Three LIU athletes named to 20th anniversary Northeast Conference All-Sport team

Maria Vago, Lesley Renninger and Roger Chavez, who had their names already etched in Long Island University lore, today were named to the Northeast Conference's 20th anniversary All-Sport team.

Vago is the most celebrated tennis player in NEC history, dominating like no one before her or since. The Argentina native did not lose a set in NEC competition and captured the league's singles "A" championship from 1992-94. Vago also won the New York State championship in 1992.

An effective player on all surfaces, Vago was named a GTE Academic All-American in 1994 and was inducted into LIU's Athletic Hall of Fame last February.

Renninger was one of the most feared softball pitchers in league annals. She posted a 55-16 mark and a 1.02 ERA from 1990-93 and was named the NEC senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 1993.

Renninger helped lead the Blackbirds to the NEC title in 1990 and made the all-tournament team in 1992. Her 479 2/3 innings and 55 wins were all-time school records before being broken this season by Shannon Payne.

Chavez was one of the Blackbirds' top soccer players from 1984-86, finishing with 60 goals and 43 in his final two seasons. Chavez was the first NEC Player of the Year in 1986 in helping LIU go undefeated before falling to Hartwick in the NCAA Tournament.

In 1985, Chavez was the league's leading goal scorer with 20 while pacing LIU to a conference championship and a top 20 ranking all season. The Bolivia product followed that with a league-leading 23 goals in 1986 and the All-American was a finalist for the Hermann Award as the nation's top player.

The balloting did not include basketball players following the release of the 20th anniversary teams in the fall. Charles Jones and Carey Scurry made the men's basketball team from LIU.

The voting was done by a blue ribbon panel consisting of past and present NEC coaches, administrators and media members.