University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville Announces Addition of Four to Athletics Hall of Fame
06.07.2019 | Baseball, Women's Soccer, Women's Volleyball, Athletics News
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The UNC Asheville athletics department is proud to unveil the latest additions to the prestigious UNC Asheville Athletics Hall of Fame.
The 2019 UNC Asheville Athletics Hall of Fame class is comprised of longtime supporter Wilma M. Sherrill, former women's soccer head coach Michele Cornish (1994-2009), former baseball student-athlete and assistant coach Mike Shildt (1987-93) and volleyball great Kelly Budnik Cieslak (2000-03).
The new members of the UNC Asheville Athletics Hall of Fame will officially be inducted as part of a special Hall of Fame brunch that will take place the morning of Saturday, Sept. 21, at the Wilma M. Sherrill Center.
"We could not be more thrilled to add these individuals to our already first-class Athletics Hall of Fame," UNC Asheville Director of Athletics Janet R.Cone said. "All are definitely Champions in Athletics and Leaders in Life and are deserving of this recognition. We look forward to honoring them in September and thanking our Hall of Fame committee for their hard work in helping to continue to celebrate our proud athletics history at UNC Asheville."
The namesake for UNC Asheville's first-class Sherrill Center, Sherrill helped form the first Bulldog fundraising club in the 1960's. As a legislator she helped secure the funds for the 130,000 square-foot Sherrill Center that houses the Health and Wellness Department and the N.C. Center for Health and Wellness. The facility is home to a portion of Campus Recreation, UNC Asheville Athletics and University Enterprises. The Sherrill Center is also home to Kimmel Arena, which houses the UNC Asheville men's and women's basketball teams. Sherrill has also assisted on numerous fundraising projects for the Bulldogs for the last 50 years in addition to serving on search committees to hire coaches and administrators. She is currently a member of the UNC Asheville Board of Trustees.
Cornish left UNC Asheville as the all-time winningest soccer coach with 134 career victories. She was the Big South's all-time leader in wins when she left UNC Asheville in 2009. Cornish guided the Bulldogs to two Big South Tournament Championships (1995 and 2006) with her 1995 team finishing with a program-best 16 wins. Cornish's 2006 team became the first UNC Asheville women's sports team to advance to the NCAA Tournament. Cornish also led the Bulldogs to regular-season crowns in 2004 and 2005. In total, she led UNC Asheville women's soccer to the Big South Tournament championship match seven different times. A two-time Big South Conference Coach of the Year selection (1995 and 2005), Cornish has had two of her former players earn Big South Hall of Fame honors in Jill Young Booth and Hilary McKay.
Shildt was a three-year letterwinner for the UNC Asheville baseball program (1987, 1989-90) in addition to serving as an assistant coach with the program for two years (1992-93). Shildt is currently the manager for the St. Louis Cardinals. Shildt has been a member of the Cardinals organization since 2004. He had been a member of the big league staff for over two seasons before officially earning the role as manager of one of the most historic franchises in sports in August of 2018. Shildt also managed in the minor leagues for the Cardinals' organization. Shildt led the Double-A Springfield Cardinals to the Texas League championship in 2012. The Springfield Cardinals were named Baseball America's Team of the Year after its championship. Shildt has also managed the Johnson City Cardinals of the Rookie Appalachian League and the Memphis Redbirds of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League.
Budnik Cieslak was the Big South Rookie of the Year in 2000. She was also named first-team All-Big South in 2002 and second-team all-conference in 2000 and 2001. A two-time Big South All-Tournament selection (2002 and 2003), Budnik Cieslak helped lead the Bulldogs to the Big South regular-season title in 2002. She helped lead the Bulldogs to the Big South Tournament championship game in 2003. A team captain during her time at UNC Asheville, Budnik Cieslak is still among the top-10 all-time in Bulldog volleyball history in kills (1,317), service aces (130) and attempts (3,755).
The goal of the UNC Asheville Athletics Hall of Fame is to continue to develop traditions, celebrate contributors of those who came earlier in our history and encourage pride in our student-athletes, the campus community and our alumni and supporters.
To learn more about the UNC Asheville Athletics Hall of Fame, please visit HERE. You can learn more about UNC Asheville athletics by visiting uncabulldogs.com.
The 2019 UNC Asheville Athletics Hall of Fame class is comprised of longtime supporter Wilma M. Sherrill, former women's soccer head coach Michele Cornish (1994-2009), former baseball student-athlete and assistant coach Mike Shildt (1987-93) and volleyball great Kelly Budnik Cieslak (2000-03).
The new members of the UNC Asheville Athletics Hall of Fame will officially be inducted as part of a special Hall of Fame brunch that will take place the morning of Saturday, Sept. 21, at the Wilma M. Sherrill Center.
"We could not be more thrilled to add these individuals to our already first-class Athletics Hall of Fame," UNC Asheville Director of Athletics Janet R.Cone said. "All are definitely Champions in Athletics and Leaders in Life and are deserving of this recognition. We look forward to honoring them in September and thanking our Hall of Fame committee for their hard work in helping to continue to celebrate our proud athletics history at UNC Asheville."
The namesake for UNC Asheville's first-class Sherrill Center, Sherrill helped form the first Bulldog fundraising club in the 1960's. As a legislator she helped secure the funds for the 130,000 square-foot Sherrill Center that houses the Health and Wellness Department and the N.C. Center for Health and Wellness. The facility is home to a portion of Campus Recreation, UNC Asheville Athletics and University Enterprises. The Sherrill Center is also home to Kimmel Arena, which houses the UNC Asheville men's and women's basketball teams. Sherrill has also assisted on numerous fundraising projects for the Bulldogs for the last 50 years in addition to serving on search committees to hire coaches and administrators. She is currently a member of the UNC Asheville Board of Trustees.
Cornish left UNC Asheville as the all-time winningest soccer coach with 134 career victories. She was the Big South's all-time leader in wins when she left UNC Asheville in 2009. Cornish guided the Bulldogs to two Big South Tournament Championships (1995 and 2006) with her 1995 team finishing with a program-best 16 wins. Cornish's 2006 team became the first UNC Asheville women's sports team to advance to the NCAA Tournament. Cornish also led the Bulldogs to regular-season crowns in 2004 and 2005. In total, she led UNC Asheville women's soccer to the Big South Tournament championship match seven different times. A two-time Big South Conference Coach of the Year selection (1995 and 2005), Cornish has had two of her former players earn Big South Hall of Fame honors in Jill Young Booth and Hilary McKay.
Shildt was a three-year letterwinner for the UNC Asheville baseball program (1987, 1989-90) in addition to serving as an assistant coach with the program for two years (1992-93). Shildt is currently the manager for the St. Louis Cardinals. Shildt has been a member of the Cardinals organization since 2004. He had been a member of the big league staff for over two seasons before officially earning the role as manager of one of the most historic franchises in sports in August of 2018. Shildt also managed in the minor leagues for the Cardinals' organization. Shildt led the Double-A Springfield Cardinals to the Texas League championship in 2012. The Springfield Cardinals were named Baseball America's Team of the Year after its championship. Shildt has also managed the Johnson City Cardinals of the Rookie Appalachian League and the Memphis Redbirds of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League.
Budnik Cieslak was the Big South Rookie of the Year in 2000. She was also named first-team All-Big South in 2002 and second-team all-conference in 2000 and 2001. A two-time Big South All-Tournament selection (2002 and 2003), Budnik Cieslak helped lead the Bulldogs to the Big South regular-season title in 2002. She helped lead the Bulldogs to the Big South Tournament championship game in 2003. A team captain during her time at UNC Asheville, Budnik Cieslak is still among the top-10 all-time in Bulldog volleyball history in kills (1,317), service aces (130) and attempts (3,755).
The goal of the UNC Asheville Athletics Hall of Fame is to continue to develop traditions, celebrate contributors of those who came earlier in our history and encourage pride in our student-athletes, the campus community and our alumni and supporters.
To learn more about the UNC Asheville Athletics Hall of Fame, please visit HERE. You can learn more about UNC Asheville athletics by visiting uncabulldogs.com.
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