Rutgers Roundup

The Rutgers Division of Intercollegiate Athletics will honor the three newest members of its Olympic Sports Hall of Fame in ceremonies on the Rutgers campus this weekend. Darren Fenster of the baseball team, Kim Curcuru of the women's tennis team and Chris Sagnella of the men's track & field team will be inducted into the Rutgers Olympic Sports Hall of Fame in a ceremony at the University Inn and Conference Center on Saturday evening. The group will also be recognized during halftime of the Rutgers- Notre Dame men's basketball game Sunday at the Louis Brown Athletic Center.

Fenster was a two-time All-American shortstop for the Scarlet Knights who went on to play six years in the Kansas City Royals organization. The program's all-time leader in several offensive categories, including career hits (315), singleseason hits (101) and career doubles (65), Fenster was a four-year starter (1997- 2000). A 2000 graduate, he re-joined the baseball program as Director of Operations in 2006. He has been part of three Big East Conference Regular Season and Tournament championships, winning the 1998 and 2000 titles as a player and achieving the feat again in 2007 as a member of the staff. Fenster has also been a part of four NCAA Tournament appearances, including three as a player. As a senior in 2000, Fenster was a consensus First Team All-American, hitting .433. That year, Rutgers posted its first-ever 40- win season and was ranked as high as No. 14 nationally. The 2000 Big East Player of the Year, NCBWA District II Player of the Year, and captain and MVP of a team that featured three future Major Leaguers and a first-round draft choice, Fenster was also a finalist for the prestigious Dick Howser Trophy, presented annually to the nation's top collegiate player. He was also a three-time All-Big East selection. Drafted in the 12th round by the Kansas City Royals in 2000, Fenster advanced to the Double A level in the Royals system before he suffered a career-ending injury.

Curcuru, a 1990 graduate of Rutgers, was one of the top tennis players in the program's history. During her career, Curcuru amassed a record of 101-65. She was a four-time All-Atlantic 10 honoree and was named the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year as a senior in 1990, when she was ranked regionally in singles. In addition to her stellar singles career, Curcuru also excelled in doubles competition. She compiled a 95-50 career record and was selected to the Atlantic 10's All-Conference team for four years. Curcuru and doubles partner Pam Fearon, a Hall of Fame inductee in 2005, achieved the highest ranking ever for a Rutgers doubles team when it was ranked ninth nationally in 1990. Curcuru was the ECAC first doubles champion, the Eastern Collegiate first doubles champion and captured a first doubles title at the Syracuse Invitational. Curcuru was named the team's Rookie of the Year in 1987 and was also selected Most Improved Player and Most Valuable Player during her career.

A three-time NCAA First Team All- American in the javelin, Sagnella is the school record-holder in the javelin with a school-record throw of 244-10. An Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America (IC4A), Penn Relays and Big East Champion, Sagnella established a one-time meet record at the Big East Championships in the javelin. He was a two-time Metropolitan Conference Champion. Sagnella also competed at the 1996 United States Olympic Trials, where he secured an eighth-place finish. Sagnella was the United States' ninth-ranked thrower in 1996 by Track and Field News, which included both collegiate and professional javelin throwers. He graduated from Rutgers in 1996.

All three inductees were nominated by their peers and elected by the Olympic Sports Hall of Fame committee last fall.