Mary Baldwin's Athletic Department will add five new members to it's Hall of Fame as part of the institution's Alumni/ae Weekend on Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024,  including:

• Betty Kegley, Administrator
• Anne Talbott Jordan '72, Volleyball, Basketball and Tennis
• Becca Laing (Bower) '98, Volleyball
• Denise Michael '06, Softball
• Kara Hawkins '10, Basketball

These five will join the 14 current members in the MBU Athletics Hall of Fame (listed here):
https://marybaldwinathletics.com/honors/hall-of-fame

Kegley will be the third former Athletic Director inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame.  She ushered Mary Baldwin College (MBC) into the transition era from club team sports to varsity sports as members of the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW), which eventually led to NCAA Division III and Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) membership.

Talbott was a three-sport athlete at Mary Baldwin, with volleyball, basketball and tennis programs in their varsity infancy.  She was a top player in volleyball and basketball, but it was with the tennis program where she made her mark under coach Lois Blackburn Bryan.  Talbott won the state singles championship her senior season, won multiple doubles titles and helped Mary Baldwin to the state team championship victory over the College of William & Mary.  After earning her bachelor's degree in mathematics, Talbott went on to teach tennis skills to thousands of adults over nearly two decades and added golf and badminton to her sports passions.

Laing Bower played volleyball at Mary Baldwin in the "three-set era", but still ranks among the school's top players in kills, service aces and digs.  In fact, she is the only player prior to the turn of the 21^st century to still be ranked among MBU leaders in career kills (623), service aces (144) and digs (1,205).  Laing Bower was named the 1997-98 Mary Baldwin Women's Athlete of the Year and graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications.

Michael was a softball standout for the Fighting Squirrels in an era where Mary Baldwin dominated the Atlantic Women's Collegiate Conference (AWCC), winning championships and advancing to the NCAA Division III Tournament in both 2004 and 2005.  She is still among the career pitching leaders at Mary Baldwin for appearances (95), starts (91), complete games (86), innings pitched (562.1), wins (45), saves (3), shutouts (12) and strikeouts (294).  She was also the team's primary pitcher in the only seasons that Mary Baldwin recorded 20 wins in a campaign – 2004 (school record 21) and 2006 (20).  Michael was named the 2005-06 Mary Baldwin Women's Athlete of the Year and graduated with a bachelor's degree in Sociology.

Hawkins was the blue-collar worker on defense and on the boards for the women's basketball team.  During her career, Hawkins helped the Fighting Squirrels transition from playing in the AWCC to Mary Baldwin's current conference affiliation in the USA South Athletic Conference.  Despite the change, Hawkins helped the team record double-digit wins and played with current Mary Baldwin Hall of Fame basketball scoring leader Jessica Carter in three of her four season.  Hawkins completed her career as the leading rebounder in team history (1,041), among the leaders in career free throw percentage (62.5%) and one of the highest four-year win totals in Mary Baldwin history (37).  Hawkins was named the 2009-10 Mary Baldwin Women's Athlete of the Year and graduated with a bachelor's degree in Sociology.

The induction brunch will be held during MBU's Alumni Weekend (Oct. 18-20) at the Hotel 24 South in Staunton, starting with a reception at 9:45 a.m. 

Tickets for the event are $25 and available online at https://alumni.marybaldwin.edu/homecoming