Three new additions to the Tigers Hall of Fame

After a three-year hiatus, the Dalhousie Tigers celebrated the most recent class of inductees to it’s Hall of Fame May 11, 2023. This year’s group includes cross country and track and field star Annick deGooyer, men’s volleyball player Terry Martin and the 1996-97 CIAU silver medal-winning men’s volleyball team.

Typically, an annual event on the Tigers calendar, this year’s group was meant to honoured at the 2020 Hall of Fame Gala and Auction which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Although long overdue, we’re very happy to bring the Hall of Fame Gala back to honour the contributions and achievements of individuals who have significantly impacted Dalhousie Athletics,” says Tim Maloney, executive director of athletic and recreation at Dalhousie. “Tonight, we celebrate the achievements of an impressive group of Dalhousians who have so richly contributed to our history and tradition.”

2023 Hall of Fame Gala Photo Gallery

Hosted by Bruce Rainne, guests enjoyed a three-course meal after bidding on silent auction items to begin the event at the Westin Nova Scotian. Pat Nearing and Kathie Wheadon were presented with the A.J. Sandy Young Award in recognition of their great contributions to sport in Nova Scotia, followed by the induction of deGooyer, Martin and the 1996-97 men’s volleyball team.

Annick deGooyer

Annick deGooyer had an illustrious career as a member of the women’s cross country and track and field teams in her four seasons at Dalhousie.

She came to Dalhousie in the fall of 1983 after graduating from Yarmouth Consolidated Memorial High School to begin her studies in physiotherapy and run for the cross country and track and field teams. She ended her high school career as the female athlete of the year after placing second at the cross country provincial championship and with second-place finishes in the 400m and 800m events at the track and field provincials.

With a year of experience under her belt, Annick broke out in her sophomore season with the cross country team, crossing the line in third place at the AUAA championship to lead the Tigers to a team conference title. An AUAA all-star and the only runner from the conference to qualify for the CIAU championship in 1984, Annick went on to run to a 26th place finish. The women’s cross country team’s MVP, she also competed at the Canadian Cross Country Championships that year and placed seventh in the junior category.

Annick also had a good season on the track and field team during the 1984-85 season, placing second in the 1000m event and first with the 4x800m and 4x167m relay teams.

The next year, Annick repeated as bronze medallist at the 1985 AUAA cross country championship to lead the Tigers to a second-place team finish. Once again the only runner from the Atlantic conference to qualify, she headed off to the national championship where she finished in 18th.

She had a sensational season on the track that same year, running to gold in the 1000m and 1500m events at the 1985-86 AUAA Track and Field Championships. She also won two more gold medals as a member of the 4x400m and 4x800m relay teams and was named the female athlete of the championship meet. Annick was outstanding at the national championships, setting a new AUAA standard while placing fourth in the 1000m and helping her 4x800m teammates to a sixth-place finish.

At the end of the season, Annick was named the team’s most valuable performer.

In her fourth and final season, she ran to a silver medal finish at the 1986 AUAA Cross Country Championship to be named an AUAA all-star for the third-straight year. The AUAA champions, the Tigers headed to the national championship in London, Ontario where Annick placed seventh to help lead the team to a fifth-place team finish – the best placement in Dalhousie history at that point in time. She and teammate Lucy Smith were both named CIAU first team All-Canadians, marking the first time in history that two runners from the Atlantic conference were named All-Canadians.

Annick continued her success into the track and field season, repeating as champion in the 1000m where she set a new conference record. She was second in the 1500m event and won gold as part of the 4x400m and 4x800m relay teams. At the end of the meet, the Tigers repeated as conference champions and Annick was again selected as the athlete of the meet. She went on to earn a bronze medal in the 1000m event at the national championships and was named the women’s track and field MVP for the second-straight season. At the end of the year, Annick was named the Class of ’55 award winner as Dalhousie’s female athlete of the year.

After her Dalhousie career, Annick went on to travel the world with Canada’s national team, competing for four years in the Yokohoma International Women’s Road Relays in Japan, Spain and Korea. She also won the Canadian Cross Country Championship and placed third at the Timex Canadian 10km Road Race nationals in 1990 and advanced to the World Cross Country Championships in 1991.

Terry Martin

A native of Burlington, Ontario, Terry Martin grew up playing basketball and downhill skiing. He played just one season of volleyball with the West Side Volleyball Club in his last year of high school before deciding to pen a letter to then head coach Al Scott to ask if he could try out for the team. 

“After I received Terry’s letter and found out how tall he was, we started to have some conversations and he sent me some video,” says Scott. “The video wasn’t all that great, and he was very goofy-footed but I invited him to come tryout and see how things go.” 

Terry arrived in Halifax in the fall of 1994 to try out for the team and begin his studies in the Faculty of Science. Coach Scott gave him some feedback early on to correct his footwork and was pleasantly surprised at how quickly he made the corrections. 

“It was remarkable how quickly he took the direction and developed in such a short amount of time,” adds Scott. “Simply amazing.” 

Amazing might be an understatement to describe the start of his four years at Dalhousie. The 6’8 middle blocker had an amazing season in his rookie year earning conference and national honours. An AUAA first team all-star, Terry was also named both the AUAA and CIAU rookie of the year after helping the Tigers to a conference championship title and a bronze medal at the national championship. At Dalhousie’s year-end awards night, he was named the Tigers male rookie of the year. 

He continued to shine in his sophomore season, earning his second consecutive conference all-star nod while helping to lead the Tigers to another conference championship win and a fifth-place finish at nationals. 

Terry was a force to be reckoned with during the 1996-97 season – his third at Dalhousie. The AUAA MVP, he was also named an AUAA first team all-star and was selected to the championship all-star team after helping lead the Tigers to another conference title. A CIAU first team All-Canadian, Terry was named to the championship all-star team after leading the Tigers to a silver medal finish. 

The team’s co-MVP that year, he received the Climo Award as Dalhousie’s male athlete of the year. 

In his fourth and final season, Terry was named a CIAU first team all-star for the second-consecutive year after repeating as the AUAA MVP and a first team all-star. He was again named a championship all-star when the Tigers repeated as AUAA champions. He was also named to the CIAU championship all-star team after leading the Tigers to a fifth-place finish. The team’s co-MVP, he was also named Dalhousie’s co-male athlete of the year to cap off his university career. 

During and after his time with the Tigers, Terry was also a member of Volleyball Canada’s senior men’s team. In his 10 years with the national team, he represented Canada at the World University Games in Sicily in 1997 and played in three FIVB world championships and three World Cup events. 

Terry went on to enjoy a 13-year professional career in Europe competing in France, Italy, Puerto Rico, Russia, Poland, Cyprus and Qatar. 

1996-97 Men’s Volleyball Team

Heading into the 1996-97 season, the men’s volleyball team was coming off a fifth-place finish at the national championship after winning their 11th consecutive conference championship the previous year.

The Tigers got off to a terrific start in head coach Al Scott’s 18th season with a gold medal performance at the Waterloo Warriors Classic and a second-place finish at the Sherbrooke Omnium Vert et Or in pre-season action. They kicked off the regular season with victories over UNB and Memorial to finish the first half of the season 4-0 and found themselves ranked fourth in the nation.

In early January, they headed to the York Mizuno Excalibur Classic where they finished in a disappointing fourth place. A few weeks later, they hosted the Digs Volleyball Classic where they defeated CIAU ranked teams Montreal and UBC before losing to No. 5 Sherbrooke in a five-set match that took three hours to complete.

Dalhousie continued their winning ways in regular season play with three wins over both Memorial and UNB to post a perfect 10-0 record for their 17th straight regular season title and earned the right to host UNB in the AUAA best-of-three championship series.

Third-year middle blocker Terry Martin was named the AUAA MVP after a stellar season, with all-star nods going to team captain Eric Villeneuve, Jamie Mallon and John Hobin. Coach Scott was named the AUAA coach of the year for the 14th time in his career.

The Tigers made short work of the Varsity Reds at the conference championship in late February. They took the first match 3-0 with set scores of 15-2, 15-7 and 15-10 and were equally dominant the next day, sweeping UNB in three sets with scores of 15-3, 15-4 and 15-10 to advance to the CIAU championship hosted by the University of Calgary. Villeneuve, who had returned for a fifth and final season after a year off was named the championship MVP for the second time in his career while Martin was named to the championship all-star team.

Martin was also named a CIAU first team All-Canadian for the first time in his career while Villeneuve was named to the second team – his first All-Canadian honour.

Despite a consistent national ranking of fourth for most of the season, The Tigers went into the national tournament as the sixth seed and would face the University of Saskatchewan in the quarter-final round.

Saskatchewan took the first set handily 15-8, but the Tigers charged back to win the next three 15-4, 15-11 and 15-8 to advance to the semifinal round. Martin earned player of the game honours in the match.

They took on the host University of Calgary the next day and again found themselves down a set after a 15-6 loss to give the Dinos an early 1-0 lead in the match. The Tigers rallied again to win the next three sets 17-15, 15-5 and 15-10 to advance to the championship game for the first time in program history. Fourth-year middle blocker John Hobin was the top player for the Tigers in the match.

Dalhousie faced the No. 1 seeded Alberta Golden Bears in the championship final which was televised live on TSN. Despite their best efforts, Alberta proved to be too much for the Tigers to handle and they fell 3-0 to settle for silver.

Martin and Villeneuve were both named to the championship all-star team while second-year setter Peter Exall received the R.W. Pugh Award for ability, sportsmanship and dedication.

A.J. Sandy Young Award recipients

Pat Nearing

Pat Nearing graduated from Dalhousie University with a Bachelor of Physical Education in 1979. He began his administrative career in 1993 as the athletic director of the Technical University of Nova Scotia (TUNS) after 12 years as a physical education teacher and as head coach of their men’s soccer team. He continued coaching for a few more years until TUNS amalgamated with Dalhousie University in 1997. Nearing continued his tenure as director of the newly named Sexton Campus’s athletic program, eventually becoming Dalhousie’s assistant director of athletics and recreation in 2012. 

He assumed the reigns of the Tigers men’s soccer program in 1999 and remained in the role until 2020. During his 21 seasons with Dalhousie, Nearing accumulated a 156-97-81 all-time coaching record with a 48.9%-win percentage in AUS regular season games. With 17 appearances in the AUS playoffs, he led the Tigers to two AUS titles. Named the AUS coach of the year in 2008 and 2019, and Tigers coach of the year in 2008-09, Nearing was the U SPORTS men’s soccer coach of the year in 2008. 

As the Tigers assistant athletic director, Pat supported campus recreation, varsity and club programs and served on a number of different national and regional committees including the U SPORTS national eligibility and athletic financial assistance committees and as the Atlantic University Sport eligibility representative. He was also heavily involved in other U SPORTS committees and organizations and was recognized for his contribution to interuniversity sport in 2020, receiving the U SPORTS Austin-Matthews Award. 

In addition to his 20 years of AUS coaching experience, Nearing has 18 years of college and senior coaching experience. As coach with Technical University of Nova Scotia, he led the men’s soccer team to six ACAA championship titles. The Dartmouth United Mooseheads senior men’s coach for more than 10 seasons, Nearing accumulated four NSSL Premier Division championship titles and two Canadian Soccer Association Atlantic championship wins. The Mooseheads also earned a fourth-place finish at the Canadian Soccer Association National Senior Club Championship and a silver medal from the Canadian Soccer Association’s National Senior Challenge Cup with Nearing at the helm. 

Kathie Wheadon 

Kathie Wheadon has been a lover of sport all her life and she excelled in each one she tried. 

A member of the basketball and field hockey teams at Mount Allison University from 1976 to 1980, she was an AUAA all-star and a team MVP in field hockey and was named their female athlete of the year in her senior year. 

A member of New Brunswick’s 1977 Canada Summer Games field hockey team, she played in the senior women’s basketball league with the Midtown Magicians, highlighted by a silver medal performance at the national championship. She also participated in the first Canadian women’s ice hockey championship held in Brantford, Ontario in 1982. 

She spent her professional career in Dalhousie University’s Department of Athletics and Recreation in many different roles with a focus on facility operations, retiring in December 2021 after 41 years of service. 

Kathie served as an assistant coach with the Dalhousie women’s basketball team for two years and assumed the role of head coach during the 1990-91 season while long-time head coach Carolyn Savoy was on a one-year sabbatical. She led them to an 11-3 regular season record and a silver medal finish at the AUAA championship. The AUAA coach of the year that season, she has also coached at Mount Saint Vincent and the University of King’s College, earning coach of the year honours at both schools in addition to being a two-time conference coach of the year. Kathie was also an assistant coach with Nova Scotia’s 1987 Canada Games basketball team. 

An avid volunteer, Kathie has given her time to her sons’ hockey and football teams over the years and served on a number of boards of directors including Basketball Nova Scotia, the Arena Managers Association of Nova Scotia and the Recreation Facility Association of Nova Scotia. She has also volunteered with a number of sporting events over the years including the 1982 Pan American Wheelchair Games, CIAU Basketball Final 8 and the Blue Nose Marathon and currently holds a seat on the Ashburn Golf Club’s board of directors.