Six Rebels across five sports will be inducted to the Ole Miss M-Club Alumni Hall of Fame this fall.
Slated to be enshrined in the hall of fame are Mahesh Bhupathi (men’s tennis), Megan Breen (women’s golf), Antwon Hicks (men’s track and field), Lauren Grill (softball), Ali Hamadeh (men’s tennis) and Terrence Metcalf (football).
The banquet will be held Friday, Sept. 1, and the class will be honored in the football season opener vs. South Alabama on Sept. 2.
Visit OleMissMClub.org to learn more about the Ole Miss M-Club Alumni Chapter, including membership, benefits and the exciting new Letterwinner Walk. And follow on Twitter at @OleMissMClub.
Below are brief bios on the newest additions to the M-Club Hall of Fame, as well as the recipient of the 2017 Lotterhos Service Award.
Mahesh Bhupathi, Men’s Tennis (1994-95)
Mahesh Bhupathi blasted onto the scene as a freshman and left his mark on college tennis as one of the best players ever. He teamed with Ali Hamadeh to become the first Rebel duo to win an NCAA tennis title when they captured the nationally televised doubles championship in 1995. In addition to winning the NCAA doubles title, Bhupathi and Hamadeh became the first doubles team in Mississippi tennis history to be ranked No 1 in the nation.
Bhupathi was the 1995 SEC Singles Champion and SEC Player of the Year. He finished the year ranked No. 3 in the nation in singles while helping lead Ole Miss to the NCAA Championship match. As a freshman in 1994, Bhupathi ended the season as the third-best freshman in college tennis and earned ITA Rookie of the Year honors. He made the SEC All-Position Team as the No 1 doubles team in the conference and earned All-SEC honors in singles, the only non-senior on the team.
After turning pro in 1995, Bhupathi played 20 years on the ATP Tour, where he captured 52 doubles titles, including 12 grand slam titles. For his accomplishments in collegiate tennis and on the world stage, Bhupathi was inducted into the ITA Collegiate Hall of Fame in 2010.
Ali Hamadeh, Men’s Tennis (1993-96)
The other half of the Rebels’ first NCAA tennis championship, Ali Hamadeh was a highly regarded doubles player during his career at Ole Miss. After helping lead the Rebels to their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Championship match, Hamadeh teamed with Mahesh Bhupathi, to capture the 1995 NCAA Doubles Championship, defeating three nationally ranked teams on their way to the final. The duo completed the season as the No. 1 doubles team in the nation and were named to the All-SEC First Team as well as the Rolex All-Star Team.
Hamadeh also made headlines in singles as well. A year after helping lead the Rebels to the NCAA Championship match and winning the NCAA doubles title, Hamadeh ranked as one of the nation’s top singles players in 1996 and ended the year ranked No. 6 with a 26-9 record. In addition to All-America honors, Hamadeh made the All-SEC First Team. In 1994, Hamadeh teamed with Joakim Appelqvist to win the Rolex Region III doubles title and went on to win the doubles title at the SEC Indoor Championships.
Megan Breen, Women’s Golf (1996-99)
Megan Breen played at Ole Miss from 1996-98 and is one of the Rebels’ most-decorated women’s golfers. A two-time medalist at the 1997 Beacon Woods Invitational and the 1998 Lady Rebel Intercollegiate, Breen was an All-SEC first team performer in 1998 while earning second team accolades as a junior in 1997. She also was an honorable mention selection in 1996 and 1997, as well as a CoSIDA Academic All-American and All-District selection.
Breen was a member of Ole Miss’ first NCAA regional team in 1998 and as a senior in 1999 carded a top-30 regional finish with a 227 (75-76-76—227). Breen’s name is still atop the Ole Miss record book for most top-10 finishes in a career (19) and season (8), and she ranks in the top three in top-five finishes in a career (9). Her 69 at the 1998 Seminole Lady Invitational still ranks as one of the lowest rounds in Ole Miss history.
Terrence Metcalf, Football (1998-2001)
One of the best offensive linemen to suit up in the Red and Blue, Terrence Metcalf was a consensus All-American in 2001 after receiving first team honors from Walter Camp, American Football Coaches Association, Football News and the All-America Football Foundation. He was selected the 2001 SEC Most Valuable Lineman and played in the 2002 Senior Bowl.
Metcalf received the Clower-Walters Scholarship Award, Birmingham Alumni Club’s “Leadership Award,” and All-America Football Foundation Red Blaik Outstanding Leadership Award. The Clarksdale, Mississippi, native was a four-year starter, two-time All-SEC and two-time All-America selection as a left guard and left tackle. He helped Ole Miss to three bowl appearances before being taken in the third round of the 2002 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears. He spent seven years with the Bears where he was a member of the Super Bowl XLI team in 2007. Terrence’s son, D.K., is a sophomore wide receiver for Ole Miss football.
Antwon Hicks, Track & Field (2002-05)
One of the most decorated track and field athletes in Ole Miss history, Antwon Hicks won two national titles for the Rebels. He twice won the NCAA Indoor 60-meter hurdle competition, and earned six All-America honors (three indoor, three outdoor). A semifinalist in the 2004 USA Olympic Trials, Hicks captured the U.S. Junior National Title and World Junior Championship in the 110-meter hurdles in 2002.
After competing at Ole Miss from 2002-05, Hicks opted to run for Team Nigeria and set a Nigerian national record with a time of 13.27 in the 110-meter hurdles. He competed in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, becoming the second Ole Miss athlete to make the Olympics in the 110-meter hurdles.
Lauren Grill, Softball (2007-10)
One of the best to ever play softball at Ole Miss, Lauren Grill is the only All-American in school history. The Ole Miss career leader in hits (223), RBI (143), walks (132), total bases (409) and slugging (.669), Grill was a three-time All-SEC selection, earning second team honors in her final three seasons after landing on the All-Freshman team in her debut season. The Tualatin, Oregon native holds the highest single-season average in school history (.443), and also holds single-season records in walks (46), total bases (109), slugging (.727) and on-base percentage (.569).
Grill was named an NFCA First Team All-American after a 2008 campaign in which she drove in 41 runs and hit 12 homers. She also earned NFCA All-South Region honors that season, before landing the same accolades in 2010 along with NFCA Third Team All-America honors.
2017 Lotterhos Service Award Recipient: William Griffin
The 2017 Lotterhos Service Award is being presented to William Griffin of Jackson, Mississippi. The award is given to those who provide outstanding leadership, dedication and service to the M-Club Alumni Chapter and the University of Mississippi. William lettered in baseball in 1976 and 1977 and football in 1976. He received his Bachelor’s degree from Ole Miss in 1977.
William served as president of the M-Club Alumni Chapter from 1994-1996 and has served many roles on the board since that time. He has also served on various University Committees and Boards. The M-Club and the University have benefited tremendously from William’s selflessness over the years. He continues to go above and beyond the call of duty and is always one of the first to volunteer time and resources to any project that needs assistance. William was instrumental in the formation of the Wobble Davidson Scholarship Fund, the Grove Bowl inception, the M-Club Summer Weekend, and the two $1 million dollar donations back to the Athletics Foundation. In addition to his service with the M-Club, William has been very involved in his hometown of Jackson (where he has served as color analyst for Jackson Prep Sports broadcasts for 14 years) and his childhood home of Gloster, Mississippi (where he and his brother/business partner,John Andrew, continue to develop oil & gas resources). William is President of Griffin and Griffin Exploration in Jackson, is married to the former Amanda Honeycutt and they have three children (Kennedy, Amanda Leigh, and Kelsey – all of whom attended Ole Miss) and three grandchildren (Will, Reid, and Peyton). His sisters, Anna Callender and Mary Jean Lobrano, attended Ole Miss as well.
Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports
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