WORCESTER, Mass. – A group who set numerous school records and won several conference championships headline this year's class of six individuals who will be inducted into the Holy Cross Varsity Club Athletic Hall of Fame. The 2020 inductees into the Hall of Fame are Rick Comeau (Class of 1973, track and field), Jennifer Corsilli (Class of 2004, field hockey), Matt Czarnecki (Class of 2008, golf), Anne Davis (Class of 1992, basketball), Steve Gannon (Class of 1980, football) and Peter Van Buskirk (honorary, ice hockey coach).
Comeau was a standout middle distance runner for the Holy Cross men's track and field team from 1970-1973. He set a school indoor record in the 600-yard run (1:10.6), while winning the Yankee Conference title in that event as a junior. Comeau was also the New England champion in the outdoor 440-yard run as a sophomore (48.4) and the indoor 500-meter run as a senior (1:10.0). In addition, he received the John A. Meegan Athletic Achievement Award from the Varsity Club as a senior.
Corsilli was a star goalkeeper for the Crusader field hockey team from 2000-2003. She was named All-Patriot League and All-Northeast Region three times during her collegiate career, in addition to being selected as the Patriot League Rookie of the Year in 2000. Corsilli finished her career as the program's all-time leader with 22 shutouts, in addition to standing second in goals against average (1.24) and fourth in save percentage (.818). She helped lead Holy Cross to a pair of Patriot League regular season titles in 2000 and 2001, with the 2000 Crusaders also capturing the Patriot League Tournament championship and advancing to the NCAA Tournament.
Czarnecki was a standout member of the Holy Cross men's golf team from 2004-2008. In 2007, he became the first Crusader to win the Patriot League individual title, finishing the tournament at two-over par. Czarnecki's 68 in round two of the 2007 Patriot League Championship tied for the second lowest round in school history at the time. A three-time All-Patriot League selection in 2005, 2007 and 2008, he ranked second in program history at the time of his graduation with an average of 77.4 strokes per round. Czarnecki was also selected to the Patriot League's 25th Anniversary team in 2015.
Davis was a star point guard for the Crusader women's basketball team from 1988-1992. She recorded 659 assists during the course of her collegiate career to set the all-time program record, while her 238 career steals were the most in school history at the time of her graduation. Davis earned first team All-Patriot League honors as a senior, after being a second team selection as a junior. She was also named to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference All-Tournament team as a sophomore, and was a MAAC All-Rookie honoree as a freshman. In addition, Davis set the school single-season record with 228 assists during her senior year.
Gannon was a standout member of the defense for the Holy Cross football team during the late 1970s. He earned first team All-ECAC honors during his senior year, in addition to receiving the Davitt Award as the team's top defensive lineman. As a senior Gannon led the team with 143 tackles, the most in recorded school history at the time. During his junior year in 1978, Gannon helped lead the Crusaders to an overall record of 7-4, including victories over Air Force, Army and Boston College.
Van Buskirk served as the head coach of the Crusader men's ice hockey team for 10 seasons from 1979-1988 and 1996-1997, then was the head coach of the women's ice hockey program for 19 seasons from 2000-2019. He posted a 167-146-8 record with the men and a 295-178-35 mark with the women, with his 462 total victories ranking as the third-most ever by any Holy Cross coach. Van Buskirk was named the ACHA Division II / III Coach of the Year in 1983 and the ECAC East Coach of the Year in 2009, in addition to being honored with the John "Snooks" Kelley Founders Award in 2010 for his contributions to the overall growth and development of ice hockey within the United States.
These new honorees will be formally inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame at the Varsity Club's annual dinner, to be held in the fall of 2020 at the Hogan Campus Center. More details will follow in the upcoming weeks.
