January 4, 2005

Contact: Keith Gentry (901) 333-4114 or Kimberly Stark (901) 333-4023

SIX SELECTED FOR INDUCTION AT THIRD ANNUAL HALL OF FAME BANQUET
Release written by Keith Gentry

Southwest Tennessee Community College will honor six former Saluqi athletes on January 13, inducting them into the College's Athletic Hall of Fame. The Third Annual Saluqis Hall of Fame Banquet will begin at 6 p.m. in the Verties Sails Gymnasium on the College's Union Avenue Campus, 737 Union Avenue. Speaker for this year’s banquet will be Bob Canada, the College’s former athletic director and golf coach, and a 2003 Saluqis Hall of Fame inductee.

"Our Hall of Fame banquet is an annual event that is growing every year," said Southwest Athletic Director Verties Sails, Jr. "We would like to see as many people as possible come out to honor our former athletes who have paved the way for our current players."

The new Hall of Fame members include former junior college All-Americans Glynetha Davis (women’s basketball), Joey Bell (golf), former professional baseball player David Hernandez, and three of the College’s all-time assist leaders in men’s basketball: Matt Bakke, Latrell Mitchell, and Curtis Hollowell.

Davis, who played for the Lady Saluqis basketball team from 1985-87, is the College’s all-time leading rebounder and fifth all-time leading scorer with 1,023 points in her career. She also holds Southwest records for most blocked shots in a game with 12 and most rebounds in a season with 436. As a sophomore, Davis led the Lady Saluqis to a 27-5 record, the West Division, TJCCAA, and regional championships, and a berth in the NJCAA National Tournament. She averaged 18.9 points and 14.1 rebounds per game during her sophomore season, and was named All-West Division, All-TJCCAA, and second team All-American. Davis went on to play two seasons at the University of Memphis.

Bell played golf for the Saluqis from 1983-85. He led the golf team to region championships during his freshman and sophomore seasons, and was selected as a junior college All-American as a sophomore. Bell went on to play at the University of Memphis and later played professionally.

Hernandez, a two-time all-conference performer for the Saluqis’ baseball team from 1979-80, was the Western Division Player of the Year as a sophomore and was runner-up for TJCCAA Player of the Year. He batted .474 his sophomore season, which is still a Southwest record, and also holds the record for highest on-base average in a season at .556. Hernandez led the Saluqis to a 27-18 record in 1980, runner-up in the West Division, and a fourth place finish in the state tournament. He went on to play at the University of Memphis, was a member of the Puerto Rican national team, then played professionally in Puerto Rico.

Bakke played for the Saluqis basketball team from 1977-79 and currently ranks fifth in career assists with 348. As a freshman, Bakke averaged 6.0 assists, leading the Saluqis to an 18-10 record, the West Division championship, and TJCAA runner-up. His sophomore year, Bakke dished out 181 assists for an average of 7.2 per game and again led the Saluqis to the West Division title. He went on to play at Rhodes College. He coached high school basketball at Millington Central High School and currently coaches basketball, cross country, and track at Memphis University School.

Mitchell played for the Saluqis basketball team from 1979-81, and still holds records at the College for most assists in a game with 21, and highest assist average in a season at 10.3. Mitchell led the Saluqis to a 48-13 record in his career, including the West Division championship in both his freshman and sophomore seasons, and the TJCAA title his freshman year. Mitchell totaled 184 assists his freshman season, then as a sophomore dished out 288 assists, the second highest total in school history. He went on to play at Texas Southern University.

Hollowell led the Saluqis to a 53-10 record over his two-year career from 1981-83, and is the College’s all-time assist leader with a total of 554 for an average of 8.8 per game. As a freshman, Hollowell averaged 6.6 points and 8.4 assists per game, leading the Saluqis to a 28-6 record, the West Division championship, and the TJCAA and region runner-up. His 285 assists during the 1981-82 season are the third highest in the College’s history. During his sophomore year, Hollowell averaged 8.4 points and 9.3 assists per game. He led the team to a 25-4 overall record and a perfect 12-0 conference record. He again led the Saluqis to the West Division title and also the TJCAA/Region championship and a berth in the NJCAA National Tournament. Following his career with the Saluqis, Hollowell went on to play at LeMoyne-Owen College in Memphis.

Each inductee will receive a plaque. In addition, plaques for each sport are in the Hall of Fame trophy case with the inductees listed by year and sport. Pictures of each athlete and coach, along with a list of their accomplishments will also be displayed.