Tennis star Ronit Yurovsky among the 2024 nominees for the Plum Sports Hall of Fame

By means of: Michael Love


Saturday October 26, 2024 | 11:01 am

Last



Next

The Plum High School Sports Hall of Fame will induct its Class of 2024 on Nov. 14 at Edgewood Country Club.

This year's inductees are Scott Benzel (class of 1993), Nolan Cressler (2012), Andrew DeFazio (1995), Richard Foutz (1970), Scott McGough (2008), William Rometo (1970), William Wilmore (1990), Ronit Yurovsky (2012) and the 1968 and 1969 WPIAL championship golf teams.

There will be a reception at 5:30 PM, followed by dinner at 7:00 PM. Tickets cost $50 per person. A table for eight costs $400.

Checks can be made out to Plum High School Sports Hall of Fame and sent to PO Box 114006, Pittsburgh, PA 15239.

To reserve tickets or for more information, please send an email to [email protected]. The deadline for tickets is November 7.

This week the Advance Leader will profile the remaining four individuals and the team leader.

Ronit Yurovsky

From taking up tennis at the age of 3, Yurovsky showed a natural talent for the sport.

Her parents, Victoria and Doug, spent time traveling with her so she could compete in various tournaments.

Yurovsky captured major USTA regional and national titles before high school and was ranked No. 1 in the Middle States for the years she played junior tennis.

She was also runner-up at the International Tennis Federation's major Junior International Hard Court Championships.

Yurovsky, a 2012 Plum graduate, made it to the WPIAL Class 3A singles championship match all four years and won the title three times.

She finished as a state champion to conclude both her junior and senior seasons.

Yurovsky earned a Scholar-Athlete Extra Effort Award from KDKA during her senior year and was also named the National High School Coaches Association's 2012 Senior Athlete of the Year for girls' tennis.

She earned a full athletic scholarship to Michigan.

In her freshman year, she won the Arizona State Thunderbird Invitational, starting a 15-match winning streak.

Yurovsky played at No. 1 and No. 2 singles all four years.

She was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and the ITA Midwest Regional Rookie of the Year and Senior of the Year.

Yurovsky was voted team captain as a senior, finishing No. 12 in a national singles poll. It was the second-best ranking in Michigan program history.

She led the Wolverines to the Big Ten Tournament Championship for the first time since 1997, earning All-American honors and finishing third in program history with 117 wins.

Yurovsky had a brief stint on the Women's Tennis Association and ITF tours before retiring.

She and her husband, Bryan Parker, and daughter, Emersyn, live in Plum.

Nolan Cressler

The 2012 Plum graduate helped the 2010 Mustangs boys basketball team win the Section 2-4A championship.

Cressler averaged over 25 points and eight rebounds per game in both his junior and senior seasons.

As a senior, he was named WPIAL Class 4A Player of the Year and was also a second-team all-state honoree.

Cressler finished as Plum's all-time leading scorer with 1,565 points and was named to the Tribune-Review's Terrific 10 team.

He played in the Roundball Classic and the Alle-Kiski Valley's Cager Classic all-star games. He set the Cager Classic single-game scoring record with 38 points.

Cressler began his collegiate career at Cornell, where he earned an All-Ivy League selection in 2014.

He led the team in scoring with over 16 points per game before transferring to Vanderbilt.

As team captain in 2016 and '17, Cressler helped lead the Commodores to two NCAA Tournament appearances.

He surpassed the 1,000 point mark in his collegiate career.

Cressler graduated from Vanderbilt in 2017 with a degree in human and organizational development. While in school, he earned a spot on the Southeastern Conference All-Academic Team.

Cressler finished his basketball career as a professional in Estonia and also in Serbia and was selected as a league All-Star twice before returning to America to pursue a career in medical sales.

He and his wife, Danielle, have two sons, Roman and Micah.

Scott Benzel

The 1993 Plum graduate was a two-sport standout in football and volleyball.

Benzel earned Quad East all-conference honors in football and was a weak hitter for the 1993 Mustangs boys volleyball team, which qualified for the WPIAL playoffs.

He helped Plum Football defeat Woodland Hills in the Wolvarena for the first time in program history.

After high school, Benzel attended Mercyhurst, where he was a two-year football starter at free safety and was voted the Lakers' defensive MVP in 1996.

He led the program in interceptions and pass breakups in 1995 and '96 and earned All-Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) honors as a junior and senior.

The 2024 season marks Benzel's 21st coaching at the collegiate level.

After successful stints as defensive coordinator at Robert Morris and associate head coach and defensive coordinator at St. Francis (Pa.), Benzel was hired as head coach at Westminster in January 2014.

He ranks third on the all-time Westminster wins list with 72 victories over Saint Vincent on October 19. He is only behind legendary field bosses Harold Burry (127) and Joe Fusco (154).

Benzel earned a bachelor's degree in marketing from Mercyhurst in 1997 and a master's degree in business administration from Robert Morris in 2003.

He lives in Mount Lebanon with his wife Cyndi and children Baylee and Everett.

Bill Wilmore

After a successful wrestling career with Plum, Wilmore rose to great heights in the world of bodybuilding.

His journey took him to the top of the amateur bodybuilding ranks and into a professional career.

Wilmore qualified for the prestigious Mr. Olympia competition, which is considered the pinnacle of sports.

Wilmore completed a three-year Mustangs wrestling career with a record of 81-24-1 and won three sectional titles, while also placing first, second and third at Gateway's Eastern Area tournament and a second-place finish at Powerade.

He finished sixth in the state as a junior with a final record of 30-6-1.

Wilmore, along with classmate Steve Cassidy, made school history by becoming the first Plum wrestlers to qualify for the state tournament as sophomores.

He and Cassidy were also the first Plum wrestlers to be three-time WPIAL placewinners and state qualifiers.

Wilmore placed third twice at WPIALs and also placed fourth.

He helped the 1989-90 Plum team finish seventh in the state, the best finish in program history.

When he switched to bodybuilding, his work paid off with consecutive second-place finishes at the Amateur National Championships (2003, 2004).

Wilmore earned pro status in 2005 with a win in the elite superheavyweight division and overall honors at the national championships.

He finished near the top in many of the elite competitions, culminating in five Mr. Olympia performances.

Wilmore attracted numerous sponsors during his career and he founded and directed the annual Bill Wilmore Classic.

He developed a professional training company and worked with a range of clients, such as doctors, lawyers, politicians and professional athletes, to achieve their fitness goals.

Wilmore is co-founder and president of BodyRejuvenation, a functional wellness center in Hallandale, Florida.

Plum golf teams from 1968-69

The 1968 Mustangs golf team made history, and the Plum golfers who returned for the 1969 season wanted to do it all over again.

And they won.

Plum captured the 1969 title in dominant fashion with a 12-4 victory over Baldwin at Sewickley Heights Golf Club.

At the time, match play was used to determine the WPIAL team champions.

Dave Borkovich and Wade Nonnenberg led the team against Baldwin, both collecting three team points.

Mark Richardson and Lane Nonnenberg scored two and two and a half points for the Mustangs, while Rich Foutz contributed a half point to the cause.

During that time, Plum Golf enjoyed a four-year run to an overall record of 60-3.

The 1969 team also produced an individual WPIAL champion in Foutz, one of this year's individual inductees into the Hall of Fame.

Borkovich finished seventh at the PIAA individual championships.

Lou Klauss, the head coach of both championship seasons, coached Plum Golf from 1967-82, compiling an overall record of 125-61.

He also served on the WPIAL golf committee for 28 years and served as chairman for 10 years.

Klauss also coached for Plum in both wrestling and swimming and was inducted into the Plum High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. He was born in Clearfield and graduated from Westminster (Pa.). He joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years with the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at [email protected].

Keywords: Plum