Posted: May 24, 2018

Northwood Announces Thirteenth Hall of Fame Class

MIDLAND, MICH. – The Northwood University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics has announced the members of the 13th class of the Athletic Hall of Fame.

Zane Colestock (Men's and Women's Tennis), Martell Foster (Football), Rhonda Saunders (Softball) and Julane Thayer (Women's Track & Field) join 64 other inductees into the Athletic Hall of Fame.

In addition, Northwood will induct teams for the first time in the history of the event. The first two teams to earn the honor are the 1998 and 2002 men's tennis teams.

The 13th annual Hall of Fame ceremony will take place October 13 in the Hach Student Life Center, following the Northwood football game at 1 p.m. The reception for the event will begin at 5:30 p.m., followed by the dinner and program at 6 p.m.

Admission to the reception and dinner will be $30. Net proceeds from the event will fund a Northwood Athletic Hall of Fame scholarship in the name of the inductees. People interested in attending the event should contact Lydia Ellison in the Northwood Alumni office at (989) 837-4350 or at ellisonl@northwood.edu.

The inductees were selected based on their athletic prowess, contributions to the athletic programs, success and character as well as their positive representation of Northwood University.

	*ZANE COLESTOCK* Men's Tennis 1975-Present Over a 44-year career at Northwood, Zane Colestock has established himself as one of the greatest collegiate tennis coaches of all time. In his career at Northwood, Colestock has won over 950 matches, which stands as one of the highest win totals in the history of collegiate tennis. A 21-time GLIAC Coach of the Year, Colestock has claimed 36 GLIAC Championships (23 men, 13 women) and 14 NAIA District 23 titles. He has led Northwood to 39 NCAA Tournament bids (21 men's, 18 women's). His 2002 men's team placed third at the NCAA Championships, the best finish for any men's sport in school history at the national championship. Colestock also led the 1998 men's team to the final four and three different women's team to the NCAA Quarterfinals (2004, 2006, 2010).
	*MARTELL FOSTER* Football 2001-04 Martell Foster was one of the top shutdown cornerbacks in Northwood football history. A four-year starter for the Timberwolves, Foster had 16 interceptions and 31 pass breakups in his career. Foster was a leader of the GLIAC Championship Northwood defense in 2004, intercepting seven passes while breaking up 19 passes. For his efforts, he was named the GLIAC Defensive Back of the Year as well as First Team All-American by d2football and a Little All-American by the Associated Press. Foster had one of the finest individual games in school history in Northwood's road win at Grand Valley State in 2004, finishing with three interceptions, two pass-breakups and a defensive touchdown in the Timberwolves' 35-14 win over the defending national champions.
	*RHONDA SAUNDERS* Softball 1995-96 In just two seasons, Rhonda Saunders became one of the most dominant athletes in school history. During her two years at Northwood, hit .448 with 120 runs scored and 121 stolen bases. Saunders has the two highest single-season stolen base totals (63, 58) and run totals (62, 58) in program history. In her two years at Northwood, Saunders finished with 34 more stolen bases than any player and stands with the highest career batting average in school history. She remains as the only player in school history to bat over .500 in a season, finishing her senior campaign with a .503 average. An All-GLIAC and All-Region honoree, Saunders finished in the top-10 nationally in stolen bases two straight years. In her senior season, Northwood posted a win percentage of .723 (34-13), which still stands as the highest in school history.
	*JULANE THAYER* Women's Track & Field 1984-87 More than 30 years after her Northwood track & field career ended, Julane Thayer remains one of the all-time greats in program history. She still holds school records in the high jump both indoors and outdoors. Her mark of 5-8.5 in the outdoor high jump from 1984 still stands as the school record by 3.5 inches. That record is currently the oldest mark to still stand in the women's performance list. Thayer's indoor jump of 5-7 has also stood since 1985 and is tied for the second-longest standing mark. She was an All-American in both 1986 and 1987, making Thayer one of six female track and field athletes to earn All-America honors in two separate seasons.
	*1998 MEN'S TENNIS TEAM* The 1998 Northwood University men's tennis team became the first program in school history to reach the Final Four at the NCAA level. Northwood finished the season 20-7 overall and claimed its fourth straight GLIAC Championship with a perfect 8-0 record. In the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals, Northwood defeated fourth-ranked Armstrong Atlantic 5-3 to earn the school's first-ever appearance in the national semifinals. NU was led by Marek Kolar, who was the first men's tennis player to ever be inducted into the Northwood Hall of Fame. He was named the GLIAC Player of the Year, finishing the year ranked No. 10 nationally and partnered with Remco Lambers for the No. 12 doubles team.
	*2002 MEN'S TENNIS TEAM* The 2002 Northwood University men's tennis team is the highest-finishing team at the NCAA level in school history, placing third at the NCAA Championships. The Timberwolves went 22-6 overall while going 7-0 in the GLIAC for the program's eighth straight conference title. Against conference opponents in the regular season and in the GLIAC Tournament, Northwood went 74-1 combined in singles and doubles. NU's run in the NCAA Tournament culminated with a 5-2 win over Lander in the third-place match. The team was led by a pair of Northwood Hall of Famers – Markus Kaempfer and Oskars Vaskis. Kaempfer was the GLIAC Player of the Year and finished the year ranked No. 15 nationally in singles, while Vaskis earned First Team All-GLIAC honors as well as ranking No. 18 in the nation in singles. The duo also teamed to finish the year ranked No. 3 nationally in doubles.