Honors: Four to join UCI Hall of Fame

Four new members will be inducted into the UC Irvine Athletic Hall

of Fame today during the Homecoming Alumni brunch at the Hyatt Regency in

Irvine. The quartet will also be recognized during tonight’s men’s

basketball game between UCI and Utah State at the Bren Events Center at

7:05.

The 2002 inductees are Duvall Hecht for crew, James Malm for sailing,

Beth McGrann-Alsen for cross country and track, and Brian Pajer for

swimming.

Hecht founded UCI’s rowing program in 1965 and served as head coach

from that year until 1969. He returned as UCI’s men’s coach in 1991 and

continues to serve in that capacity. He was also the varsity rowing coach

at UCLA from 1975-79 and was founder and head coach of the rowing program

at Menlo College from 1959-60. Hecht was a member of the United States

rowing team in the 1952 and 1956 Olympics. The 1956 team won a gold medal

in Melbourne, Australia. Hecht, who was inducted into Stanford

University’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 1982, is the founder of Books on

Tape, Inc.

Malm was an All-American sailor at UCI from 1988-90. He was a

three-time national collegiate champion and won six Pacific Coast titles

for the Anteaters. Malm, a 1989 collegiate world champion, had a

20-regatta winning streak in 1988 to set an Intercollegiate Sailing

Association record. He served as UCI’s head coach from 1992-97, winning 10 Pacific Coast championships and producing 13 All-Americans. He

returned to the university as a volunteer assistant coach in 2000.

McGrann-Alsen was a key member of the dominant UCI women’s distance

running program in the 1980s. She was the Big West Conference champion in

track at 5,000 meters in 1985, 1986, 1988 and 1989. She also won

conference titles in the 10,000 meters in 1988 and 1989. She set the Big

West Conference Track & Field Championships meet record in the 5,000

meters in 1989 with a mark of 16:38.19. McGrann-Alsen was the 1989 Big

West track Athlete of the Year and earned NCAA All-American honors in

track in the 10,000 meters in 1988 and 1989. She garnered All-Big West

distinctions in cross country in 1985, 1986 and 1987.

Pajer was a seven-time Big West Conference champion in swimming for

UCI, winning the 100-yard breaststroke in 1986, 1987, 1989 and 1990. He

also placed first in the 200-yard breaststroke in 1987, 1989 and 1990,

and was named Big West swimming Athlete of the Year in 1987 and 1990.

Pajer set conference records in the 100-yard breaststroke (54.26) and the

200-yard breaststroke (1:58.32) in 1990. He earned NCAA All-American

honors in the 100 breaststroke in 1989 and in the 100 and 200

breaststroke events in 1990. Pajer was undefeated in the 100 and 200

breaststroke in dual meets for all four years of his collegiate

competition.

The 2002 UCI Athletic Hall of Fame class joins 45 previous inductees.