2016, he joined the staff of the Miami Hurricanes as assistant head coach/defensive line coach, where he spent two seasons before joining Saban for one season at Alabama in 2018. Kuligowski rejoined the Rocket coaching staff in 2020 as the assistant head coach and co-defensive coordinator.
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Tanika Mays, Women's Basketball (2008-10)
Tanika Mays played two seasons with the Rockets from 2008-10, earning All-MAC honors in both seasons. As a junior, Mays averaged 12.5 points and 6.3 rebounds, leading the team in both categories. She earned second-team All-MAC honors and led UT to an 18-13 (11-5 MAC) mark in
Tricia Cullop's first year as head coach. Mays was named to the 2009 MAC All-Tournament Team, tallying a team-high 22.0 points per game in the tourney. As a senior, she again led the team with 14.4 ppg and 7.2 rpg, earning first-team All-MAC accolades. She led the Rockets to a 25-9 record and a MAC West Division title, helping UT advance to the MAC Championship Game for the first time since 2001. Mays also was runner-up for MAC Player of the Year as a senior, and was one of only two Rockets to be named a regional finalist for the State Farm Coaches' All-America Team (the other was Naama Shafir). Mays also was named to the 2010 MAC All-Tournament Team, averaging 12.3 ppg.
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Carly Harter-Pletz, Women's Swimming (2009-13)
Carly Harter-Pletz was a four-time first-team All-MAC performer for the Women's Swimming & Diving team from 2009-13. She was an integral member of the 2009-10 and 2011-12 MAC Championship Teams. During her freshman season in 2009-10, Harter-Pletz and the Rockets made history by becoming the first Toledo team to win a MAC swimming championship. Harter-Pletz earned first-team All-MAC honors that season, winning the 200 Individual Medley and was also a member of three MAC Championship Relay Teams (400 freestyle, 800 freestyle and 400 medley), all of which broke school records. As a sophomore, Harter-Pletz again earned first-team All-MAC accolades, winning the 200 IM for the second straight season. In 2011-12, the Rockets won their second MAC title, and Harter-Pletz led the way as part of two first-place relay teams that broke pool records in the 200 medley and 400 freestyle. She once again earned first-team All-MAC honors and was named Mid-Major Honorable Mention All-America by collegeswimming.com. As a senior in 2013, Harter-Pletz earned first-team All-MAC for the fourth time, taking first place and setting a pool record in the 400 IM at the MAC Championships, the third and final individual title of her career. Upon graduation in 2013, Harter-Pletz held school records in the 100 freestyle, 200 freestyle, 400 freestyle relay, 800 freestyle relay, and 400 medley relay. Harter-Pletz was a three-time Academic All-MAC honoree and graduated with a degree in early childhood education with a 3.8 GPA.
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Stjepan Sisko, Men's Tennis (2013-17)
Stjepan Sisko is the only men's tennis athlete in school history to be honored with All-MAC first-team honors in all four years of his career. Sisko was named, or shared, MAC Player of the Year honors in 2014, 2015 and 2016 (2016 co-Player of the Year with Ball State's Lucas Andersen) and was also the 2014 MAC Newcomer of the Year. Sisko, a native of Croatia, played at No. 1 singles in every dual match in his four years at Toledo. He was 15-8 as a freshman, 19-3 as a sophomore, 25-5 as a junior and 16-6 as a senior in singles play, going 18-5 in MAC play. His longest overall singles winning streak was 13 matches.
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Brad Smith, Wrestling (1975-78)
Brad Smith was a top wrestler for the Rockets from 1975-78, earning All-America honors in 1976 and winning a MAC Championship title at 142 pounds as a junior in 1977. As a freshman, he placed third at the MAC Championship Meet and entered the 1975 NCAA Championships ranked No. 6 in the country. He won his first two matches but dislocated his shoulder in the third match against Indiana University and he was forced to withdraw from the tournament. In 1976, Smith came in second at the MACs and went on to finish in fourth place at the 1976 NCAA Championships. He wrestled against Gene Costello, the second-place finalist from Slippery Rock, in the semifinals, falling in triple overtime on a referee decision. He wrestled back against Lehigh and Oklahoma State to achieve All America status that season. After his collegiate wrestling career, Smith wrestled for Team USA and toured the USSR, the first time an American team was allowed to do so. He coached for thirty years in Royal Oak, Trenton, and Farmington schools in Michigan. He has coached five state champions and multiple place winners through the years.
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Matt Zimmer, Men's Swimming (1990-94)
Matt Zimmer was one of the best swimmers in UT history during his career from 1990-94. He was a three-time recipient of the Robert O. Fountain Most Valuable Swimmer Award (1992, 1993 and 1994) and established UT records in the 50-freestyle, 100-freestyle, 200-freestyle, 100-back and all five relays. Zimmer was also the MAC champion in the 50-freestyle (1991), 400 freestyle relay (1992), 100-freestyle (1993) and the 200-medley relay (1994). He also was runner-up in the MACs x times, in the 50 freestyle (1992), 100 freestyle (1992, 1994), 200 freestyle relay (1993, 1994), 400 freestyle relay (1994) and the 400 medley relay (1994). He was named first-team All-MAC in 1994 after totaling 48 points for the Rockets at the league championships. Zimmer also competed at the 1994 U.S. Open in Ann Arbor, taking third place in the 50 and 100 freestyle events in a that was nationally televised on TNT. Zimmer continued his career and was an Olympic Trials Finalist at the 2000 Olympic Trials. Zimmer married UT swim alum Cobin Sonnenberg and now lives in Chicago. He is the director of operations for the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA).