UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2019 Announced
August 14, 2019 | Football, Men's Tennis, Men's Volleyball, Softball, Track & Field, Women's Basketball, Women's Soccer, Women's Volleyball, Women's Water Polo, Bruin Athletics
Seven new members will join the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019 during an induction ceremony on November 1. The group will be honored at halftime of the UCLA-Colorado football game on November 2. (Buy tickets here)
The members of the Class of 2019 are: Jill Ellis (women's soccer), Peter Fleming (men's tennis), Tairia Flowers (softball), Skip Hicks (football), Courtney Mathewson (women's water polo), Adam Naeve (men's volleyball), and Kristee Porter (women's volleyball/basketball/track & field).
The Hall of Fame class includes two Olympic gold medalists (Flowers and Mathewson), three Bruins who totaled seven NCAA Championships between them (Fleming, Naeve and four-time champion Mathewson), UCLA's all-time leader in touchdowns (Hicks), a three-sport standout (Porter), and a two-time World Cup-winning coach (Ellis).
Following are biographies on the 2019 UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame members:
Jill Ellis (Women's Soccer Coach, 1999-2010)
The winningest coach in UCLA women's soccer history, Jill Ellis posted a 229-45-14 record over 12 years and led UCLA to eight College Cup appearances, including seven in a row from 2003-09. Ellis' teams advanced to at least the NCAA Round of 16 every year she coached at UCLA. In just her second year as head coach, she led the Bruins to the NCAA Championship match and was named the 2000 NSCAA National Coach of the Year. Ellis won seven Pac-10 titles during her tenure, including six-straight from 2003-08. She coached 13 Bruins to 24 NSCAA All-America honors and coached four Pac-10 Players of the Year. She left UCLA to become the Development Director for the U.S. Women's National Teams in 2011 and went on to become the national team head coach in 2014. The 2015 FIFA World Coach of the Year, Ellis led the U.S. to back-to-back FIFA Women's World Cup titles in 2015 and 2019, becoming only the second coach in men's or women's World Cup history to accomplish this feat. As head coach, Ellis is unbeaten in World Cup play in her career.
Peter Fleming, Men's Tennis (1976)
After transferring to UCLA from Michigan for the 1976 season, Peter Fleming won a pair of NCAA tennis titles, leading the Bruin team to their 12th NCAA title and capturing the doubles championship with Ferdi Taygan. He was also the NCAA singles runner-up, the Pac-10 singles champion and the Pac-10 Player of the Year. Considered one of the greatest doubles players in the history of the sport, Fleming had an impressive professional career, teaming with John McEnroe to win seven Grand Slams โ four at Wimbledon and three at the U.S. Open. He was a member of three Davis Cup championship teams in 1979, 1981 and 1982, going 14-1 in doubles play. Fleming and McEnroe were named the ATP Doubles Team of the Year four times and achieved the No. 1 world ranking in 1984. In singles, Fleming ranked as high as No. 8 in the world in 1980 after reaching the Wimbledon singles quarterfinals. Over his career, Fleming captured a total of 60 career doubles titles and three singles titles and was inducted into the ITA Hall of Fame in 1998.
Tairia (Mims) Flowers โ Softball (2000-03)
Known for her versatility and consistent excellence, Tairia (Mims) Flowers was a 2003 NCAA champion, a two-time All-American, a three-time all-conference and All-Women's College World Series selection, and a two-time Olympic medalist. Flowers ranks second in UCLA history in games played with 252 and finished her playing career hitting .373 with 61 home runs, 228 RBI, 160 runs scored, 59 doubles and 81 walks. She still ranks in UCLA's top 10 in numerous categories, including first in sacrifice flies; third in home runs, doubles, RBI and total bases; fourth in slugging; sixth in hits; and eighth in at-bats. Although named to the Pac-12's All-Century Team as a first baseman, Flowers started at multiple positions throughout her career. As a member of the U.S. Women's National Team, she won gold at the 2004 Olympics, 2002 World Championships, and 2006 World Cup of Softball, as well as silver at the 2008 Olympics. Flowers has been the head coach at CSUN since 2011 and is currently an assistant coach on the U.S. Women's National Team after previously serving as the U.S. Junior Women's National Team head coach.
Skip Hicks, Football (1993-97)
Running back Skip Hicks earned first-team All-America honors in 1997 and still holds UCLA Football records for career touchdowns (55) and single-season touchdowns (26 in 1997), both of which were also Pac-10 records at the time. He remains the only Bruin in history to record over 100 yards rushing and 100 yards receiving in the same game, accomplishing that feat in 1996 against Cal with 146 yards rushing and three rushing touchdowns, along with 113 receiving yards on four receptions. Hicks finished his career with 3,140 yards rushing (No. 6 in school history) and 330 points (No. 3 in school history). As a fifth-year senior in 1997, Hicks led the Bruins to the Pac-10 title and compiled a team-high 1,282 rushing yards with seven 100-yard games. In 1993, he became the first UCLA true freshman to lead UCLA in rushing (563 yards) and also tied for the team lead in rushing touchdowns with five. Hicks was selected by the Washington Redskins in the third round of the 1998 NFL Draft and played four years in the league for Washington and Tennessee.
Courtney Mathewson, Women's Water Polo (2005-08)
Four-time NCAA champion Courtney Mathewson led UCLA to a 123-6 record over her career, including undefeated 33-0 seasons in 2005 and 2008. During her senior season, Mathewson won the 2008 Peter J. Cutino Award and was named the ACWCP Player of the Year and the MPSF Co-Player of the Year after totaling career-high totals of 54 goals, 39 assists and 53 steals. Mathewson finished her career with 111 goals, 66 assists and 114 steals. In NCAA Tournament play, she totaled 11 goals and earned All-Tournament accolades in 2007 and 2008. As a sophomore in 2006, she scored the game-winning goal with one second remaining to defeat USC in the championship match. Mathewson played for the U.S. National Team from 2009-17, winning Olympic gold in 2012, scoring four goals, and in 2016, scoring seven goals. She also helped Team USA win five FINA World League Super Finals (2010-12, 2015, 2016) and two FINA World Cup championships (2010, 2014).
Adam Naeve, Men's Volleyball (1997-2001)
Middle blocker Adam Naeve is one of just six UCLA men's volleyball players to earn four AVCA All-America honors, including three first-team selections. He still holds school records for single-match aces (10 against Pepperdine in 2001, including a school record four consecutive) and single-match blocks and block assists (18 total blocks against LMU in 1999). He also ranks third in career kills (1,587) and aces (178), fourth in career blocks (538), and fifth in hitting percentage (.424). Naeve led UCLA to three trips to the NCAA semifinals, winning the title in 1998 and being named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player after totaling 23 kills and a .629 hitting percentage. Naeve was a four-year U.S. National Team member and played with the U.S. Team at the 2002 World Championships and 2003 World Cup.
Kristee Porter, Women's Volleyball/Basketball/Track & Field (1998-2001)
As a two-time first-team All-American and the 2000 Volleyball Magazine Player of the Year, Kristee Porter's volleyball accolades stand on their own. But she also made a name for herself in basketball and track and field at UCLA. In volleyball, Porter is UCLA's all-time leader in kills (2,255), kills per set (5.68), points per set (6.34) and total attacks (4,936) and was the first Pac-10 player in history to record both 2,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs. In 1998, she was named the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, leading the Pac-10 and ranking fourth in the nation in kills with 609, a total that ranks sixth on UCLA's single-season chart. The following year, she became the second-fastest player in NCAA history to record her 1,000th career kill, reaching the landmark in just her 50th career match. In 2000, she set the UCLA and Pac-10 single-season kills mark with 741. As a basketball starter in 2001, Porter ranked second in the Pac-12 in rebounding (8.1 rpg), third in blocked shots (1.77 bpg) and 11th in scoring (13.0 ppg). She competed in the triple jump for the track and field team for three seasons and scored at the Pac-10 championships each year, placing third in 1999 and 2001 and sixth in 2000. Porter was a member of the USA Volleyball Women's National Team from 1998-2002.