MISENHEIMER — Pfeiffer University’s athletic department recently announced that its Sports Hall of Fame 2023 class will be inducted during the university’s homecoming festivities on Sept. 23.
The Falcons Hall of Fame will soon include a trio of former star student-athletes who graduated from Pfeiffer — Jerry Bryson (baseball, ’60), Andrea Nachtman Blair (volleyball, ’92), Nathan “Sasa” Regis (soccer, ’17) — along with the Falcons’ championship-winning 2002 men’s cross-country team.
Bryson was a star catcher for two seasons under coach Joe Ferebee, who became the winningest baseball coach in North Carolina college and American Legion history with 677 wins between 1956 and 1987.
Bryson later became a successful coach in his own right and was inducted into Gardner-Webb’s Athletics Hall of Fame in 1992 with a 305-87 coaching record between 1966 and 1980.
Blair was the Lady Falcons’ volleyball star in the early 1990s and a key component of their Conference Carolinas Tournament victory in 1991. Additionally, she made the All-District 26 team and became the NCAA’s 1992 Woman of the Year for Pfeiffer College.
“Our team played great, and our fans got to see us win. I was honored to receive Conference Carolinas Player of the Year after that game. I still remember receiving that award,” Blair stated in a university press release, reflecting on her latest athletic honor. “It is an amazing surprise. Pfeiffer has always held a special place in my heart and for Pfeiffer to feel this way about me, I feel doubly blessed.”
Regis played a key role as the undefeated Falcons won the 2015 NCAA Division II men’s soccer championship. He was a two-time National Offensive Player of the Year as well as the 2015 NCAA II Tournament MVP.
He also set new program records for career goals (85), single-season goals (32 in 2015), single-season points (32 goals, 7 assists in 2015) and career points (85 goals, 29 assists).
“The University has changed my life as a student as well as an athlete,” Regis said. “It has taught me discipline, perseverance, sacrifices and respect for the game of soccer. And it has added some amazing people (teammates, coaches and faculty) to my family — people who have shaped my life in ways I can’t begin to explain.”
In a special team honor, the Pfeiffer Sports Hall of Fame is honoring the 2002 men’s cross-country team, which was the only Falcon cross-country team to win the CVAC Championship during the university’s time in NCAA Division II.
That particular roster — coached by Bob Marchinko — had four all-conference runners and was undefeated against conference schools that year. The team also earned runner-up honors at the NCAA Southeast regional meet and finished 24th at the national championships in Ashland, Ohio.
“We are very proud of what we were able to accomplish together,” said Michael Whitley, a member of the 2002 squad. “Having this enshrined in the Hall of Fame forever cements what we did in Pfeiffer history, and that is insanely cool. I’m very humbled and extremely honored by this recognition.”