Durham College (DC) is proud to announce the induction of four new individuals into the Durham College Sports Hall of Fame this fall. Entering the prestigious ranks will be Sandy Abram, Durham Lords volleyball alumna; Stacey Fertile, softball alumna; Gail Reid, Lords women’s soccer head coach; and Jim Anderson, women’s softball assistant coach.

The DC Sports Hall of Fame officially opened in the spring of 1997 to recognize significant achievements and accomplishments of student-athletes, coaches and builders during their time at the college.

Sandy Abram – women’s volleyball (1992-1994)
Graduated from DC in 1994, Sandy Abram was an all-star member of the Lords women’s volleyball program, helping lead the team to two provincial medals.

Abram helped the Lords jumping up from fourth to second place in Division I. At the 1993-1994 provincial championship the Lords won silver, their second provincial medal in years, and was also the first year for recorded statistics in women’s volleyball.

During her collegiate career at DC, she was recognized as an Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) Championship All-Stars and a Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) All-Canadians. Abram was named the team’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) and one of the top female volleyball players in the country.

Stacey Fertile – women’s softball (1994-1996)
Stacey Fertile had an outstanding two-year career with the DC women’s softball team, helping the Lords complete back-to-back perfect regular seasons.

During her rookie campaign, she set two new OCAA records with the most hits in a season and in a single game and helped the Lords claim gold at the 1994-1995 championship, and silver the following year. Fertile was named an OCAA All-Stars in two consecutive years and the OCAA Championship MVP, as well.

Her outstanding hitting and exceptional defence eventually led to an invite to be part of Team Canada with the women’s national fastball program. She was named to the OCAA women’s fastball all-millennium team and was inducted into the OCAA Hall of Fame in 2009.

Gail Reid – women’s soccer head coach (1990-1996)
The first-ever coach of DC women’s soccer, Gail Reid, joined the program for its inaugural season in 1990-1991. She helped lead the Lords to three consecutive OCAA division championships.

Durham would go on to win the OCAA silver medal in 1992-1993 and OCAA bronze in 1993-1994, while outscoring opponents by an overall margin of 77-22 over three seasons. Reid was twice named the central division coach of the year and was named OCAA coach of the year. She was also selected as coach for the OCAA All-Stars game.

Throughout six seasons with the Lords, Reid amassed a conference record and overall record, achieving a .746 winning percentage. Reid established a foundation for both the Lords’ soccer program and women’s sports at DC.

Jim Anderson – women’s softball assistant coach (1981-1988)
Jim Anderson began as an assistant coach with the Lords women’s softball team as part of the programs inaugural staff, alongside head coach and fellow DC Sports Hall of Fame inductee Richard Snowden.

Assisting the program through its first eight years, the team amassed an impressive 55-19 conference record and 82-29 overall record, winning three provincial banners – one silver and three bronze –. During his time as an assistant, the DC women’s fastball team never saw a losing record.

In addition to his service as an assistant coach, Anderson was also a long time faculty member at DC, helping mentor student-athletes and support their success both inside and outside the classroom.

The quartet of inductees will be honoured at this year’s DC Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony scheduled for Friday, November 15 at the Campus Recreation & Wellness Centre.