By Craig Degel
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Kenny Lofton and Robert Gamez highlighted a list of former UA athletes inducted into the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame during halftime at Saturday's UA-California football game.
Joining Lofton and Gamez were Matt Encinas, John Fouse, Jeanne Doyle Garrett, Thomas "Shanty" Hogan, Scot Bryan Johnson, Martina Koch, Darryl Lewis, Chris Singleton and Patricia Vold.
Lofton, a point guard from 1986-89, helped lead the Wildcats to the Final Four in '88 and set the Pacific 10 Conference record for career steals with 116. He also played briefly on the baseball team, and was drafted by the Houston Astros. He was traded to the Cleveland Indians, where he is currently the lead-off hitter and centerfielder, as well as a two-time All-Star. Gamez, a golfer, was NCAA player of the year in '89 and the PGA's rookie of the year in '90.
Encinas was a three-year baseball letterman from 1957-59. He was Arizona's first Hispanic All-American in any sport. After graduation he played in the New York Yankees' organization.
Fouse was a two-sport star from 1962-65, starting at tight end on the football team and a pitcher on the baseball team. He is still ranked third on the career shutouts list. Fouse was drafted by the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles and the American Football League's Buffalo Bills, but he opted to play baseball with the Cleveland Indians.
Garrett was one of the most accomplished female athletes the UA has produced. During her time in Tucson, she won the Women's Athletic Association tennis single's title twice, and captured the Ojai Intercollegiate Championships in singles and doubles. She is now a coach, and continues to play on the national senior circuit.
Hogan's career at Arizona covered six years because of military service in World War II. He played both football and baseball. Following graduation, he played semi-professional baseball with the Casa Grande Cotton Kings. He later went on to coach junior college football.
Singleton was a four-year football letterman from 1986-89. He was a first-round draft selection of the New England Patriots in '89 and currently plays for the Miami Dolphins. Chris' twin brother Kevin, who played at Arizona from 1986-90, is a Wildcat assistant football coach.
"Chris is excited," said Kevin Singleton, who accepted the honor on behalf of his brother, who was in Cincinnati for the Dolphins' game against the Bengals. "He's a pretty low-key guy. He's concentrating on doing his job right now. I guess he was proud to be inducted, and he would want to thank everybody."
Considered the premier backstroker in UA history, Johnson was a three-time All-American from 1987-89 in the event and is still the UA recordholder in the 100-yard backstroke. While at Arizona, he competed in the Pan Am Games and for the 1991 World Championship Team.
Koch came to UA after winning the European women's amateur championship. She was UA's first four-time All-American, from 1986 to '90, when she was awarded the Pac-10 medal as UA's finest female student-athlete. Koch later earned a master's degree in golf course architecture from Kansas State.
Lewis was a four-year letterman with the Wildcat football team. In '90, Lewis was the team's most valuable player and a consensus All-American. He also won the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation's top defensive back. He was picked in the third round of the '90 NFL draft by Houston, where he is still a part of the Oilers' defense.
Vold competed in badminton, volleyball, basketball, field hockey and club softball for the Wildcats from 1966-69. She went on to coach at Cholla High School in Tucson and Pima Community College. She is currently assistant director for interscholastics for Tucson Unified School District.