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NLL Rochester Knighthawks

Rochester Chapter Names 2018 Hall of Fame Class

October 15, 2018 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Rochester Knighthawks News Release


The Greater Rochester Chapter of U.S. Lacrosse will welcome five new members and two teams into its Hall of Fame with the induction of Dick Baran, Andrew Copelan, Terry Cotton, Ed Mulheron and Danielle Spencer, and the 2004 Penn Yan Girls' and 2009 Canandaigua Boys' teams.

The 25th Annual Greater Rochester Chapter of U.S. Lacrosse Hall of Fame Dinner will take place on Friday, Nov. 2 at the Burgundy Basin Inn at 1361 Marsh Road in Pittsford. The early bird cost is $40 if you reserve your tickets before Friday, Oct. 26. Kids 5 and under are free. The social hour begins at 6:00 p.m., with dinner scheduled for 7:00 p.m. The induction ceremony will take place after dinner at 8:00 p.m. The registration form is located online at bit.ly/USLacrosseHOFdinner.

For further information or questions, please contact Chapter President Alan McLiverty at uslax.gr@gmail.com.

Dick Baran is a lot of things to a lot of people. To his family, he is a husband and a father. To his country, he was a member of the Army National Guard. In Webster lacrosse circles, he is a coach, advocate and founding father.

A native of Binghamton, N.Y., Baran relocated to Webster in 1998 when youth lacrosse was in its infancy. Along with Chip Vaughn, he worked with local politicians to get a small state grant to help cover some construction costs for a small multi-purpose facility. Baran was one of the first to start after school at the box.

To further introduce kids to the game, he negotiated a relationship with the sports council to transport kids to Syracuse lacrosse games in the 1990s. Back then, SU gave free tickets to youth groups, and Baran not only took advantage of it but also arranged for a few Webster teams, courtesy of Coach Roy Simmons Jr., to go into the locker room and meet some of the players after the game.

In recent years, he returned to help the town revitalize the box. He came back as Past President and advocated for fundraising, which led to the purchasing of turf from the outfield of a professional baseball stadium. Other additions included lights, a scoreboard, a sound system, and bleachers. They are currently building a Webster Wall Ball wall, and Baran has been there every step of the way. He has always been there when needed, as was also apparent in 2005 when he volunteered to work as the director of the Webster Micro-lacrosse program. It's a position he still holds today.

A graduate of Binghamton Central High School (1968) and Broome Community College (1973), Baran worked for the Xerox Corporation, while also serving his community. He was rewarded as the winner of the Golden Rule Award for Community Service, Webster. In 2001, he was named the Citizen of the Year.

Andrew Copelan joins the Class of 2018 after achieving success as a player and a coach. During his playing career, he was a standout at Pittsford Mendon High School and parlayed that success into a four-year stint at Bucknell University. With the Bison, Copelan earned All-Patriot League honors in 2003 and was named to the league's Academic Honor Roll in each of his seasons at Bucknell.

After graduation, he joined the coaching ranks by becoming the youngest head coach in the nation in 2004. In his two seasons as the bench boss at Marist College, Copelan coached the Red Foxes to an 18-15 record. In his inaugural campaign, he led Marist to its first winning season in six years by guiding his team to a 10-7 mark and was recognized as the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Coach of the Year. In 2005, he guided the program to its first-ever NCAA postseason berth.

Copelan would accept an assistant coaching position at the University of Maryland in 2006. Maryland reached the NCAA Tournament in each of Copelan's three seasons, highlighted by a trip to the 2006 Final Four. During his three-year tenure, he advanced to the offensive coordinator position.

He returned to head coaching in 2008 with Fairfield University. Currently, in his 11th season, he has transformed the program into a conference powerhouse. Since taking the reins, the Pittsford native has posted an 82-69 record and a .543 winning percentage. In seven of his 10 years, Fairfield has entered the national rankings and defeated a nationally-ranked opponent in eight of his 10 campaigns.

With Copelan on the sidelines, Fairfield made four consecutive ECAC postseason appearances from 2011-14, including three trips to the ECAC Championship Game. In 2015, he led the Stags into the nationally-prominent Colonial Athletic Association as he captured CAA Coach of the Year honors. The Stags entered their new era by winning back-to-back regular-season titles and advancing to their first-ever CAA Championship Game in 2016.

Although winning has become the standard for the team on the field, Copelan has made it his mission to require that same commitment in the classroom. In doing so, the Stags have won the last two CAA Team Excellence Awards for maintaining the highest CAA GPA. In his collegiate coaching career, Copelan owns a 12-year NCAA Division I head coaching record of 100-84 (.543).

Terry Cotton has never forgotten his roots. The former three-sport high school star has called Victor his home for the entirety of his life. The Greater Rochester Chapter of U.S. Lacrosse is honoring Cotton for his dedication to his community and for positively influencing the lives of so many student-athletes.

Cotton was a standout at Victor High School, competing in football, wrestling and track. He captained the latter two teams during his time with the Blue Devils. His career highlights include being named First Team All-Finger Lakes multiple times in his chosen sports. He also still holds the school record in two relays and the 200 meters.

Following high school, he moved on to letter two years in track at Alfred State College. After receiving his associate's degree in accounting, he attended RIT to complete his B.S. in accounting. While at the four-year institution, he played two seasons of lacrosse with the Tigers (1973-74). Cotton remained at RIT and earned his MBA in accounting and finance in 1978. He would eventually go on to work as an accountant, but he always found time to give back to the sports he loved.

Cotton's philanthropy featured stints at RIT as a volunteer men's JV coach and assistant varsity lacrosse coach. He also served as a volunteer assistant coach for the RIT women's lacrosse program.

Back in his hometown, Cotton has also made it a priority to coach the next generation of athletes. He has worked as a volunteer coach for the Victor boys' modified lacrosse team and as a JV coach and volunteer assistant with the varsity girls' lacrosse team. In his free time, Cotton still plays lacrosse and has three World Festivals under his belt.

One of his greatest passions, however, has been wrestling. Over 19 years, he has held the title of director and coach for the Victor youth wrestling program. In 18 of those years, Cotton has worked as a volunteer coach for the JV and varsity wrestling teams. In 2014, he was the recipient of the Genesee Valley Recreation and Park Society "Quality Youth Sports Award." Fittingly, the hometown talent was also inducted into the Victor Sports Hall of Fame.

Canandaigua native Ed Mulheron joins the Hall of Fame after coaching lacrosse for over three decades at his alma mater. For the final 11 of those seasons, he served as the school's head coach. The 1978 Canandaigua Academy graduate left the program in 2016 with an impressive 161-59 record, a .730 percent winning percentage, three Section V titles and a state championship.

The coach and business educator returned to Canandaigua in 1984, after a short teaching stint at Waterloo. The Nazareth College grad coached with the football and lacrosse staffs for years before taking over the lacrosse team in 2006 after John Johnson retired. Under Mulheron, the Braves won Section V titles in 2008, 2009 and 2013. His greatest accomplishment was in 2009 when he coached the Braves to a New York State Class B championship. His 2009 team will also be inducted this season by the Greater Rochester Chapter of U.S. Lacrosse.

During his time with the Braves, he was twice named the All-Greater Rochester Coach of the Year (2008-09). His program also captured a pair of Section V Sportsmanship Awards. Before serving as the head coach, Mulheron worked as an assistant lacrosse coach with the varsity team. From 2005-16, he was the chairman of the Finger Lakes and Monroe County League.

As a student at Canandaigua, Mulheron played three years of lacrosse before attending SUNY Geneseo to major in accounting. He would transfer to Nazareth a short time later to pursue his true calling, teaching.

In the world of lacrosse, Danielle Spencer stands as one of the greatest players to ever play the game. From her beginnings at Brighton High School to her incredible collegiate career, Spencer simply has done it all.

The Brighton native established herself as an elite player while playing at Brighton High School. With the Barons, she led her team to an appearance in the 2004 state finals, and a 2005 Class B State Championship. Named a First Team All-American as a senior, Spencer scored 115 goals in her first three seasons with Barons. She would also earn three all-county selections (2004-06). Twice, she participated in the Empire State Games (2004-05) and was a member of the New York National Tournament Team (2005).

A three-sport star at Brighton, she also played volleyball and soccer and was a two-time Academic All-American in lacrosse and volleyball (2004-05). As a junior, she was named the Wells College Leadership Award winner and in 2006, took home the Brighton High School Athletic Excellence Award.

In the fall of 2006, she followed her former high school teammate Hilary Bowen to Northwestern University. For three seasons the former Barons helped the Wildcats continue their dominance of Division I women's lacrosse, winning three straight titles (2007-09). During her time at NU, Spencer established herself as one of the most prolific scorers in program history. She finished her four-year career seventh in goals (193), eighth in points (238) and third in draw controls (203). Her resume also includes a pair of All-American honors (2009-10) and Tewaaraton Award nominations.

Spencer is currently the head women's lacrosse coach at Dartmouth College. Most recently, she played for the Upstate Pride in the Women's Professional Lacrosse League (WPLL). In 2016, she competed in the United Women's Lacrosse League (UWLX) and helped the Boston Storm reach the championship game. This fall, she is training with Team USA women's lacrosse in preparation for the 2021 World Cup.

2009 Canandaigua Boys' Varsity Lacrosse Team

The 2009 season was one to remember for the Canandaigua Boys' varsity lacrosse team. Under the guidance of Ed Mulheron and his assistants, Robin Hulme and Jeff Scheetz, the Braves turned a 2-2 start into a magical season.

Behind the leadership of captains Marshall Johnson, Brian Scheetz, Evan Burley, and Sean Regan, the Braves rebounded from the .500 start to reel off wins in their next 18 games. Canandaigua Academy capped off the season with a victory over Niskayuna to capture the New York State Class B state title. The Braves posted a 25-3 record in 2009 and ranked third in the state and 22nd nationally.

The players were a cohesive and exceptionally talented bunch. That was very evident to a national audience as they watched the Braves raise the trophy at the conclusion of an online documentary, sponsored by New Balance.

2004 Penn Yan Girls' Varsity Lacrosse Team

In 2004, the Penn Yan girls' varsity team won the New York State Division II championship, becoming the second girls' team from Penn Yan to do so. The 2004 team was coached by Greater Rochester Chapter Hall of Fame inductee Patty Queener (2012) and assisted by fellow inductee Harry Queener (2004). The Mustangs finished the season with an impressive 21-1 record, with the only blemish coming from an early 4-3 loss to Cicero-North Syracuse. The Mustangs completed their title run by winning three out of their final four games by a margin of one goal. Those wins came in the Section V Championship Game against East Rochester (8-7), the NYS DII Semifinal game against Manhasset (7-6), and the NYS DII Championship Game against Corning East (7-6).

About The Greater Rochester Chapter of U.S. Lacrosse

The Greater Rochester Chapter is a Rochester based non-profit organization, and a regional chapter of U.S. Lacrosse Inc. committed to supporting the promotion and growth of men's and women's lacrosse in the Greater Rochester region. To learn more about the Greater Rochester Chapter of U.S. Lacrosse, check out the organization's website at www.uslacrossechapters.org/greaterrochester/.

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