Local Residents Inducted into AIC Athletic Hall of Fame

Amanda Matthews of Ellington and Judy Groff of Somersville were among 14 new members recently inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame at American International College in Springfield, MA.

Matthews, a 1999 graduate of AIC, and Groff, the former AIC softball and women’s volleyball head coach, were honored during a formal ceremony held in the Butova Gymnasium.

Matthews is one of the most decorated women’s soccer players in program history. She was named the 1998 Northeast-10 Player of the Year after leading the Yellow Jackets to a school-record 15 wins that included the program’s first-ever conference title and first-ever berth in the NCAA championship tournament.

A three-time first-team all-conference andthree-time all-region selection, Matthews finished her career as the program’s career assist leader (33) and was second all-time in careergoals (34) and points (101). She also held the single-season records for points and assists after tallying 16 goals with 13 assists for 45 points in 1997 and dished out a school-record 14 assists in 1998.

Groff was the only softball coach AIC knew for 43 years, guiding the program from its inception in 1969 until her retirement following the 2011 season. Over her 43 seasons on the bench, she built AIC into one of themost prominent programs in the nation, posting a career record of 974-634-5 (.605) that placed her fifth on the all-time NCAA Division II wins list and 21st in all divisions of the NCAA.

Groff led AIC to 14 NCAA Championship Tournament appearances that included two trips to the College World Series in 1996 and 1997. She also led the Yellow Jackets to eight conference regular season titles, three conference tournament titles and three ECAC Division II championships. AIC was also the conference tournament runner-up on five occasions, the last of which was in 2010. She received college softball’s highest honor in 2007 whenshe was inducted into the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Hall of Fame.

Groff also started the women’s volleyball program at AIC in 1974 and guided the Yellow Jackets to a record of 272-169 (.617) in 15 seasons, and remains the program’s all-time leader in wins. AIC had eight 20-win seasons under Groff, including a school-record 33-win season in 1981.

The Class of 2011 was the fifth to be inducted into the American International College Athletics Hall of Fame, which was first established in 2005, and brings the total number of honorees to 61.