BOSTON – Northeastern University Director of Athletics and Recreation Jim Madigan announced the newest members of the Northeastern Athletics Hall of Fame on Tuesday. Aaron Civale (baseball), Paige Burnett Delude (women's soccer), Jess Genco (women's basketball), Matt Janning (men's basketball), Peter Karassik (men's rowing), Cynthia Peterson O'Donnell (women's swimming and diving), Max St. Victor (football and track & field), the 1981-82 men's ice hockey team and 2001-02 women's swimming and diving team will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on Thursday, November 7 on the Northeastern campus.
Tickets are now available to the Northeastern Athletics Hall of Fame induction ceremony, and can be purchased by visiting
NUHuskies.com/HOF2024.
Aaron Civale - Baseball (2014-16)
One of the greatest pitchers to ever play at Northeastern University, Aaron Civale finished his three-year career with the Huskies in 2016, posting a 2.34 career ERA in 194 innings pitched, totaling 50 appearances in a Husky uniform. His 2016 season saw a staggering 121 strikeouts, which stands to this day as a single-season program record. Civale held a 16-9 career record at NU, going 9-3 in his final season with a 1.73 ERA.
Civale earned All-America honors from Louisville Slugger and Collegiate Baseball in 2016, and was named the CAA Pitcher of the Year and an All-CAA First Team and All-Tournament Team member. He became just the fourth conference pitcher of the year in program history, and is currently the only CAA Pitcher of the year in program history.
In the 2016 draft, Civale was taken in the third round, 92nd overall by Cleveland - he made his Major League debut on June 22, 2019, making him the 10th Husky in program history to make the Majors. Through his six year career in the majors with Cleveland, Tampa Bay, and Milwaukee he's made 106 appearances, all starts, and has amassed 33 wins and posted a 4.14 ERA, with 530 strikeouts.
Paige Burnett Delude - Women's Soccer (2011-14)
One of the most decorated goalkeepers in program history and current assistant coach Paige Burnett Delude finished her Northeastern career with 37 wins, a 1.18 goals against average and .772 save percentage. The Placentia, California native owns five program records in career saves (349), career minutes played (7839), career shutouts (30), single-season GAA (0.38) and single-season shutouts (16).
A four-year starter from 2011-14, she led the Huskies to back-to-back CAA Championships and NCAA Tournament appearances in 2013 and 2014. A three-time All-CAA selection, Delude posted a six-save shutout against Boston University to deliver the Huskies their first-ever NCAA Tournament win in 2014.
After her collegiate playing career, Delude spent the 2015 season with the Boston Breakers of the National Women's Soccer League and has served as an assistant coach at her alma mater since 2019.
Jess Genco - Women's Basketball (2015-2019)
One of the most decorated point guards to play at Northeastern, Genco became the first player in program history to eclipse 500 career assists, and achieved the Huskies' three-point shooting trifecta, setting program records for the most in a single game (nine), single season (89), and career (298).
Genco is a two-time All-CAA First Team selection, becoming the first Northeastern player to garner multiple All-CAA First Team accolades (2017-18, 2018-19), and won three career CAA statistical championships. She closed her Husky career in style leading the team in scoring, averaging 17.5 points per game, 4.5 assists per game, free throw percentage at .913, and three-point field goals made per game at 2.8. A three-year captain for the Huskies, Genco also departed Northeastern ranked third on the program's all-time scoring list with 1,567 career points, becoming the 20th player to surpass the 1,000 points milestone, and is still the program's all-time leader in assists (548).
Following graduation, Genco signed a professional contact to play in Germany's DBBL Division for Eisvögel. She is currently entering her third season as the Director of Operations at Villanova.
Matt Janning – Men's Basketball (2006-10)
A prolific scorer and playmaker, Matt Janning enjoyed an outstanding four years on Huntington Avenue, finishing his collegiate career ranked fourth all-time with 1,836 points behind only Reggie Lewis, JJ Barea and Pete Harris. He led the Huskies in scoring during his sophomore, junior and senior seasons, and is still fifth on Northeastern's career record list for made three-point field goals (223), sixth in made field goals (639) and eighth in assists (352).
The Watertown, Minn. native averaged 14.3 points per game during his 128-game career and was a three-time All-CAA performer, including first team honors in 2009 and 2010. No slouch in the classroom, Janning was also a three-time CAA All-Academic second team selection and was the recipient of the 2010 Herbert Gallagher Award as Northeastern's top senior scholar-athlete.
Janning would go on to play professionally in the NBA, NBA G League and overseas before retiring in 2024.
Peter Karassik - Men's Rowing (1970-1973)
Peter Karassik started his rowing career at Northeastern University in 1969. Originally slated to play basketball, and with his size and athletic look, he was recruited to row for the crew team in 1969. He started in every first varsity race from 1970 to 1973 in the 5-seat, also known as "The Engine Room," and was a member of the first Northeastern team to win the gold medal at the Head of The Charles Regatta in 1970 and went on to medal four additional times in the Elite Championship Events.
Karassik was also a member of the first Northeastern varsity team to win gold in the prestigious Eastern Sprints in 1972, a feat they repeated in 1973. He and his fellow members of the 1972 first varsity were awarded the Alumni Crew Trophy.
A member of the varsity team that traveled to Great Britain for the Nottingham International Regatta, winning the gold medal, racing against several international boats prior to the finals of the Grand Challenge Cup at the Henley Royal Regatta in Northeastern's fabled battle with the Russian National Team in 1972 and 1973.
In the semifinals of the 1973 Grand Challenge Cup at that regatta, Northeastern beat the IRA national champion Wisconsin crew to win claim as The Number One Rowing Crew Team in The United States as portrayed in Sports Illustrated centerfold article in July of 1973.
In 1971, Karassik was a member of the United States National Team in the 4+, winning the bronze medal in Cali, Columbia, and finished second in the 1972 Olympic Trials with fellow oarsman Calvin Coffey in the 2+. In 1973 at coach Steve Gladstone's National Rowing Camp, Karassik recorded the highest ergometer score in the nation, and was a finalist in selection for the 1973 World Team.
Karassik is an active member of the Northeastern University Rowing Association, which is a volunteer led organization of Husky Alumni and friends with a mission to engage and support the men's rowing program through financial support, mentorship and social engagement to achieve the highest level of individual character and competitive success and results.
Cynthia Peterson O'Donnell – Swimming and Diving (1995-98)
A four-time team MVP during her illustrious career, Cynthia Peterson O'Donnell will go down as one of the top divers in the history of the women's swimming and diving program. She set America East records each season from 1996 through 1998, and was ranked 13th in the nation on the 3-meter and 14th in the 1-meter at the NCAA Championships as a junior in 1997 before going on qualify for the national meet once again as a senior in 1998. In addition, she held pool records at six schools during her career and holds the Northeastern program record in the 3-meter dive (6).
After graduating with a degree in biology in 1999, O'Donnell accepted a position at Robert Half International in Cambridge, Mass. while serving as head diving coach at Simmons College in Boston. While at Simmons, she coached the first diver in school history to participate at nationals, and won the Charles Batterman Award for Women's Diving Coach of the Year in 2002. She also coached at Lehigh and Lafayette during her career.
O'Donnell is a seasoned Account Manager with a strong background in healthcare, sales, marketing, recruiting and coaching. She optimized business operations as the founder of Board Benders Springboard Diving from 2008-2018 and worked with youth athletes who have been nationally and internationally ranked and have gone on to Olympic Trials.
She is also an All-American Masters Diver in 2022 winning the 1-meter, 3-meter, tower, mixed synchro, synchro and grand masters national title.
Maxime St. Victor – Football and Track & Field (1962-64)
The greatest field goal kicker in Northeastern football history, Max St. Victor was a three-year letterwinner for the Huskies and a member of the undefeated team in 1963. A native of Haiti and having never seen or played football prior to his arrival on campus, St. Victor held the NCAA record for longest field goal several times during his collegiate career.
St. Victor was also a member of the track & field team and held the record in the 16-pound shot put as a freshman at 48'10.5'', besting the previous mark by nearly nine inches.
St. Victor went on to sign a contract with the New York Jets and graduated from Northeastern with a degree in engineering.
1981-82 Men's Hockey Team
Hockey Hall of Famer Fernie Flaman led the 1981-82 Huskies to their first-ever NCAA tournament appearance and first Frozen Four game in program history in his 12th season as head coach.
The Huskies went 20-8-1 in the regular season on the road to the team's first-ever ECAC Championship. Northeastern defeated St. Lawrence 5-3 before a 4-2 victory over UNH in the semifinals and then took down Harvard in the title game, 5-2. In addition to claiming the title, goaltender Mark Davidner was named tournament MVP.
Led by captain Jeff Hiltz, the 1981-82 team beat Bowling Green in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA tournament, winning the series by a score of 5-4. They advanced to face North Dakota in their first-ever Frozen Four appearance, falling short 6-2.
The 1981-82 team would go on to produce two Second Team All-Americans in Jim Averill and Ken Manchurek.
2001-02 Women's Swimming and Diving Team
During an unprecedented run of five consecutive America East Championships from 2000 to 2004, the 2001-02 women's swimming and diving team stands out amongst the rest. The Huskies went a perfect 9-0 during the season, which included a victory at the Northeastern Invitational to set the table for yet another conference title later in the season.
At the America East Championships, Northeastern dominated from the start, finishing more than 100 points ahead of the field. Fourteen Huskies (Avital Bressler, Kelly Colburn, Kaitie Colligan, Jess Coxson, Katie Kane, Kristen Kane, Jessica LaSalle, Katie Mailman, Emily Rochefort, Jen Runkel, Katie Schmaling, Jill Vance, Ryann Welch, Emily White) all earned all-conference accolades after seven gold medal performances, while Mailman and Brad Snodgrass earned Outstanding Diver of the Meet and Diving Coach of the Year honors, respectively.
