Nemanja Kuzmanovic ’03 will forever be remembered as a student-athlete who helped make Washington & Jefferson College a force in collegiate water polo. Kuzmanovic played on the first water polo team in school history and was named the team’s Most Valuable Player as a freshman. A native of Belgrade, Yugoslavia, Kuzmanovic was a four-time Collegiate Water Polo Association Division III All-American. He finished his career with a remarkable 307 goals, including a school-record senior season in which he totaled 76 goals and 25 assists for 101 points. Kuzmanovic was a three-time Southern Division All-Conference honoree and earned two selections to the Eastern Championship First Team All-Tournament squad. He also excelled in the classroom with a 3.87 grade-point average. Following his senior year, he was selected to the CoSIDA Academic All-America Team, becoming just the 18th student-athlete in school history to accomplish the feat. After a standout junior season, Kuzmanovic was the recipient of the Paul Reardon Award. Kuzmanovic’s squads improved each year in the win-loss column, including the 2002 season in which the Presidents won 19 matches, a record which still stands today. Despite its new varsity sport status, W&J posted a 60-43 record with Kuzmanovic as a member of the squad. Kuzmanovic continued to excel during the winter season where he was an All-Presidents’ Athletic Conference swimmer for Washington & Jefferson. He swam the second leg on the 800 freestyle relay team which won a conference championship and set a school record in 2000.
Angelo Morascyzk ’77 has been instrumental to the success of the wrestling program as a student-athlete and coach for nearly four decades. Morascyzk began his W&J career in 1973 and he started every match for the Presidents during his four-year career. Morascyzk wrestled three years in the 134-pound weight class and spent his junior year at 126 pounds. He was a four-time national qualifier and his 62-14 career record remains as the fifth-best winning percentage in school history (.813). The 62 victories were a school record at the time of his graduation and currently rank 15th on the all-time list. As a freshman, Morascyzk earned the wrestling program’s first-ever team point at the 1974 NCAA Division III Championship Tournament. He dropped a 3-2 decision in the All-America round. Morascyzk was a four-time All-Presidents’ Athletic Conference wrestler (two runner-ups, two third-place showings). He was undefeated as a senior heading into the conference championship match before dropping his first decision of the year. He wrestled on the 1974-75 team which became the first nationally-ranked team in W&J history. An 18-2 dual-meet record helped the Presidents reach No. 18 in the national rankings. Morascyzk, who graduated with honors with degrees in secondary education and political science, returned to his alma mater as a co-head coach with James White from 1993 to 1998 and helped the 1995 Presidents win the school’s first PAC title in 29 years. He took over the head coaching role on his own in 1998 until the 2005-06 season. During his coaching career, W&J wrestlers captured 44 conference individual titles, including nine who were selected as the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Most Outstanding Wrestler. He also coached five Academic All-Americans and guided the 2001-02 Presidents to the first undefeated dual-meet record (7-0) in school history. The Presidents also claimed the 1999 PAC Championship under his direction. Morascyzk played an integral role in the success of Kevin DeJuliis ’03, Matt Smith ’05 and Wesley Koteski ’02, who finished their careers with the top three win totals in W&J history. DeJuliis totaled 117 victories and was an NCAA Division III All-American in 2002 where he was one of three W&J wrestlers to earn an invitation to the 2002 national championships. Morascyzk and his wife of 33 years, Karen, reside in Washington. The couple has two sons, 2001 W&J graduate Joe and Mike who also attended Washington & Jefferson. Joe helped start the Presidents’ club ice hockey team.
A. Michael Pratt '81 remains as one of the most talented guards in Washington & Jefferson College basketball history. As a 5-foot-10 slick ball handler and shooting guard, Pratt set a single-game school record as a freshman with 13 assists, a record which still stands today. He also led the Presidents’ Athletic Conference in assists as a freshman. Pratt was a four-year letter winner and starter who played in 85 career games. Pratt earned All-Presidents’ Athletic Conference honors three times during his career. Following his senior year, Pratt was selected to the College Sports Information Directors of America Second Team Academic All-America Team. He is one of only four men’s basketball players in school history to be honored as a national Academic All-American. Pratt finished his career with 1,221 career points, the third-highest total in school history at the time of his graduation. He is currently 13th on the all-time list. Pratt was the team co-captain as a senior, a year in which he was selected as the squad’s Co-Most Valuable Player. Pratt graduated with a major in economics and a minor in English. The Uniontown, Pa., native also graduated from Harvard Law School. Currently, he is a partner at the law firm of Pepper Hamilton LLP in Philadelphia and a Commissioner on the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. He is the proud father of three and the grandfather of two.
Brian Sullivan ’94 was a two-sport standout student-athlete at Washington & Jefferson College in the early 1990s. Sullivan earned seven letters during his career, four for the cross country program and three for the Presidents’ track & field team. For the cross country team, Sullivan was a four-time, all-conference performer and team Most Valuable Performer. As a sophomore, Sullivan placed third at the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Championships, earning the school’s best finish since Bill Milroth’s third-place showing in 1959. Sullivan set school records in both the 5K and 8K races during a junior year in which he won the Pitt-Johnstown and Saint Vincent cross country meets. During his junior year, Sullivan was named the PAC Runner of the Week four times. He then topped his 8K time for another school record in 1992 at the Robert Morris Invitational. Sullivan continued his success during the spring track & field team where he earned All-Presidents’ Athletic Conference honors on five different occasions. He was selected as the 1992 Team MVP after collecting a trio of All-PAC finishes at the conference championships at Bethany College. Sullivan saved perhaps his best for his final track & field season as he captured conference championships in both the 5,000 and 10,000 meters. He was honored with the squad’s Pete Kimmel Award. A native of Bethel Park, Pa., Sullivan was a 1993 GTE/COSIDA Academic All-District award winner. He earned a degree in biology and was a member of Delta Tau Delta.
Lynne Yater ’94 graduated as the most accomplished women’s basketball point guard in Washington & Jefferson College history. Yater ended her career as the Presidents’ assist leader with 446, a record which remained for 10 years until she was passed by Shawndra McDonald ’05. Yater remains second on the W&J assist chart. A Washington, Pa., native and Trinity High School graduate, Yater also poured in 1,034 career points as a 5-foot-4 guard. She is one of 13 women’s players in school history to score 1,000 points. Yater led her teams to 57 wins over her four-year career, including a 19-5 record as a senior which brought the Presidents’ Athletic Conference and ECAC Division III South Championships to Washington & Jefferson. The ECAC postseason title was the first in school history. A three-time All-Presidents’ Athletic Conference selection, Yater formed a strong inside-outside alliance with another W&J Hall of Famer, Heather Dawkins. During the 1992-93 season, Yater was 11th in the nation in assists per game. She helped W&J reach a No. 5 ranking in the NCAA Division III Atlantic Region as a senior. Following her freshman season, she was named the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Co-Freshman of the Year. She was also ranked among the nation’s top 20 free throw shooters as a sophomore. The business administration major was President of Kappa Kappa Gamma. She was the recipient of the 1994 Waltersdorf Award for Innovative Leadership as well as the 1993 Paul Reardon Award for academic and athletic excellence.
Kenneth M. Mason, Jr. ’64 is inducted into the Washington & Jefferson College Athletic Hall of Fame as the 2010 Robert M. Murphy Award Winner. Ironically, Mason was honored with the 1964 Robert Murphy Award, given in those days to the most valuable senior athlete at the College. Mason was a two-sport standout at W&J, lettering four years in football and baseball for the Presidents. As a junior, he earned All-Presidents’ Athletic Conference football honors for his play as a defensive back. He also was the team’s quarterback. Mason led the 1962 Presidents to a 4-3 record, which included a four-game win streak after an 0-2 start. The team’s winning record was the first by a Washington & Jefferson football squad in 10 years. He then helped the Presidents to a second-place finish in the 1963 Presidents’ Athletic Conference standings. A 14-6 loss to John Carroll in Cleveland, Ohio, during the final week of the season kept the 1963 squad, coached by W&J Hall of Famer Chuck Ream, from becoming the first conference champions in school history. Off the playing field, Mason was a Kappa and Junior Scholar and President of Student Government. He also was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity and served as editor of the 1963 Pandora, the College yearbook. In the fall of his senior year, he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. A native of Rochester, NY, Mason came to the College while his family was living in Lisle, Illinois. After W&J, he attended Cornell University for his M.A. and Ph.D. in English literature. He had a distinguished career as a college professor, including 15 years as Chair of the English Department at W&J. For 11 years during that period, he was also Head of the Arts and Humanities Division. Mason is the eldest of five brothers to attend W&J and one of seven graduates altogether from the Mason family. In May, at Commencement 2011, his son Alex will become the eighth.
