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Yesterday Once More

ORU Honors Former Players

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Nine Hall of Fame members, joined by Mike Carter and Rebecca Roberts and the three newest members, take center court.
Nine Hall of Fame members, joined by Mike Carter and Rebecca Roberts and the three newest members, take center court.
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The Acres family--Matt, Mark, Sandi, Dick (ORU head coach, 1982-85), and Jeff (ORU Titan, 1980-85)--was all smiles on this happy night.
The Acres family--Matt, Mark, Sandi, Dick (ORU head coach, 1982-85), and Jeff (ORU Titan, 1980-85)--was all smiles on this happy night.
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Mark Acres receives his plaque from Carter and Helms.
Mark Acres receives his plaque from Carter and Helms.
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Athletics director Mike Carter, Varsity Club president Gordon Helm, and Haywoode Workman face the cameras during the halftime induction ceremony.
Athletics director Mike Carter, Varsity Club president Gordon Helm, and Haywoode Workman face the cameras during the halftime induction ceremony.
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Sheera Sirola and Rhonda Penquite talk with some fans during the post-game autograph session.
Sheera Sirola and Rhonda Penquite talk with some fans during the post-game autograph session.
ORU suffered a heartbreaking loss to UMKC on Feb. 22 (91-86, double-overtime), but in the end, the night belonged to the Hall of Famers.

The second induction ceremony in as many years brought back sports greats such as Bill Springman (baseball), Rhonda Penquite (basketball, and ORU's first female All-American), Michael Hairston (track), Vivian Herron (basketball), Richard Fuqua (basketball), Madeline Manning Mims (track),

Haywood Hill (basketball), and Greg Davis (baseball and basketball). Also honored was the late Anthony Roberts, who was represented by his widow, Rebecca.

The three new inductees--Mark Acres, Haywoode Workman, and Sheera Sirola--come from three different eras in ORU sports history, and two sports.

Acres (1981-85), a four-time All-American, ranks in the top ten in ten different career-statistics categories. He ranks second in career rebounds (1,051) and blocked shots (164); the latter record, ironically, was broken this season by ORU senior Kendrick Moore. Acres was on the last ORU team to go to the NCAA tournament (1984). After his ORU playing days ended, he spent eight years in the NBA.

Workman (1986-89) holds ORU's single-season record for steals (103, 1987-88), which made him fourth in the nation that year. He was drafted by Atlanta in 1989 and eventually spent nine years in the NBA.

Zvjezdana "Sheera" Sirola (1994, 1995) took the women's volleyball team to the NCAA Elite Eight in 1995. ORU finished that season ranked tenth in the nation. She ended her ORU career as the all-time leader in service aces (197) and ranks in the top ten in three other career categories.
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