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Santa Clara University Hall of Famer Ric Foley of Los Gatos.
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Foley wins spot in SCU Hall
Meckenstock, Symons join Bronco greats
By Dick Sparrer
It's been more than 20 years since Ric Foley starred on the baseball diamond at Santa Clara University. But it hasn't been so long that the Broncos don't remember or appreciate his talents.
Foley was one of seven outstanding Santa Clara athletes to win induction into the Santa Clara University Athletic Hall of Fame during ceremonies hosted by the school's Alumni Association on June 17.
Foley, a member of the class of 1978, played both baseball and football at Santa Clara, and was inducted along with basketball players Elden Eckman, class of '35, and James Russi, class of '60; special nominee A.P. "Butch" Hamann Jr., class of '70; football star Rich Martig, class of '84; women's basketball sensation Suzanne (Meckenstock) Seandel, class of '86; and women's soccer standout Jennifer (Symons) Meek, class of '89.
Foley, Martig, Meckenstock and Symons share a common thread as they move into Santa Clara's hallowed Hall--all four were outstanding high school athletes in the area.
Foley was an All-Central Coast Section pick in both football and baseball as an outstanding athlete at Leigh High School from 1971 to 1974.
Martig starred on the football field for Bellarmine in the late 1970s before moving on to Santa Clara.
Meckenstock was a superstar on the basketball floor for Los Gatos in the 1980s. She led the vaunted Gatos "Orange Crush" to the Northern California championship and was named to the All-Central Coast Section team.
Symons, like Meckenstock, was a girls sports star at Los Gatos before joining the Broncos. She was an all-CCS soccer player for the Wildcats before starring on the soccer field at Santa Clara.
The seven Santa Clara Athletic Hall of Fame inductees were recognized with a dinner and special ceremonies held in Benson Memorial Center on the campus.
Martig, like Foley before him, played for the South squad in the Santa Clara County All-Star football game as a graduating high school senior. Foley played in the first game in 1974, and Martig played in 1980.
The game, now the Charlie Wedemeyer All-Star Football Game, will celebrate its 25th anniversary when the game is played on July 23 at San Jose State University's Spartan Stadium.
Foley went on to play both football and baseball at Santa Clara, but he gave up football after two years to concentrate on baseball. He left the school's tight end job in the capable hands of Doug Cosbie, who went on to become an All-Pro with the Dallas Cowboys. Cosbie, a graduate of St. Francis, also played in that 1974 summer high school all-star game.
Foley joins Hall
Ric Foley, who has lived in Los Gatos for 35 years, is one of the greatest Bronco pitchers.
He started to shine as an outstanding football and baseball player at Leigh, winning all-league and league most valuable player awards in both sports as a senior. He was also named to all-CCS and all-state teams in both football and baseball.
He continued in both sports at Santa Clara, playing for coaching legends Pat Malley (football) and Sal Taormina (baseball). "Their influence allowed me to continue to mature as an athlete," said Foley of his college coaches.
After two years playing both sports, he concentrated on baseball in his junior and senior seasons and went on to lead the NCAA in earned run average (1.29) and wins (14) as a senior. Both remain as Santa Clara single season records. He also holds the school single game strike-out record (16) and tossed a no-hitter against rival San Jose State in '78.
He holds Bronco season records for complete games (15) and innings pitched (155), and he ranks among career leaders in wins (second with 30), career complete games (second with 31), strikeouts (third with 306), inning pitched (third with 386) and games started (fifth with 45). He won all-West Coast Athletic Conference honors for three straight seasons.
He was the San Diego Padres' third-round draft pick in 1977 (Ozzie Smith was the Padres' fourth-round pick), but returned to Santa Clara for his senior season.
A year later, he was drafted in the fourth round by the California Angels and went to their Triple-A club in Salt Lake City to begin an eight year professional career.
Over 20 years later, Foley is still in there pitching as a starter for the Giants in the senior league. He has helped San Jose to five World Senior Championships in 10 years.
Ric and his wife, Patti, have three children-- Bricklin, 10; Tara, 7; and Brett, 3. He is now a vice president of marketing and sales for Invivo Corporation in Fremont.
Meckenstock an inductee
"Suzy" Meckenstock-Seandel, now the mother of a 3-year-old and 5-month-old twins, was a sensational basketball player at Los Gatos before going on to stardom at Santa Clara University.
She rewrote the record books at Los Gatos, breaking all the school's scoring marks (including most points in a game, 31, and most points in a season, 611) and winning the West Valley Athletic League's most valuable player award for three straight years.
She made every all-star team imaginable after leading the Orange Crush to a 31-1 record and the NorCal title in 1982. She was the MVP in the WVAL, all-CCS, all-Bay Area, all-Northern California and all-state. She was an honorable mention pick on the high school All-America team that year.
She went on to star on the floor for the Broncos, winning all-West Coast Athletic Conference honors as a senior captain when she averaged 16.6 points per game and led the Broncos to a 15-13 season in 1986.
She scored over 1,000 points at Santa Clara to rank among the school's all-time scoring leaders. She also finished her outstanding career with the Broncos among the all-time leaders in assists, steals, free throws and rebounds.
Suzy is married to Santa Clara men's assistant coach Steve Seandel, and they have three children-- Jessica, 3, and twins Korie Michelle and Jake. She is now director of finance for Extreme Networks.
(Former Santa Clara University sports information director Dick Degnon provided much of the information for this article.)
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
