The Department of Athletics and Recreation is incredibly proud to introduce the next class of former Warriors to be inducted into the Waterloo Warriors Hall of Fame. The induction class is represented by three former student-athletes, two builders and two teams who have left ever-lasting impressions on the department.
"It is an absolute honour to be recognizing these individuals and teams who have forever etched their mark in the history books of our department," said director of athletics and recreation, Roly Webster. "These are Warriors that had memorable performances in their sport or made outstanding contributions to our department and we are very pleased we can be honouring them."
The induction ceremony will be held on Saturday, October 1 at 5pm. Please visit the Alumni Black & Gold Day website for more details.
Purchase your Hall of Fame Tickets Here
Event details:
Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
Saturday, October 1, 2022
5:00 p.m. Reception
6:00 p.m. Formal program begins
Federation Hall, University of Waterloo
Ticket prices:
General Admission - $75.00
Current Hall of Fame Member - $60.00
Current Student-Athletes - $50.00
Table of 8 - $500.00
Price includes dinner, one drink ticket, one glass of wine with meal, and cash bar.
Curtis Darling (Athlete, 2004-07)
Curtis Darling (BA '16) is one of the most decorated student-athletes in the history of the men's hockey programs. The left-handed catching goaltender caused headaches for opposing teams from 2004 to 2007 as the starting goalie of the Warriors. In his first season between the pipes, Darling was named the OUA Rookie of the Year as well as a member of the west all-rookie team and west first-team all-star squad. At the Warriors' year-end banquet, Darling was named the 2004-05 rookie of the year. He followed his rookie campaign in 2006 with another outstanding season and was honoured as the OUA MVP and another spot on the west first-team all-star list. In his final season, Darling once again was named an OUA west first-team all-star and was recognized nationally as a second-team all-Canadian. Darling was also named the team MVP of men's hockey all three of his seasons.
On top of his individual successes, Darling turned the men's hockey program into one of the best in the country throughout his time backstopping the Warriors. In his final season, Darling led men's hockey to a 21-4-2-1 record, one of the best records in the history of the program while the team was consistently in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) Top 10. Darling went on to have a successful professional career which spanned four seasons and 147 pro games in the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) and American Hockey League (AHL).
Mike Sovran (Athlete, 2000-05)
When you talk about the early 2000's and the men's basketball program, it's hard not to mention the name Mike Sovran (BA '05). Sovran put the Warriors on the map to begin the 21st century with his incredible basketball IQ and scoring ability. Sovran was named an OUA west all-rookie following his first season in 2001 as well as an OUA west second-team all-star in 2004 and 2005. Sovran was also named the team MVP of men's basketball in 2003 and 2004 and MVP of the Naismith Classic Basketball Tournament in 2005.
Sovran quickly emerged as a leader of the program, being named the team captain in only his second season, a title he wore for the remainder of his career. His competitiveness and intelligence on the court made everyone around him better and he will forever be one of the all-time best to have played for the men's basketball program.
Sovran finished with 1,098 career points which is the fifth most in men's basketball history, and 617 rebounds, second only to current Warrior Nedim Hodzic (Waterloo, ON/Sir John A. Macdonald Secondary). He also sits fourth all-time in 3-pointers (144), assists (219), blocks (62), and steals (115).
Justin Shoniker (Athlete, 1991-95)
Justin Shoniker (BA '96) was an absolute force for the Warriors football offensive line from 1991-95. Shoniker was a leader in every sense of the word, on and off the field and was a key factor to Waterloo's offensive success in the early 90's. Shoniker was a two-time OUA all-star, earning a spot on the second-team in 1993 and first-team in 1995. In his final season, Shoniker had the best season of his career and earned national recognition as a second-team all-Canadian, quite the feat for an O-lineman.
To this day, Shoniker continues to give back to the game he loves, volunteering his time coaching minor league teams in the Kitchener-Waterloo area. He has coached for the Junior Vipers football team, and all three of his son's programs in Cambridge and Guelph from tyke to bantam. He was named the coach of the year for the Guelph Bears and has recently taken over as head coach of the Bishop MacDonnell High School team. Shoniker also came back to serve time as a volunteer coach of the Warriors and was a big part of the programs 1999 Yates Cup Championship run. While Shoniker commits his time as a full-time police officer in our region, he always finds the time to give back to the game he loves.
Martin Timmerman (Builder, 1970's-current)
From his front-row seat in the Physical Activities Complex (PAC), Martin Timmerman (BMath '78) witnessed one of the most storied moments in the history of Warriors basketball when the black and gold won the 1974-75 national championship on a buzzer beater shot. That experience inspired Timmerman to start a decade-long project that has made an impact on Waterloo student-athletes and university basketball teams across the country, a project he still maintains to this day.
Timmerman collects and posts U SPORTS basketball statistics on his website (usportshoops.ca) for all teams from coast-to-coast. It's an incredibly valuable resource that coaches, students, alumni, staff, and parents use on a daily basis, and it just shows how passionate and dedicated Timmerman is to university hoops.
Timmerman began his statistical collection at the University of Waterloo, maintaining records and stats of Warrior basketball student-athletes since the inception of both the university. Whatever stat you needed, regular season or playoff, you name it and Timmerman would have it on his website. His passion then trickled over to usportshoops.ca. Timmerman retired in March of 2014 following a 33-year career in the IST department at the University of Waterloo, but no retirement is in sight for the invaluable content he provides through his U SPORTS Hoops statistical website.
Ingrid Schugardt (Builder, 1970-2017)
When you speak of longevity in the Department of Athletics and Recreation, Ingrid Schugardts' name immediately comes to mind. Schugardt worked a mind boggling 47 years at the University of Waterloo, with 42 years being in athletics. Schugardt worked a variety of roles in the department, but her main duties were providing administrative support for all of the Warriors varsity programs as well as coordinating transportation and trip itineraries for any Warriors heading out on the road.
If you need to find out about Waterloo's rich history in athletics and recreation, there's no need to dig up a history book, just find Schugardt and there's a good chance she will have the answer. Of Waterloo's 101 provincial championship titles and eight national titles, Schugardt was a Warrior for all but 14 of them. Schugardt worked for three different Director of Athletics and booked over 10,000 bus trips (over 100,000 km) for our Warriors attending road games and was a vital asset to our varsity programs. The saying "you don't know what you've got until it's gone" couldn't be more true when talking about Schugardt, who was dearly missed after retiring in 2017.
1977 Men's Rugby
The 1977 men's rugby team was one of the hardest working, determined and accomplished Warriors program of all-time. The 1977 Ontario University Athletics Association (OUAA) men's rugby league was made up of eight strong programs, with Waterloo emerging on top winning the provincial title with a tie against Western in the championship match. Because of an earlier regular season win the Warriors were awarded the championship trophy. The Warriors would finish the season undefeated, a feat accomplished only twice by any men's rugby team at Waterloo.
The 1977 men's rugby program had a number of players continue to have a positive impact on rugby beyond being members of the Warriors. Three players were selected to play for a regional club team while most guys continued to play high level rugby following university. Members of the program, Jeff Sage, Todd Girdwood, and Ron Fukushima would go on to have successful high school coaching careers while Stephen Webb and Phill White coached at the university level. Webb, who is also now an important part of the Waterloo Warriors Men's Rugby Alumni Committee, also went to play rugby in Ireland alongside Dave King.
This championship winning team was a very important part of paving a bright future for the men's rugby program, one that continues to excel in Ontario university competition having won two more championships since.
1972 Men's Golf
The 1972 men's golf was one for the ages dominating every tournament they entered including the OUAA Championship and the first ever Canadian University Championship hosted by Mohawk College. They were so dominant they captured the national title by an unprecedented 30-stroke margin over any other program in the field. The team was made up of Tim McCutcheon (individual winner of every tournament except one), Dave Bogdon, Ed Heakes, and two members still heavily involved in the program to this day, Dave Hollinger and Fred Wilder. The roster was assembled by the late Jack Pearse whose name has a rich history when it comes to men's golf at Waterloo and was known for his laid back and easy going coaching style.
The 1972 men's golf team was invited to play in some of the most prestigious university events in the U.S. at the time and were even invited to the Mid-America Championship and Spartan Invitational which included most of the Big 10 programs from the NCAA. The Warriors would end up with a fourth place finish at the Spartan Invitational, an outstanding feat for a program from Canada that no NCAA team would have even heard of.
What made this program so special was the fact they consistently won their competitions by such large margins, most times by 10-15 strokes, solidifying them as one of the best golf programs in the history of OUA golf.
