JERSEY CITY, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | Seven individuals and two teams have been elected to the New Jersey City University Hall of Fame Class of 2020 in voting conducted by the NJCU Athletics Hall of Fame Committee, Hall of Fame Veterans Committee and fan voting. One of the most illustrious Hall of Fame classes in school history will be officially enshrined on February 28, 2020. Tickets for the event will be available for purchase in early 2020.
 
Men's soccer star Cristhian Acuna `10 (2005-08), the women's soccer A-C Connection of Jennifer Albuja `12 (2007-08, 2010-11) and the late Julia Caseres `12 (2009-11), volleyball coach and student-athlete Christopher Feliciano `03, (Coach: 2004-08; Athlete: (1999-03)), men's basketball standouts Bob Johnson (/) `71 (1967-71) and Jeffrey L. Jordan `91 (1987-91) and coach Frank Parisi, the founder of the women's bowling program (2000-13), all were elected to the 21st Hall of Fame class.
 
Additionally, the 1985-86 men's basketball team—the first to reach the NCAA Division III Final Four—was the first-ever team elected by the newly-created Veteran's Committee while the 2003-04 women's bowling team was elected by the full committee, becoming the first modern-era women's program to ever be elected.
 
Acuna, Albuja, Caseres, Feliciano and Parisi were the five individuals ultimately elected by the 2019-20 Hall of Fame committee. In one of the closest ballots in NJCU Athletics Hall of Fame history, only seven points separated fifth through eighth places on an impressive list of 10 finalists. Feliciano, with 342 votes, won the inaugural online fan voting, followed by Caseres (300) and Parisi (240).
 
Johnson was the first-ever individual elected by the Veteran's Committee. Meanwhile, Jordan, who was officially elected in 2017 and joined NJCU's administrative team as Associate Director of Athletics for Internal Operations, will be officially honored as part of the Class of 2020.
 
The last Hall of Fame induction—the 20th class—was held on Thursday, January 26, 2017 and expanded the membership of the University's Hall of Fame to 139 individuals and two teams, since being founded in 1979. The new inductees will increase that exclusive membership to 146 individuals and four teams.
 
CLASS of 2020 HALL OF FAME SUMMARIES:
 
Cristhian Acuna `10, men's soccer (2005-08)
The 2007 New Jersey Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year and one of only two Gothic Knights to ever win the league's top honor, Acuna was the standout forward on NJCU's 2005 and 2007 NCAA Division III Sweet 16 Teams and one of

the top players during the greatest four-year stretch of success in school history from 2005-08. 
 
The 2004 New Jersey Player of the Year coming out of Harrison High School was arguably the biggest recruit to commit to NJCU in school history and he never disappointed. A 2007 NSCAA/adidas Men's NCAA Division III All-America Third Team selection, Acuna was a three-time First-Team All-NJAC selection in 2006, 2007 and 2008. As a junior he was tabbed to the 2007 NCAA Division III NSCAA All-Metro Region First Team and the 2006 NCAA Division III NSCAA All-Metro Region Second Team the previous year. He was a two-time D3Kicks.com NCAA Division III First-Team All-Metropolitan Region (2006 and 2007) pick. Acuna is still NJCU's all-time leader in assists with 35—four more than any other player—and ranks second in school history in career points with 107. The balanced playmaker had almost as many assists as goals, finishing with 36 tallies—currently fourth in school history. 
 
"I feel very proud of this accomplishment and hard work has certainly paid off," said Acuna. "I am very thankful to my teammates and coaches. If it wasn't for the team, who I played with and for, I would never have achieved this. I am proud of the legacy we have left for NJCU men's soccer teams to follow."
 
NJCU went a combined 63-23-8 (.713) during his career and 21-11-3 in the NJAC, winning the 2007 NJAC regular season championship. NJCU was a four-time qualifier for the NJAC Tournament, reaching back-to-back championship games in 2006 and 2007. The Knights qualified for the NCAA or ECAC Tournament all four years he wore the Green and Gold.
 
Jennifer Albuja `12, women's soccer (2007-08, 2010-11)
A four-time All-New Jersey Athletic Conference selection at forward, Albuja was a two-time First-Team All-NJAC selection—taking home First-Team honors as a freshman in 2007 and again as a senior in 2011. Albuja was the 2007 New Jersey Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year. She was the first NJCU women's soccer player ever to earn All-NJAC laurels four times. Albuja graduated as and remains NJCU's all-time leading scorer with 87 career goals and 194 points, along with 20 assists in 79 games. She netted 16 career game-winning goals. Albuja helped lead NJCU to back-to-back NJAC Tournament appearances in 2010 and 2011—the only two NJAC playoff appearances in program history. She also helped spark NJCU to reach the 2010 and 2011 ECAC Quarterfinals.
 
Albuja and Caseres are the second and third women's soccer players elected to the Hall of Fame, joining former coach Katie Feehan who was enshrined

in 2017.

After missing the 2009 season, Albuja returned in 2010 and teamed with Julia Caseres to form The 'A-C Connection'. They finished their careers as the all-time leading goal scoring combination in Division III history with 191 goals and second in total points (445, one shy of record). They were prominently featured in an NJ.com story on September 27, 2011. She played defense one season.
 
"It is an absolute honor and privilege to be inducted with all the greatest athletes and coaches from NJCU," said Albuja, currently a New Jersey State Trooper. "I gave 110 percent for my team and coaches at every game like anyone else. As much as I would love to go back in time and play again, it all comes to an end. I am not one to care if I was recognized for what I've accomplished  but I am happy to know that it was. I am thrilled to be in in the Hall of Fame alongside with my good friend and fellow state trooper Katie Feehan, and am honored to share this special day with Julia Caseres' friends and family as we remember the other half of the A-C Connection."
 
Former head coach Rob Bielan `95 said: "I couldn't be happier about Jen and Julia getting into the Hall of Fame. Having two teammates who are daughters to me joining Katie Feehan and being honored and inducted like this into the Hall of Fame is enough to make any father smile! They were the pillars of our foundation and they are everything that is great about women's soccer—their competitiveness, sportsmanship, heart and general love of the game showed every time they graced the field. Some coaches are lucky to get a single player of their quality; I was blessed to have both at the same time."



Julia Caseres `12, women's soccer (2009-11)
The world lost Julia Caseres on June 21, 2019 after a year-long battle with cancer. but with her induction into the NJCU Athletics Hall of Fame, her legacy will live on. The all-time leading scorer in New Jersey collegiate soccer history among Division I, II or III players—men or women— Caseres finished her career with exactly 100 goals and 42 assists for 242 points in 86 career games between Rutgers-Newark (2008) and NJCU (2009-11). She ended her career ranked 12^th in Division III history in points and 15^th in goals.
 
As a junior in 2010, she was named a Third-Team D3soccer.com All-American. Caseres was a four-time All-NJAC selection in her career, taking home Second-Team honors in 2009 and 2010, and Honorable Mention status in 2011 and as a freshman at Rutgers-Newark in 2008. 
 
Voted to the prestigious Capital One CoSIDA Academic All-America® Division III Women's Soccer Third Team, becoming just the second women's soccer player in school history to be voted Academic All-America®. She was named to the 2011 Capital One Academic All-District® II Division III Women's Soccer First Team. Caseres was a two-time winner of NJCU's Thomas M. Gerrity Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award in 2010-11 and 2011-12—the most prestigious honor any New Jersey City student-athlete can receive.
 

Simply put, Caseres led NJCU to by far the three greatest seasons it has ever enjoyed and the only three years of double-digit victories, winning 13, 14 and 14 in successive years. In her three seasons, she led NJCU to a combined 41-24-1 record, a .629 winning percentage, 11 conference victories, a 26-5-1 home record and as high as a No. 24 national ranking—quite the contrast prior to her arrival when NJCU struggled for relevance and often just to field a competitive team.
 
On September 26, 2009, in her first game for NJCU against her former school, Rutgers-Newark, Caseres made a lasting impact on the university when she netted a hat trick against her former team as NJCU won its first NJAC game in 15 years. That 5-1 rout ended a 111-game NJAC winless streak and a 103-game conference losing skid for the Gothic Knights and catapulted her team to a three-year stretch of success that has never been matched.
 
"Julia came to a rebuilding program and instilled in everybody the belief that anything can be accomplished if you work hard enough and stay positive," Bielan recalled. "Her impact of hard work and dedication and sportsmanship that she left on the program is what Julia would want to be remembered for—not her goals or her assists but how she genuinely loved our university, adored her teammates and the respect she gave everyone who met her."
 
"Julia will always be the perfect role model in life," said NJCU Hall-of-Famer Katie Feehan `07 (MS, `09), her assistant coach and long-time friend. "She was a perfect daughter, sister, wife, friend, student, coach, police officer and soccer player. She will always be remembered for her tireless work ethic, drive, love for the game and how she loved, inspired and smiled at everyone around her."
 
Christopher Feliciano `03, men's and women's volleyball coach (2004-08); men's volleyball athlete (1999-03)

Christopher Feliciano built a volleyball legacy at NJCU in a very brief period of time—accomplishments which led to unprecedented history for conference-affiliated women's sports at the University. Feliciano, the 2007 New Jersey Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, will always be remembered as the first coach to ever bring home an NJAC championship in a women's sport in the history of the institution when NJCU won the 2005 NJAC championship and became the first women's team in school history to advance to an NCAA Division III Tournament. NJCU reached the NJAC finals in three consecutive years (2005-06-07).
 
During his tenure, NJCU posted a 43-match home-court winning streak from 2004-07. In his five years on the sideline, NJCU won 13 tournament titles, including four in 2007.
 
In five seasons as head women's volleyball coach (2004-08), he had a jaw-dropping record of 131-39 for a .771 winning percentage in 170 matches. The previous record for wins was 64 by his mentor, Frank Cella. In his first four seasons he had a record of 117-28 (.807).

Feliciano owns program records for wins, winning percentage and matches coached. He has 53 more wins than any other coach in the 25-year history of the program, and is the only coach to have a career winning percentage above. 600. He directed NJCU to by far the most successful four-year stretch in its history.
 

"I am both humbled and honored to be welcomed into the Hall of Fame," said Feliciano. "This is an honor that I do not take lightly. I was fortunate enough while at NJCU as a player to be surrounded by outstanding teammates and as a coach by outstanding players who believed in my vision for NJCU volleyball. Finally, without my family, none of this would be possible. My mother introduced me to the sport and kept me moving forward even when she battled a terminal illness. I am forever grateful."
 
Feliciano also served as head men's volleyball coach for four years from 2004-07, finishing with a mark of 72-54 (.571). He was named the 2005 North East Collegiate Volleyball Association Metro Division Coach of the Year. He is the second winningest men's coach in the program's annals, only behind Cella's total of 108.
 
A standout student-athlete for the Knights, Feliciano was a four-year star for the Gothic Knights at outside hitter from 1999-2000, and 2002-2003, missing the 2001 season with a right knee injury that required surgery. He was a two-year captain from 2002-2003. Blessed with amazing power, Feliciano finished his career with 1,082 kills.
 
He left NJCU to become head coach at Division I Rider where he is also that school's all-time winningest coach with 117 victories in eight seasons. The Broncs won 10-plus conference matches each of his final  five years, and  tallied at least 15 wins six consecutive seasons. Feliciano just completed his first year as head coach at the University of New Hampshire, leading the Wildcats to 17 victories.
 
Bob Johnson (/) `71, Men's Basketball (1968-71)
Nearly 50 years after Johnson left campus, he will be enshrined in the Hall of Fame as the first-ever individual elected by the new Veteran's Committee. Johnson graduated in 1971 as the third all-time leading scorer in school history with 1,178 career points. While he has slipped to 19th in the near half-century to follow, the 1971 co-captain was an outstanding two-way forward, starting four seasons for the Gothics for Coach Larry Schiner from 1968-71. An All-NJAC selection, he also grabbed 820 career rebounds (9.1 per game). He still ranks fifth in school history in total rebounds and seventh in rebounding average. NJCU went 50-44 during his career and reached the 1969-70 NAIA Tournament.

Jeffrey L. Jordan `91, men's basketball (1987-91) 
Jeffrey Jordan rejoined the NJCU family on a full-time basis in June, 2019, as its Associate Director of Athletics for Internal Operations. But in reality, Jordan never left NJCU. His heart has been with the Gothic Knights since he left campus in 1991 and he has been giving back to the program ever since.
 

A four-year standout point guard on some of the best men's basketball teams in NJCU history from 1987-91 while playing for legendary coach Charlie Brown (/), Jordan was the 1991-92 winner of the Thomas M. Gerrity Scholar-Athlete of the Year—the most prestigious honor any NJCU student-athlete can receive.
 
He finished his Gothic Knight career with 934 points and 293 assists (2.7 assists per game). He graduated as the career all-time leader in two categories—free throw percentage (805; 161-200 and three-point field goals made (125) with a career .352 three-point percentage (125-355). His three-point record stood for 15 years and his free-throw standard until 2015.
 
"It is truly an honor to be elected into the NJCU Athletics Hall of Fame," Jordan said. "I have committed my life to the concept of legacy with the work I do with youth. This honor is something I can relate to my children about the mark you make in the world. Against all odds, to be considered one of the most accomplished players in NJCU basketball history is truly an honor. I give credit to my mother for raising me as a resilient, hardworking, scrappy human being and to Coach Brown for teaching me the game on and off the court. Everything that I have done for the University, and my accomplishments while a student-athlete here, is a testament and tribute to him. I am honored to share this space with the others before me."
 
Among his career honors, he was a Second Team All-New Jersey Athletic Conference selection as a senior in 1990-91, when he was also tabbed Third-Team Division II/III All-MET by the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association. He was team captain in 1991.
 
The Gothic Knights had an astounding four-year record of 89-23 (.795) during Jordan's career.  His sophomore and junior years JCSC enjoyed two of its greatest seasons in any sport. In 1988-89, JCSC was 24-4, advanced to the NJAC Tournament semifinals, NCAA Division III Tournament and NCAA Division III Sweet 16. In 1989-90, JCSC was 25-3 and won the NJAC championship, advancing to the NCAA Division III Tournament Second Round. NJCU was ranked as high as No. 3 in Division III and No. 1 in the Atlantic region. The national ranking is the highest on record in program history.
 
Frank Parisi, women's bowling coach (2000-13)
Frank Parisi founded the NJCU women's bowling program in 2000 and working alongside assistant coach Rusty Thomsen, took NJCU women's bowling to unimaginable heights that no other Gothic Knight women's program has ever reached. Parisi, who coached for 13 years until retiring in 2013, returned to campus this summer in a new role as associate head coach. Three of his former All-American standouts have already been enshrined in the NJCU Athletics Hall of Fame—Jennifer Viens, Eryn Cully and Vicki Spratford—and his 2003-04 Final Four team will also be inducted this year. More of his former players and teams are all but certain to follow him into the Hall of Fame in future classes.  
 
Parisi, with Thomsen by his side, formed one of the most illustrious coaching combinations in the history of NCAA women's bowling, leading the Division III Gothic Knights to seven consecutive NCAA Bowling National Collegiate championships and four Final Fours, including a game shy of the 2008 national championship final. He retired as the second winningest coach in NCAA history with 758 victories—a mark of 758-371.  Remarkably, eight of his former bowlers and four of his teams, were nominees for this year's Hall of Fame.
 

Parisi was a four-time National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) National Coach of the Year, winning NTCA Division II/III National Coach of the Year in 2005-06 and NTCA Division III National Coach of the Year in three consecutive years during 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09. 
 
"It is an honor to be selected," Parisi stated. "It is the culmination of the success of the program and all the hard work every student athlete and fellow coach Rusty Thomsen put in to make it so successful. They are what made this program so successful and achieve so much for so long—not just on the lanes but in the classroom as well. I am proud to represent all these outstanding individuals."
 
NJCU won 60 or more matches in 10 consecutive seasons and 80 or more matches twice including 89 wins in the 2007-08 campaign. During his tenure, NJCU was a mainstay in the NTCA Division I, II and III Top 20 poll, reaching as high as No. 2 in the country in 2004-05 and received the first No. 1 vote in a national poll in any sport in 2007.
 
NJCU qualified for the first seven consecutive NCAA Championships from 2004-10, reaching the Final Four in 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010; the Gothic Knights finished third in the country in 2004 and 2008 and fourth in 2006 and 2010.
 
Parisi was the former member of the NCAA National Collegiate Women's Bowling Committee, eventually serving as national chair. That year—the 2009-10 season—NJCU also served as the host for the NCAA tournament event in North Brunswick, N.J., becoming the first institution to host the championship.
 
He coached 15 different women become All-Americans a combined 23 times including four National Players of the Year—Spratford in back-to-back years in 2006-07 and 2007-08, Amanda Small in 2008-09 and Nicole Djerewski in 2009-10. He also recruited and coached three NTCA Division III National Rookies of the Year.
 
The success on the lanes were punctuated by the success of NJCU's bowlers in the classroom. In 2003, NJCU launched the Presidential Team Academic Achievement Award for the program with the highest overall grade point average, and NJCU women's bowling easily earned the distinction in each of the first nine years it was bestowed. Three bowlers claimed the Thomas M. Gerrity Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Two women earned CoSIDA Academic All-District At-Large recognition. More NJCU women's bowlers have attended NJCU on a full or partial academic scholarship than any athletic team.
 
1985-86 men's basketball team
The first team ever elected to the Athletics Hall of Fame by the new Veteran's Committee is also the first NJCU men's basketball team to reach the NCAA Division III Final Four. It will become the second men's team ever elected to the Hall of Fame.
 

Legendary coach Charlie Brown (/), already the first individual enshrined in the Hall of Fame three times, will be inducted now for a fourth time. He led the Gothics to a 24-8 overall record including a 15-3 mark in the NJAC and his first of five NJAC championships. His team averaged 90.6 points per game and scored 100+ points in a game nine times—a single-season school record—including four consecutive games.

In the NCAA Tournament, then Jersey City State defeated Roanoke (67-61), Upsala (69-64) and Southeastern Massachusetts (83-69 at Saint Peter's) to advance to the Final Four in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Perhaps the closest NJCU ever came to winning a national championship, JCSC lost to eventual national champion and undefeated Potsdam State in a heartbreaker, 91-89, in the national semifinals and fell in the third-place game to Nebraska Wesleyan (97-93).
 
The team included current Hall of Famers Dwayne West (/) and Steve Wilder (/) and 1900-point scorer Johnny Mayers (/). Additionally, team members included Leon Banks, Jack Cipriano, Dennis Goodson, Darren Love, Joe Macchi, Dennis Mayes, John Mercier, Rodney Rowland, Todd Schwartzman, Frank Taylor, and brothers Derrick Watkins, and Reggie Watkins. Brown was assisted by coaches Donald Copeland, Todd Meyer and John Stallworth.
 
2003-04 women's bowling team
Seven women's bowling teams qualified for the NCAA National Collegiate Championship and four reached the NCAA Final Four (2004, 2006, 2008, 2010) but none of that would be possible without the 2003-04 squad—the first NJCU women's team to ever qualify for an NCAA championship tournament.
 
NJCU went 66-38-1 to qualify as an at-large team for that year's inaugural NCAA Tournament in Houston, Texas and shocked the sport by reaching the NCAA national semifinals before eventually finishing third in the country in a nail-biting David vs. Goliath match against the University of Nebraska broadcast on ESPN. NJCU eventually fell to the Huskers in game seven of the best 4-of-7 series, 4-3.
 

The team, coached by 2020 Hall of Fame inductee Frank Parisi and assistant coach Rusty Thomsen, included two current Hall-of-Famers— Eryn Cully and Jennifer Viens—Hall of Fame nominees Lisa Melchior, Kathleen Weissman and Christine Zsilavetz, alongside freshmen Lauren Banz and Tracey Evans.
 
The 2003-04 women's bowling team is the first modern-era women's team ever elected to the Hall of Fame. The only other women's program inducted was the 1942 and 1943 Jersey City State College women's fencing team, which won the National Intercollegiate Women's Fencing Championships.
 
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