Hoffman & 6 Former Student-Athletes Selected for Bentley Athletic Hall of Fame

Hoffman & 6 Former Student-Athletes Selected for Bentley Athletic Hall of Fame

WALTHAM, Mass. -- Longtime Bentley University women’s volleyball coach Sandy Hoffman, five former All-Americas and one of the premier defensemen in the formative days of the university’s Division I hockey program have been selected for the Bentley University Athletic Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony will be held in the Lacava Center Executive Dining Room on September 26.

Joining Hoffman will be Kelly Barker ’01 (women’s basketball), Mark DeBrito ’99 (football), Nate Fritsch ’08 (men’s basketball), Jen (Bunce) Hogencamp ’00 (field hockey), Julie (Longo) Kelly ’04 (women’s soccer) and Steve Tobio ’02 (hockey).

Barker, a Billerica native who now resides in North Weymouth, owned the Bentley career scoring record from 2001-2014 and is currently number two with 1,800 points. A 2013 inductee into the Northeast-10 Conference Hall of Fame and Bentley’s 2000-01 Outstanding Female Senior Athlete, Barker helped the Falcons to a four-year record of 120-12 with her scoring average increasing each season.

One of only three players in Division II history with over 1,000 rebounds and 100 three-pointers at the time her career ended, the six-foot-two post player led the Falcons in scoring all four seasons, putting up 18.1 points and 8.9 rebounds as a senior while shooting .465 from three. In her final year, Barker was selected as both the Northeast-10 and ECAC Division II North Player of the Year, and was also chosen for the Kodak Division II All-America team by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association.

DeBrito, who still resides in his hometown of New Bedford where he is the head football coach at the high school, was one of the top two or three receivers in Bentley history. While earning AP Little All-America and Burger King Division II All-America honors as a senior in 1999, he put up numbers that are unmatched in program history, 101 receptions for 1,637 yards. DeBrito was the first player in New England Division II and conference history to catch 100 passes in a season, and his 1,637 yards is still the 11th most in NCAA Division II history.

DeBrito, a three-time All-Eastern Football Conference and New England Football Writers Division II-III All-New England selection, finished his career with 238 receptions for 3,711 yards and 41 touchdowns. He’s second in school history in catches and receiving yards, and third in career points and TDs. DeBrito was the co-MVP of the EFC in 1999 and Bentley’s Outstanding Male Senior Athlete in 2000. Before becoming the football coach at New Bedford, he was an assistant football coach at both Bentley and Bryant University.

Fritsch, who came north to Bentley from Durham, N.C. via The Hun School (Princeton, N.J.), helped lead the Falcons to a 117-17 record during his four full seasons, including 81-7 in regular season Northeast-10 contests. His final two seasons saw the Falcons reach the NCAA Division II Elite Eight with unblemished records (32-0 in 2006-07, 33-0 in 2007-08) with the only blemishes during those two incredible seasons coming against Winona State (quarterfinals in 2007, national semis in 2008).

A 2014 inductee into the Northeast-10 Hall of Fame, the six-foot-six forward finished his career with 1,442 points and was one of the rare players to shoot over 50 percent overall, 40 percent from three and 80 percent from the line. Fritsch was Bentley’s 2008 Outstanding Male Senior Athlete, a member of the 2008 NABC State Farm Division II All-America team, and the Most Outstanding Player of the 2008 NCAA Northeast Regional.

Hoffman, Bentley’s head volleyball coach from 1982-2014 and one of the university’s assistant athletics directors for most of that era before stepping down for medical reasons, amassed a 758-366 record during her 32 years at the helm with 11 NCAA tournament appearances, 11 Northeast-10 regular season championships (nine outright, two shared) and nine NE-10 tournament championships.

The fourth winningest coach in Division II women’s volleyball history, Hoffman was selected as the Northeast-10 Coach of the Year, an award that now carries her name, eight times. Last December, the Waltham resident received the ultimate honor when she was inducted into the American Volleyball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, becoming one of only 66 who have been so recognized.

Hogencamp, a 2007 inductee into the Northeast-10 Hall of Fame, finished her career as the top scorer in Bentley and NCAA Division II history, a distinction she maintained until 2006. The Falcons were 50 games over .500 during her career (69-19) with the team winning four straight Northeast-10 regular season championships, four consecutive NE-10 tournament titles and the 1998 ECAC Division II Championship. She also helped the Falcons to a berth in the 1999 NCAA Division II national championship game.

Hogencamp, who finished her career with 78 goals and 32 assists for 188 points, collected a slew of honors for her performance, including three-time first-team National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division II All-America, three-time Northeast-10 Player of the Year, four-time first-team All-Northeast-10 and 1998-99 New England Sports Network Female Athlete of the Year. The East Dennis native now resides in Mansfield.

Kelly, a Woburn native who now resides in Melrose, became the first All-America in Bentley women’s soccer history when she was recognized by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America as a third-team Division II honoree following her sophomore season in 2001. That season, she led the Falcons to the highest winning percentage in program history (.711) with a 13-5-1 record.

Kelly, a three-time NSCAA All-Region selection, earned All-Northeast-10 honors all four seasons, including first-team recognition in 2001, and still ranks eighth on Bentley’s all-time scoring list with 18 goals and 10 assists for 46 points.

 Tobio was a standout defensemen for the Bentley hockey team from 1998-2002 with his arrival on campus from nearby Belmont coinciding with the program’s transition into Division I. The Falcons played an independent schedule his freshman year before moving into the MAAC Hockey League in 1999. Tobio played in 120 career games, amassing 35 goals and 85 assists for 120 points, a total that still ranks tenth in program history overall and first among blue liners.

Tobio, who now resides in Waltham, led the Falcons in scoring during his final two seasons and was twice honored as the MAAC Hockey League Defensive Player of the Year (2002 and co-honoree in 2000). The two-year team captain was also a three-time All-MAAC honoree, including first team in 2002 and 2002.

The addition of these seven very deserving individuals will increase the number in the Bentley Athletic Hall of Fame to 147.