Texas Border Business
RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Department of Intercollegiate Athletics inducted on Saturday the 2020 Athletics Hall of Fame class, which includes the 1989 women’s tennis team, former men’s tennis student-athlete Michel Fabry, former men’s basketball student-athlete Paul Friddle, former Track & Field/Cross Country student-athlete Westly Keating, former men’s basketball student-athlete Bruce “Sky” King, and former baseball student-athlete Andre Rabouin. UTRGV also inducted award-winning sportswriter Pablo A. “Pikey” Rodriguez Jr. into the Hall of Honor.
1989 Women’s Tennis Team
American South Conference Champions … First conference championship in program history and only one until 2016 … Went 11-6 and undefeated in conference play (3-0) … Won 60.4% of singles matches and 67.7% of doubles matches … Barbara (Barrera) Gonzales and Gail (MacIsaac) Illingworth teamed to win a then program-record 17 doubles matches (now tied for third-most for a doubles duo) … Gonzales also won 17 singles matches for 34 total wins, tying her own program record (now tied for fifth). Three of the four winningest players in program history were on that team, including Hall of Famer Leah (Viloria) Hampton (109), Gonzales (107) and Mary Jane (Mayer) Hetrick (107).
“This is really such as an honor,” Hetrick said. “Companies are begging for workers with different skills than what is taught in a typical curriculum – things like communication, collaboration, and teamwork. If that’s not an endorsement of what athletics can provide, I don’t know what is.”
Roster
- Dr. Kim Butler
- Barbara (Barrera) Gonzales
- Leah (Viloria) Hampton
- Gail (MacIsaac) Illingworth
- Dr. Mary Jane (Mayer) Hetrick
- Christiane Reetz
- Tania Webster
- Head Coach: David Cross
- Assistant Coach: Zia Kahn
Michel Fabry, Men’s Tennis, 1990-93
Holds program records in career wins (189) and singles wins (105) while ranking second in doubles wins (84) … Holds program records in single-season wins (60 in 1993), singles wins (33 in 1991) and double wins (30 in 1993) … Recorded the third most and fourth-most overall wins in a season with 57 in 1991 and 52 in 1992 … Posted the third most singles wins in a season with 30 in 1992 and 1993 … Finished with the third and fifth most doubles wins in a season with 24 in 1991 and 22 in 1992 … All-Sun Belt Conference Singles and Doubles Teams, Sun Belt Conference Tournament MVP and UTPA Student-Athlete of the Year in 1992-93.
“I got a call from Coach Cross in the middle of the night asking me if I wanted to play at the University of Texas-Pan American, and I thought, ‘are you kidding me? Of course!’” Fabry said. “Playing here helped me to make a lot of great friends. Guys you can call and you always know they’ll be there.”
Paul Friddle, Men’s Basketball, 1957-63
Co-captain and starting point guard on 1963 NAIA Championship Team … Set program assists record with 601 career assists (currently ranks third) … Big State Conference All-Freshman Team honoree in 1957-58 … First recipient of Lou Hassell Award (1963).
“I didn’t think this would ever happen,” Friddle said. “I played with such good ballplayers, and the first thing I want to do is thank my teammates. I played with three All-Americans, and that made my job easier. Thanks to this university, I’ve lived the American Dream.”
Westly Keating, Track & Field/Cross Country (2002-06)
Cross Country: Three-time NCAA Division I All-American (2002, 2003, 2005) … 2005 South Central Regional Cross Country Runner of the Year … Two-Time National Independent Cross Country Champion (2002 and 2003) … Two-Time Independent Runner of the Year (2002 and 2003) … Two-Time All-Independent Cross Country Team honoree (2002 and 2003) … Three-time All-South Central Region honoree (2002, 2003, 2005) … Three-time UTPA Male Student-Athlete of the Year (2002, 2003, 2005) … Seven-time Independent Runner of the Week … Program record-holder in 6k (17:21.1 in 2005), 8k (23:43.0 in 2005) and 10k (29:25.9 in 2003) … Broke 8k record twice and graduated with top three times in program history (now three of top seven) … Currently holds top seven 10k times in program history, breaking the program record five times … Ran the second-fastest four-mile and three of the eight fastest five-mile races in program history.
Indoor Track & Field: Program record holder in 3,000-meter run (8:16.82 in 2003) … Broke program record in the 5,000-meter run (14:26.06 in 2003) and currently ranks third … Ran second-fastest mile (4:12.92 in 2006) in program history and currently ranks sixth.
Outdoor Track & Field: Two-Time NCAA Division I National Qualifier and All-American in 10,000-meter run (2003 and 2006) … 2006 USTFCCCA All-American … Program record holder in 3,000-meter run (7:58.87 in 2006), 5,000-meter run (14:09.06 in 2005) and 10,000-meter run (28:24.08 in 2006).
“When you’re at a national cross country meet, you’re lined up with 300 of the best athletes in the world. It’s a very scary moment,” Keating said. “Once you take off, your mind goes clear. When I get to 8K, my body tells me to stop, but I think about my teammates and all of the sacrifices people have made for me. I think, these are the people that support me, so I need to grind through it. Being here was like having a family. We shared everything. These were some of the happiest moments of my life.”
Bruce “Sky” King, Men’s Basketball, 1973-74
NCAA Division I Honorable Mention All-American in lone season at Pan American … Ranks second in a single season in program history in points per game (31.0), fourth in free throws made (167), fifth in total points (681) and field goals attempted (562), and ninth in field goals made (257) and free throw attempts (212) … Recorded the second, fourth and ninth-highest single-game scoring totals in program history with 55 points vs. Baptist, 49 points vs. Tulsa, and 44 points vs. Oral Roberts, respectively … Ranks third in program history in field goals made and free throws made in a game with 20 and 17, respectively … Physical play allowed him to get to the line as many as 20 times in a game, the second-highest total in program history … Selected in the third round (46th overall) of the 1974 NBA Draft by the New Orleans Jazz … Passed away on April 15, 2013, at the age of 60.
“Bruce could jump out of the gym like Jordan Jackson. He could guard like Javon Levi. He could shoot like Lesley Varner,” former teammate and Hall of Famer Jesus “Chuy” Guerra said. “Bruce was quiet, he was humble, and he played hard in a dignified way. He was like a sponge with our coaches. He took everything in. He practiced hard and was always prepared. He transformed our program. If he was here, Bruce would want to give credit to and thank his teammates and our coaches.”
Andre Rabouin, Baseball, 1969-72
Shut out Harvard in the third game of 1971 College World Series … Drafted in 26th round (595th overall) of 1972 MLB Draft by Cincinnati Reds … Recorded a 0.93 ERA in 1972, the fourth-lowest in program history … Won 20 games in career, then tied for the second-best total and now tied for ninth … Racked up 223 strikeouts, then the third-highest total, now sixth.
“I played with elite players the four years I was here,” Rabouin said. “The 1971 team was amazing. We were a strong unit with great pitching and defense. When I faced Harvard, I knew I had the best defense in the nation behind me, so I just threw strikes. Everything was clicking. My career here was amazing and this is the greatest honor that could ever be bestowed upon me.”
Hall of Honor
Pablo A. “Pikey” Rodriguez Jr., Sportswriter, 1977-2005
2001 inductee into RGV Sports Hall of Fame … Award-winning sports writer for The Monitor for 35 years … Named Sportswriter of the Year by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches in 1987 … Covered thousands of sporting events across the Rio Grande Valley, including Pan American during time at The Monitor … Traveled on the road to cover events, taking part in team radio broadcasts … Helped in recruiting process when Pan American added women’s basketball … Co-founder of RGV Sports Hall of Fame in 1985, which until 2007 was the only way for our alumni to be recognized as we didn’t have a Hall of Fame or Hall of Honor.
“It’s a special honor,” Rodriguez said. “We’ve had outstanding athletes being inducted throughout the years. I feel honored to be among those inductees.”
For more information about the Athletics Hall of Fame and Hall of Honor, visit GoUTRGV.com/HallofFame.
 Department of Intercollegiate Athletics inducted on Saturday the 2020 Athletics Hall of Fame class, which includes the 1989 women’s tennis team, former men’s tennis student-athlete Michel Fabry, former men’s basketball student-athlete Paul Friddle, former Track & Field/Cross Country student-athlete Westly Keating, former men’s basketball student-athlete Bruce “Sky” King, and former baseball student-athlete Andre Rabouin. UTRGV also inducted award-winning sportswriter Pablo A. “Pikey” Rodriguez Jr. into the Hall of Honor.){kind=link}