A total of five former student-athletes at the University of Rochester have been selected to the Athletics Hall of Fame Class for 2026.
 
This year's class will be formally inducted during Meliora Weekend 2026. The formal induction ceremony and celebration will take place on Friday, October 2, 2026 in the Feldman Ballroom within Frederick Douglass Commons on the River Campus.
 
URochester's newly elected Athletic Hall of Fame honorees include Beth Ameno '09 (softball), Dave Boyce '89 (football), Yaneve Fonge '09 (women's track & field), Jon Onyiriuka (men's basketball) and J.J. Vanderstyne '09 (baseball/football).
 
The University of Rochester Athletics Hall of Fame was created in 1992 and honored former athletes, coaches and friends for outstanding achievement during their time at Rochester. Their stories stand as testimony to the rich history that athletics play in the education of Rochester's students and of their pursuit of excellence both on and off the field.
 
Beth Ameno '09 (Softball); Ameno was one of the best pitchers in softball team history, sporting a lifetime record of 69-31 in the circle for the Yellowjackets. That included a career 1.49 ERA across 649.1 innings. Ameno was a 4-time All-UAA recipient (3 on First Team) and 4-time All-Liberty League honoree (3 on First Team), while also being named Liberty League Pitcher of the Year twice and University Athletic Association (UAA) Rookie of the Year. The pitcher also was a 3-time National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Northeast Region selection and secured NFCA Third Team All-American honors in 2009, becoming just the second All-American in softball program history.
 
Overall in her career, Ameno piled up 751 strikeouts and allowed just 138 earned runs across 118 all-time appearances. She had 63 complete games and was a part of 25 shutouts while holding opponents to a .205 batting average against. She ranks first in program history in wins, innings pitched, strikeouts, lowest batting average against, pitching appearances and complete games. Ameno also has single-season records for wins, opponent average, strikeouts, appearances and innings pitched. She also has the top-8 highest single-game strikeout totals in UR softball history, topping out with 15 K's against Skidmore in 2009. Offensively, she was reliable at the plate as well for URochester, compiling a career .274 average in 155 total games. She had 22 doubles, 6 home runs, 70 RBI and 64 runs scored to go along with 25 stolen bases and a .750 OPS.
 
As a team, the Yellowjackets were immensely successful with Ameno on the diamond. After making the ECAC Tournament as a first-year, URochester were UAA co-champions and Liberty League champions in 2007, reaching the NCAA Division III Tournament fir the first time in program history. That kickstarted a run of three straight NCAA appearances with Ameno on the team, with the 2008 and 2009 teams combining for 65 wins across the two seasons.
 
Dave Boyce '89 (Football); Boyce was the quarterback for two of the most successful football seasons in University of Rochester history in the late 1980's. He helped guide the Yellowjackets to a 9-1 regular season (finished 9-2) in 1987, earning URochester a berth into the NCAA Division III Tournament. That NCAA berth is UR's only in the long history of football at the University. The following season, the Yellowjackets finished 8-2 overall and tied for first in the first ever season of University Athletic Association football.
 
Statistically, Boyce completed 228 of 494 passes for his career, tossing 23 career TD's along with 3,134 yards. He completed 46.2 percent of his passes and averaged 13.7 yards per completion throughout his career.
 
Within the URochester record book, Boyce ranks fifth in passing yards per completion and is top-10 in passing attempts, completions, yards, and yards per game. Additionally, he is fourth in single-season passing touchdowns with 15 in 1988 and ranks first in team history for longest pass completion, tossing a 95-yard touchdown pass against SUNY Brockport on November 5, 1988. He also set the single-game passing yards per attempt record a week later against Denison, averaging 15.3 yards per attempt, when he tossed a career-high (and then a UR record) four touchdown passes.
 
Yaneve Fonge '11 (Women's Track & Field); Fonge turned in a great career as a thrower on the Yellowjackets women's track and field team during her time on the River Campus, culminating in an All-American honor from the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) following a runner-up finish at the 2011 NCAA Division III Championships in the weight throw. Fonge's best throw at nationals was 19.24 meters, setting a school record and establishing a mark that still ranks in the top-20 all-time in Division III history. She also qualified for the NCAA Championships outdoors as a senior, placing 16th in the hammer throw. At graduation, Fonge held University records in the outdoor hammer throw and shot put along with the indoor weight throw.
 
Throughout her career, Fonge was a reliable scorer at championship meets for the Yellowjackets. Overall, she finished on the podium (top-8) a total of 19 times at either the New York State Collegiate Track Conference (NYSCTC), Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) or NCAA Division III Championships. In her six seasons in a Yellowjacket uniform, Fonge compiled 30 lifetime wins, had 16 additional runner-up placements and 10 other top-3 results in meet competition.
 
Fonge was highly-decorated both athletically and academically while at the University. She was the 2011 New York State Field Athlete of the Year and 2011 NYSCTC Indoor Field Performer of the Meet. Additionally, she was a 3-time Division III All-Academic team member from the USTFCCCA, received two CoSIDA Academic All-District honors and was selected as a 2011 Second Team Academic All-America recipient. Fonge also was a UR Lysle 'Spike' Garnish Scholar-Athlete, received the Iota Book Award from the University, was a Rhodes Scholarship Finalist and was the recipient of the University's Presidential Award for Community Service.
 
Jon Onyiriuka '08 (Men's Basketball); Onyiriuka was a powerful presence in the paint for the Yellowjackets on the hardwood during his four-year career. Overall, the 2008 graduate was a four-time All-UAA honoree, twice being named First Team, while also securing Third Team National Basketball Coaches Association (NABC) All-America honors in 2007-08. Onyiriuka was also a 4-time selection to either the NABC or D3hoops.com All-Region squads, earned a pair of ECAC All-Upstate NY awards and was selected to five All-Tournament Team's throughout his career.
 
He finished his career starting all 108 games he played in a Yellowjacket uniform and finished with 1,267 career points, ranking ninth all-time in program history. He added 829 career rebounds (5th all-time) and chipped in 168 assists, 109 blocks (5th all-time) and 108 steals throughout his illustrious career. He ranks first in team history in games started and also is top-10 in field goals made, field goals attempts and total games played.
 
With Onyiriuka on the squad, the Yellowjackets had plenty of team success as well, reaching the NCAA Division III Championship game in 2004-05 following a UAA conference championship. Additionally, the team reached NCAA's in both his junior and senior season and started 2007-08 with a 14-0 record (ended 22-6), and won tournament titles at the JPMorgan Chase Tournament, UR/Holiday Inn Airport Tournament and Chuck Resler Tournament.
 
Jay Jay Vanderstyne '08 (Baseball/Football); Vanderstyne was a 2-sport star at the University, excelling on both the football gridiron and baseball diamond for the Yellowjackets. In each sport, he received multiple all-conference honors, including being named 2008 Liberty League baseball Player of the Year. He was a four-time baseball all-conference honoree and twice earned All-Liberty League accolades in football. Additionally, Vanderstyne secured Honorable Mention All-America honors from Don Hansen's Football Gazette in 2006. The Yellowjacket dual-sport athlete was All-ECAC and All-Region selection in both sports and secured UAA Tournament MVP honors in 2009 in baseball.
 
Statistically in football, Vanderstyne played in 28 career games and hauled in 134 receptions for 1,824 yards and 14 touchdowns. He averaged 4.8 receptions per game and averaged 13.6 yards per reception for his career. He ranks third all-time in receptions, fifth in receiving yards and sixth in receiving touchdowns at the University. During the spring, Vanderstyne's baseball records include hitting .323 for his career, going 160-for-495 at the plate. He scored 100 runs, had 102 RBI and added 45 extra-base hits for a .440 career slugging percentage. Record-wise in baseball, Vanderstyne ranks inside the top-10 in team history in games played (150), doubles (36), hit-by-pitches (36) and sacrifice flies (12). He also has the second-most single-season doubles in program history (17 in 2008) and recorded 44 RBI in the same season, ranking fifth-best at URochester.
 
Both teams enjoyed solid results as well, with the football team finishing off Vanderstyne's career with back-to-back ECAC Northwest Bowl appearances in 2006 and 2007. UR compiled 21 wins on the gridiron over his four years, while the baseball team notched 20 or more victories in each of the 2007, 2008 and 2009 seasons. On the diamond, the Yellowjackets qualified three times for the Liberty League tournament and were UAA Champions in 2009, posting a then team-record 30 wins during the campaign.