The tournament combined the Hall of Fame Tournament with the Black and Gold Invitational for the first time ever and the merger was a terrific success.

Hall of Fame members, alumni, alumni athletes, administrators, sponsors and Tiger supporters made up the 27 foursomes who played in the event.

Before the 9 a.m. shotgun start, there was a putting contest that was conducted by Tiger Golf Coach Brian Yaniger. The four closest to the hole won STX putters courtesy of Steve Henneman, '01.

The four putters who were the closest were: Pat Mead, Corey Sarver, Joe Oster and former Tiger football standout Randy Bielski. 

The winner of the putting contest and the 50/50 cash prize was Bonnie Fry, the mother of Tiger golfer Matt Fry. After presenting her with the award, Coach Yaniger suggested that Matt listen to his mother and take some putting lessons.

The tournament featured many unique contest holes as Tiger coaches were stationed around the course. 

The contests ranged from Men's Soccer Coach Frank Olszewski juggling a soccer ball 10 times to take a stroke off that foursome's round at Hole #2 to Women's Basketball Coach Joe Mathews driving a foursome's shot from the women's tee in honor of women's basketball. 

Mathews remarked, "I've been in numerous Black & Gold golf tournaments and yesterday was the best by far. It was well organized, well-advertised and really enjoyable."  

"My foursome had a blast," said Greg Heitner of the Simmons Partnership foursome. "We really enjoyed the opportunity to speak with the coaches on the course and had a lot of fun with the unique golf opportunities."

Men's Basketball Coach Pat Skerry, Men's Lacrosse Coach Shawn Nadelen and Gymnastics Coach Vicki Chliszczyk were also stationed at holes around the course.

In addition, Director of Athletics Mike Waddell was stationed on the fourth hole and challenged all golfers to try and outdrive the A.D.

The tournament, which finished just ahead of a thunderstorm, was followed by a lunch in the clubhouse which featured an awards program. In addition, there was a silent auction that raised more than $3,200 for Tiger Athletics.

Highlighting the lunch was the introduction of this year's Hall of Fame class, which includes Mike Arbutina, '96 (Football), Gordy Combs, '72 (Football), Barry Stitz, '92 (Soccer) and Liane Williams, '99 (Gymnastics). Arbutina and Combs attended the luncheon. They were welcomed into the Hall of Fame by the 14 other Hall of Famers in attendance.

The foursome of David Nevins, '76, Mike Gill, '74, Doug Dollenberg and Ricky Bailen took home the first place prize with an astonishing score of 19-under par. David and Mike are former members of the University of Maryland Board of Regents while Doug is part of the Towson University Board of Visitors.

A trio of Hall of Famers finished second in the tournament as Mitch Lekas, '76, John Andrade, '85 and Betty Lou Bischof Andrade, '86 teamed up with former All-American lacrosse player Greg Chasney, '76 for a score of 16-under par. Mitch was a two-time All-America midfielder for the Tiger men's lacrosse team from 1973 to 1976 while Greg earned third team All-America honors as a senior. John Andrade batted .328 for the Tiger baseball team before he was drafted by the Texas Rangers after his junior year. The former Betty Lou Bischof was a four-year starter at point guard for the women's basketball team who holds virtually every assist record at Towson.

John and Betty Lou are the only Hall of Famers who are a married couple.

Hall of Famers Tom Grem, '80 and Mark Orlando, '95 led their foursome to a third place finish. David Chapman and former Tiger women's golfer Elisabeth Herzfeld, '11 rounded out of the foursome which was third by one stroke. The foursome finished at 15-under par. Tom is the first golfer inducted into the Towson University Athletic Hall of Fame and he qualified for the NCAA Division II Tournament in 1979. An All-American wide receiver for the Tiger football team, Mark caught 178 passes for a school record 3,460 yards and 31 touchdowns in his career.

The Interim President of Towson University, Dr. Marcia Welsh, came out of "retirement" to play in the Hall of Fame Black and Gold Tournament. She reported that the grips on her golf clubs had dry-rotted because it had been so long since the last time she played. Although her foursome didn't place among the leaders, Dr. Welsh praised her team for winning the Honesty Award.

A number of raffle prizes donated by various constituents and patrons were given away to lucky ticket holders.

The silent auction included a number of attractive items. Former Tiger football and lacrosse player Jason Stefanides, '85 won a framed autographed Cal Ripken Jr. baseball jersey. Don Fry, Tom Coard, '01 Kevin Botsford, '71 and Greg Heitner, '96 also won the Tiger home game experience packages.

A Harley Davidson motorcycle was the prize for making a hole-in-one on the 16th hole. Nobody claimed the award but Steve Henneman, '01 was the recipient of the Bad Timing Award. He sank a Hole-In-One on the wrong hole. He accomplished the feat on the 13th hole, three holes too early.

Charlie Eckels may have had the putt of the day when he rolled in an 80-foot putt on the 16th hole to earn a birdie for his foursome. 

First Place Team (-19)
David Nevins
Mike Gill
Doug Dollenberg
Ricky Bailen

Second Place Team (-16)
Mitch Lekas - Hall of Fame member - '76 (Men's Lacrosse)
Greg Chasney
John Andrade - Hall of Fame member - '85 (Baseball)
Betty Andrade - Hall of Fame member - '86 (Women's Basketball)

Third Place Team (-15)
Elisabeth Herzfield
David Chapman
Tom Grem - Hall of Fame member - '80 (Men's Golf)
Mark Orlando - Hall of Fame member - '95 (Football)

Longest Drive
Men's - Tom Young (307 yards)
Women's - Elisabeth Herzfeld (240 yards)

Closest to the Pin
8th Hole - Dave Cain
14th Hole - Marina Cooper

Tournament Sponsors
- Chartwells
- City Wide of Central Maryland
- CPS Gumpert
- Gilbane Building Company
- Harley Davidson
- ISEC
- Pepsi
- Skanska Building USA
- STX Golf
- Town and Country Travel
- Towson University Marriott
- Under Armour

The Tiger Club would like to thank all the participants, sponsors and volunteers for their help on making this event a success.  We are committed to Restoring the Roar here at Towson University and we thank you again for your continued support of Tiger Athletics.