Upstate Inducts Three Into Athletics Hall of Fame

Spartanburg, S.C. – The USC Upstate Athletics Department has a long history of success and achievement, and on Saturday, the department honored three individuals who contributed greatly to their respective programs into the Upstate Athletics Hall of Fame.

The Class of 2012 contains three individuals who played for USC Upstate during the same era in baseball player Chris Nowak (2002-04), volleyball player Mandy Rupert (2003-06) and men’s soccer player Liam Slack (2003-06).

The USC Upstate Athletics Hall of Fame was established in 1998-99 to honor individuals for outstanding athletic accomplishments and/or who have made significant contributions to USC Upstate Athletics. The Class of 2012 is the 14^th class inducted into the shrine.

Chris Nowak is the eighth person affiliated with the baseball program to be inducted into the Upstate Athletics Hall of Fame.

Nowak was a member of the baseball program from 2002-04, leaving after his junior season upon being drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 19th Round of the 2004 Major League Baseball Draft.

Nowak came to Upstate in 2002 and under his leadership the program began to flourish. Head Coach Matt Fincher spent his first years as coach bringing in talented players with character and commitment to the team. Nowak and his teammates served as the final pieces in the transformation of the program. When Nowak finished his playing career in 2004, he and his teammates had built the foundation on which the future baseball teams currently rest.

It didn’t take long for Nowak to make his presence felt at Upstate, then-USC Spartanburg. He hit a team-best .380 with a team-high and single-season school record 82 hits, 16 doubles, a team-high five triples, four home runs and a team-high 40 RBI en route to earning Peach Belt Conference Freshman of the Year honors in 2002. He also spearheaded a resurgence in the program. The season before he came to the University, the team won 12 games in 2001. In his freshman season, the team won 21 games.

A year later, Nowak helped lead the team to 28 wins and the program’s first winning record in 12 years. He hit a team-best .362 batting average and team-highs with 75 hits, 18 doubles and 45 RBI. As a junior, Nowak led the squad to another winning record, but an eligibility issue caused the team to forfeit a number of games and lowered the record to below .500. Still, Nowak had a standout season and earned all-conference and all-region honors after posting team-highs with a .387 batting average, 75 hits, 42 runs and 19 doubles.

Nowak ended his career with 232 hits and the program’s all-time hits record. While three players who played four years in the program have surpassed that total since, Nowak ranks fourth all-time in hits and owns the career record with 53 doubles. He ranks fifth all-time with a .376 batting average, 121 RBI and 10 triples. Defensively, he was solid as well and ranks fifth with 325 assists. He also owns the program’s career mark with a 27-game hitting streak. In addition to his play on the field, he was an exemplary student and earned three Peach Belt Presidential Scholar Athlete honors.

Following his junior season, Tampa Bay drafted him in the 19th round of the 2004 Major League Baseball Draft and he left to pursue his professional career. He quickly rose through the Rays’ organization and was a High Class-A All-Star selection by Baseball America in 2006. He was promoted to Double-A Montgomery, where he led the Biscuits to the 2007 Southern League championship and was named the Most Valuable Player of the Championship Series. He was promoted to Triple-A Durham in 2008 and also spent time in the Milwaukee Brewers organization, playing Triple-A ball with the Nashville Sounds. He currently plays for the York Revolution in the Atlantic League and was the co-MVP of the league after leading York to the Atlantic League championship last year. He currently has an offer to tryout for the Yokohama Bay Stars in Japan.

A native of Waukesha, Wisc., Nowak and his wife, Megan, have been married for five years. The couple lives in Waukesha where Megan is a kindergarten teacher. In the off-season, Nowak gives hitting lessons to area youth.

Mandy Rupert is the ninth person affiliated with the volleyball program to be inducted into the Upstate Athletics Hall of Fame.

Rupert played for Upstate from 2003-06 and ended her career as arguably the top offensive player in school history and one of the most decorated players in the program. Her name remains at the top of the career record book at Upstate in three categories and on the list in many others.

Rupert stepped onto the court in 2003 and immediately made her presence known. Although playing with a veteran group, she was a go-to player and finished third on the team with 317 kills and 346 digs, while ranking second with 44 aces. She helped lead the Spartans to 25 wins. She was so outstanding that she was named the Peach Belt Conference Freshman of the Year.

Her strong play continued as a sophomore, when she led the team with 429 kills and 66 aces, while finishing second with 351 digs in 2004. The obvious main threat for the team, she drew both the attention and praise from the opponents and earned the first of three all-conference honors from the Peach Belt coaches. She led the Peach Belt in aces per game.

In the best season of her career, Rupert turned in an amazing junior season in 2005. She finished the year as an all-conference selection, while leading the Spartans to 21 wins. She led the team with 528 kills and an astounding 71 aces, while ranking second with 404 digs. She led the Peach Belt in kills and aces per game. She finished her career with a strong effort in 2006. She again earned all-conference honors after leading Upstate with 488 kills and 419 digs, while placing second with 43 aces. She helped lead the Spartans to 23 wins.

In her four seasons in the program, Rupert led Upstate to an 85-47 overall record, 32 wins in the Peach Belt Conference, one second-place and one third-place finish in the regular season Peach Belt standings and four appearances in the semifinals of the Peach Belt Tournament. She was named the PBC Player of the Week six times. Five years removed from playing, she still ranks fifth all-time in the Peach Belt with career 1,762 kills.

Rupert’s name appears several times on Upstate’s all-time and single-season record lists. She tops the all-time records with 1,762 kills, 224 aces and 2,075 points. She is second all-time with 1,520 digs and fifth with 457 sets played. She owns the single-season record with 1,332 kill attempts in 2005. She owns two of the top 10 single-season kill totals in school history, ranking third with 52 in 2005 and seventh with 488 in 2006.

Rupert was also a standout in the classroom. She was a four-time Peach Belt Conference Presidential Scholar Athlete selection and graduated with a 3.7 GPA from Upstate. She continued her academic excellence after Upstate. She received a doctorate degree in Pharmacy from South Carolina in 2011, graduating cum laude with a 3.6 GPA.

Rupert, a native of Houston, Texas, worked for three months in Europe at Guy’s and St. Thomas’ Hospital in London and Co-Op Pharmacy in Wales before moving to Hawaii and working at the Maui Clinic Pharmacy. She has returned to her native Houston and is a pharmacist with CVS. Active in her profession, she has been published in the Pediatric Pharmacy Advocate.

Liam Slack is the 16th person affiliated with the men’s soccer program to be inducted into the Upstate Athletics Hall of Fame.

Slack was a member of the program from 2003-06 and finished his career as one of the most decorated players in school history, continuing in the proud tradition of the men’s soccer program.

Slack stepped onto campus in 2003 and quickly became a key member of the offensive attack. He teamed with Preben Ringerike as the forwards on the team, while playing alongside the likes of Ricky Charles and Gary Lynch to form a potent offensive attack.

Despite being a freshman in 2003, he ranked third on the team with 43 points on 17 goals and nine assists to help lead the then-Rifles to a 15-1-2 overall record, the regular season Peach Belt Conference title, the Peach Belt Tournament championship and an appearance in the second round of the NCAA Division II Tournament. Despite not earning all-conference honors, he was a first team all-region selection.

He continued his standout play as a sophomore in 2004, finishing second on the team in scoring with 42 points on 18 goals and six assists, leading the squad to another 15-win season and a second-place finish in the Peach Belt regular season standings. He not only earned all-conference and all-region honors, but also picked up the first of three All-America honors as well as a first team selection.

As a junior in 2005, he led the Spartans with 31 points on 11 goals and nine assists en route to earning another sweep of individual awards, taking home his second straight first team All-America honor as well as all-region and all-conference accolades.

Slack led the team in scoring for a second consecutive year, finishing with 27 points on 11 goals and five assists as a senior in 2006. He helped lead the Spartans to an appearance in the NCAA Division II Tournament, while earning third team All-America honors as well as all-region and all-conference selections.

Despite being five years removed from playing in the program, Slack remains one of the top offensive players in school history. His resume speaks for itself. He ranks third all-time in scoring with 143 points and 57 goals. He is seventh all-time with 29 assists. He is a three-time All-American, four-time all-region selection and three time all-conference honoree. He led the team to a .799 winning percentage and 56 victories in four seasons. A standout in the classroom as well, he was a two-time Peach Belt Conference Presidential Scholar Athlete selection.

A native of Doncaster, England, Slack has remained active in his academic and athletic pursuits. He earned a Master’s degree with merit in Sport Psychology from York St. John University in his native United Kingdom in 2009 and is currently finishing his doctorate in Psychology of Sports Performance at Sheffield Hallam University.

Slack plays semi-pro soccer for the Winterton Rangers Football Club and led the team to the championships of the Presidents Cup and Lincolnshire Cup in 2009 and 2010. He was named the 2010-11 Clubsman of the Year. In addition to his playing career, he is the head women’s soccer coach at York St. John University.