Aug. 16, 2006

CANYON, Texas - Two Brazilian sisters who led the Lady Buffs to back-to-back volleyball national championships, a Missouri Valley Conference tennis champion who became one of Texas' most successful coaches, a two-sport athlete who then played professional basketball in Europe and founded one of the nation's most successful business corporations, and a 1940's-era student manager who became of the most influential athletic boosters comprise the 2006 class of inductees for the West Texas A&M University Hall of Champions.

The induction ceremony will be held at noon on Saturday, Sept. 9th, 2006, at the Alumni Banquet Facility on the campus of WTAMU.

Ana Carolina "Carol" and Ana Cristina "Tita" Pereira

Going into her fourth season as the head coach of Lady Buff volleyball, Kim Hudson had already begun the road to success by reaching the Elite Eight in 1989. Despite the graduation of All-American twin sisters Jill and Julie Myatt, another pair of future All-American sisters came to WT from Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 1990, and Ana Carolina "Carol" and Ana Cristina "Tita" Pereira promptly led the Lady Buffs to a school-best 38-1 record and the school's first-ever national championship.

The Lady Buffs defeated Chapman in the South Central Regional Final at Tascosa High School in Amarillo, losing just one game, and then in Bakersfield, Calif., at the Elite Eight, WT swept three-game matches over Florida Southern, Portland State, and North Dakota State. The victory over NDSU was 15-0, 15-5, and 15-3.

The following year the Lady Buffs repeated their national championship with a 36-2 mark under new head coach Jim Giacomazzi, who replaced Hudson two weeks prior to the start of the regular season in August 1991. Again in the South Central Regional Final they won at Tascosa High School over LSC rival Angelo State, 15-8, 15-7, and 15-9. And then the Lady Buffs swept three-game matches over Gannon and Florida Southern at the Amarillo Civic Center. In the championship final, played before an NCAA Division II post-season record crowd of 3,188, WT captured another national title with a 15-10, 15-5, 15-12 sweep over Portland State.

Ana Carolina "Carol" Pereira

Carol Pereira finished her three-year outside hitter career at WT as a three-time first team All-American with school-record best of 2,025 kills, which also the best for a three-year career in NCAA Division II, and a career-best 814 kills in 1992 and a .503 hitting percentage in 1990. In addition, her .457 percentage in 1991 and .438 in 1992 are the fourth and fifth best respectively in Lady Buff history. She also holds two other match individual records.

During her three-year career at WT, the team's record was 104-14, with the two national titles and a third-place finish in 1992.

She is currently living back in her native Brazil, married to former WT basketball player Rodrigo Mello, and they have two children.

Tita Pereira played two years at WT as a middle blocker and was a two-time first team All-American and the 1991 NCAA Division II Player of the Year. She had 1,211 kills and a career hitting percentage of .493, and her 1991 percentage of .493 and 1990 percentage of .492 rank second and third best in Lady Buff history behind Carol. Tita also holds the season school record of 79 block solos in 1991 and the match hitting percentage .917 against then-East Texas State on Sept. 20th, 1991.

Her two-year record at WT was an incredible 74-3, which includes a 40-match winning streak over 1990-91, along with the back-to-back national championships.

She is currently living back in her native Brazil.

Bobby Kleinecke

Bobby Kleinecke came to WT from Galveston's O'Connell High School in the fall of 1974 and started a storied tennis career under head coach David Kent in the spring of 1975. He played singles and doubles each of his four years and graduated in 1978 with a degree in secondary education and a 3.32 GPA.

During his career at WT Kleinecke won five Missouri Valley Conference championships - three in singles and two in doubles. He helped lead the Buffs to MVC team titles in 1975, 1976, and 1978in addition to serving as-captain of the team during his senior year.

Bobby Kleinecke

Following graduation he started his high school coaching career with stops at Corsicana, Amarillo High, and Bryan. During those seven years Kleinecke compiled a 126-44 record with his teams being ranked in the state's top 20 in five of the years along with seven district titles.

He was the logical choice for the Texas A&M women's tennis head coaching position prior to the start of the 1985-86 season because of his association with the Aggie summer tennis program since 1981, serving as assistant director to Kent, his former college coach and the head coach of A&M's men's team.

In his inaugural season at A&M, Kleinecke's team compiled a 19-8 overall record and the school's first Southwest Conference championship and made their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Championships - losing to second-seeded USC in the first round. He was named SWC Coach of the Year in 1986 and 1996, as the squad that year posted a school-record 20-6 mark and advanced to the NCAA Regional finals.

In the first year of the Big 12 Conference in 1997 Kleinecke led the Aggies to a 19-6 record and advanced to the NCAA Regionals. In 2003, the Aggies won their first-ever Big 12 Conference regular season title and set a school record with 23 wins. The following year A&M won their first conference tournament championship. The team advanced to the Sweet 16 and was defeated by No. 7 Clemson and finished ranked 16th in the nation. He also picked up his 300th collegiate coaching victory against Nebraska on April 30th.

Kleinecke was named Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year in 2003 and 2004. In 2002 he was named Wilson/ITA Coach of the Year, and he has coached four All-Americans, 36 conference individual champions and 49 all-conference performers.

He is a member of the ITA Southwest Regional Committee, the ITA Operating Committee and the NCAA Regional Committee, and has always emphasized the concept of team play in his student-athletes.

He and his wife Erin and their three children live in Bryan.

Scott Doores

Although the records show he graduated from Perryton High School, Scott Doores is actually from the small farming community southwest of Perryton called Farnsworth. But he came to WT to play freshman basketball and then was on the varsity team for three years in 1970-1973 and also played football in 1972 and 1973.

As a 6-5, 190-pound freshman, Doores averaged 10.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. During his three years on the varsity under head coach Dennis Walling the Buffs were 42-37. He averaged 3.4 points and two rebounds for his career, but as fellow teammate Dr. Kyle Sunderman said, he "was always called on to defend the opponent's best player...(and) he was tenacious and the consummate team player."

Scott Doores

Doores also played football for the Buffs in 1972-73 under head coach Gene Mayfield. In 1972, he had one interception and caught three passes for 58 yards and one touchdown. According to Sunderman, the pick and the TD pass occurred in the same game, along with a blocked extra point.

Following his graduation from WT in May 1974, he then played professional basketball in France and Germany and helped other Buffalo basketball players find teams to play for in Europe. "As usual, he was always looking out for teammates," said Sunderman.

In 1993, he helped found AudioTel Corporation, based in Addison, Texas, which specializes in software for financial institutions, offering a wide range of products and services for more than 1,100 financial institutions nationwide.

As AudioTel's president and CEO, Doores' business philosophy is very simple - service excellence, human relationships based on trust, the highest standards of integrity, and a never-ending commitment to the success of their banking customers. In 2004 and 2005 AudioTel was named a Five Star Winner by the Independent Bankers Association of Texas for excellent service.

He and his family live in Copper Canyon, Texas.

Ralph Davis

Although he is being inducted as an honorary member of the Hall of Champions, the late Ralph Davis certainly had "maroon and white" bloodlines. Davis came to West Texas State Teachers College from Wichita Falls High School, in the fall of 1939. He got involved in sports by serving as a student manager for basketball and football.

The 1943 "LeMirage" yearbook states, "Very capable student manager is R.D. A swell sport, he keeps the athletics right in the groove.

"Hobby is getting people to `Look at the birdie, now'."

During his junior and senior years Davis was elected "Who's Who of American Colleges and Universities." He graduated from WT in May 1943, and on May 22, 1943, he married the former Ellen Josephine Reynolds in Dalhart, Texas.

He was a major in the U.S. Marine Corps for four years, and then started his business career with Don McMillan Ford Company in Amarillo and then the Loewenstern Company. In 1975, he formed his own successful real estate company, Ralph G. Davis Inc. Realtor - the same year he was named "Realtor of the Year."

Despite his busy work schedule with the Amarillo Board of Realtors, Davis found time to serve as an athletic booster for his alma mater.

He served for many years as the secretary-treasurer for the Cager Club and was an active member of the Quarterback Club.

Ralph Davis

Davis and his wife were seen at every home basketball game seated in the "Technical Towel" section - wearing striped referee's shirts and waving towels -at the Amarillo Civic Center to remind the game officials about the difference between a block and a charge.

He was the consummate booster of Buff athletics in financial support, attendance, and in anyway that he could support the programs.

Mr. Davis passed away on March 13, 2001, but his Buffalo spirit continues to live on. He is survived by his wife, Ellen, daughter Diane, and son Manley, along with four grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.

Tickets to the Sept. 9th Hall of Champions banquet are $20 each and may be reserved by calling the Athletic Office at (806) 651-4400. All inductees will also be recognized at halftime of the 6:00 p.m. football game at Kimbrough Memorial Stadium between the Buffaloes and Adams State. In addition, the Pereiras will also be recognized at the 3:00 p.m. match at the WTAMU Field House, as the Lady Buffs battle UT-Permian Basin.