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Loyola Marymount Standouts Join an Elite Club : Colleges: Eleven new members to the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame will be honored on April 27.

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

Loyola Marymount’s Athletic Hall of Fame will open its doors to 11 more inductees.

The 11 honorees, who will be formally inducted April 27 in ceremonies at the Proud Bird Restaurant in Los Angeles, join 46 predecessors named to the hall since its inception in 1986.

The newest class includes basketball standouts Forrest McKenzie and Steve Smith, football players Guerin Alker, B. J. Andorka and Neil Ferris, volleyball player Andrea Fort, rower Merri Lisa Formento, baseball player Mike Logelin, tennis player Carolyn Partridge, three-sport standout Maurice Donovan and current golf Coach Father Thomas Higgins.

The oldest member of the group is Andorka, class of 1939, who played football for three seasons after transferring from Notre Dame. Nicknamed “Bullet,” he earned All-America honors as a lineman in 1937 and played three years in the Pacific Professional Football League before becoming a professional bowler from 1946 to 1954.

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Alker, class of ‘50, also played center and linebacker for three seasons. His jersey No. 54 was retired after his last season. Ferris, class of ‘51, played halfback and defensive back for three Loyola football teams, then played for three teams in the NFL before finishing his career in the Canadian Football League in 1954.

Donovan, class of ‘42, lettered in baseball, basketball and golf and also coached the Lion basketball team in the 1942-43 season before serving in the Navy during World War II. He joins the hall roster with younger brother Bill Donovan, a charter inductee.

Smith, class of ‘73, had two standout basketball seasons after transferring from Oregon. Nicknamed “Tree,” he averaged 21 points and 14.3 rebounds as a junior and 22.4 points and 13.7 rebounds as a senior, earning all-conference honors each season. He scored a career-high 41 points against Pepperdine in February of 1972.

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McKenzie, class of ‘86, is the first basketball player from the Paul Westhead era to be inducted. A three-time all-conference selection and a four-year starter, he led the Lions to a National Invitation Tournament appearance and an upset of California his senior year. He finished his career as the school’s first 2,000-point scorer and was recently named to the West Coast Conference All-Decade team. McKenzie played briefly in the NBA before continuing his pro career in Europe.

Fort, the youngest inductee representing the class of ‘87, was named 1986 West Coast Conference player of the year after leading the Lions to their best season ever, including a WCC title and an upset top-ranked UCLA in the NCAA playoffs. She was a four-year letter winner and set school records for season and career assists.

Logelin, class of ‘70, played three seasons at second base and compiled a .331 career average including a standout junior year when he batted .399 and committed only one error and earned all-district honors.

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Formento, class of ‘80, rowed with Loyola’s varsity eight, then went on to a successful post-collegiate career, competing in five National Women’s Rowing Assn. championships through 1986 and winning four first places. She also won a fourth place in the 1984 World Championships and rowed to a silver medal in the 1987 Pan American Games in the lightweight single scull.

Partridge (now Partridge-Chabolla), class of ‘80, played tennis for four years and advanced to the national tournament in 1980, when she won her bracket in the Division II Regionals.

Higgins, a familiar figure at Loyola, has compiled a record of 175-32 in dual golf matches over the past 21 years without benefit of scholarships, and has coached three players who went on to the pro circuit. His 1979 team was 17-1. A 1950 graduate of Loyola High, Higgins joined the Jesuit order in 1952 and is known throughout the Loyola community for his lively sense of humor.

Tickets for the induction ceremonies are $50 and are available through the Loyola athletic department. Information: (213) 338-2765.

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