SPOKANE, Wash. -- The Whitworth University
Crimson Club has approved four new members of the Whitworth
Heritage Gallery Hall of Fame for induction in 2011.
The four include three former Pirate
student-athletes and a highly successful coach and administrator:
Sky Blake, Warren Friedrichs, Tiffany Speer and Jerry Tighe.
Sky Blake (class of 2001) was an AP Little
All-American at Whitworth during his senior season in 2000. A
defensive end, Blake led the Northwest Conference in total tackles
(110), tackles per game (12.2) and added 15 tackles for 49 yards in
losses. He was a D3football.com First Team All-American and the
Co-Defensive Player of the Year in the NWC. He became the defensive
MVP of the post-season Aztec Bowl all-star game.
Tiffany Speer (class of 2005) retired as the
second all-time leading scorer in Whitworth women's basketball. She
finished her career with 1,707 points and set Pirate records for
most points in a single game (48), single season scoring average
(21.1), and most free throws made (540) and attempted (698) in a
career. She was a two-time NWC Player of the Year and two-time
D3hoops.com Third Team All-American.
Jerry Tighe (class of 1970) was an NAIA cross
country and track and field All-American at Whitworth. He won three
consecutive NAIA District cross country championships and finished
as high as 11th at the NAIA national cross country championships.
He became a three-time All-American in the two-mile distance at the
NAIA Indoor Track & Field Championships between 1968-70 and
also was a two-time All-American in the three-mile race at the NAIA
Outdoor Track & Field Championships, earning national runner-up
in 1969.
Warren Friedrichs has served a variety of key
roles in the Whitworth athletics department, most notably as the
men's basketball coach from 1986-2001. He is the winningest coach
in school history with a career record of 251-195. His teams won or
shared five Northwest Conference titles and he led the Pirates to
three national tournament appearances. His 1991 Pirate team was the
first Whitworth squad to advance to the NAIA Division I tournament
in Kansas City in 30 years. His 1996 team lost in overtime of the
NAIA Division II championship game in Nampa, Idaho. More recently
he resurrected the Pirate golf program, leading the men to four NWC
titles (2005-7, 2010) and two national tournament appearances,
while the women have claimed two NWC crowns (2009 and 2010) and
reached the 2010 NCAA Division III tournament. Friedrichs also
served the department as interim Director of Athletics from October
of 2009 through June of 2011, during which time the Pirates claimed
a pair of NWC McIlroy-Lewis All-Sports Trophies.
The class of 2011 will join a group of 71
individuals and seven teams already enshrined in the Heritage
Gallery during a breakfast ceremony on Saturday, October 8th. The
class of 2011, along with all current Heritage Gallery members
attending the induction, will be recognized at halftime of the
Whitworth - Pacific Lutheran football game that afternoon.
The Whitworth Heritage Gallery Hall of Fame is
sponsored by the Crimson Club and the first class was inducted in
1990.
Reservations for the induction ceremony and
breakfast can be made by calling 777-3224.
