1990 UW-Oshkosh Hall of Fame
OSHKOSH, Wis. (5/6/1990) – The UW-Oshkosh Athletic Hall of Fame increased its membership to 76 by adding four former athletes during induction ceremonies last May at the Pioneer Inn in Oshkosh.
The 1990 inductees were Vilis Cakans, Lindy Kemp, Ralph Sims and Gerty Van Lith.
The UW-Oshkosh Athletic Hall of Fame was established in 1974 to give tribute and deserved recognition to former athletes, coaches and friends of the University. It is also intended to enhance school tradition by honoring those people who have shown exceptional ability while on the campus and since graduation.
Vilis Cakans was a 1969 graduate of UW-Oshkosh who excelled in tennis. He was born in Latvia and first came to the United States at age 9.
Cakans attended Milwaukee Riverside High School and earned a total of six varsity letters in three sports. Cakans, who won the city high school doubles title in 1961, qualified for state competition in swimming and tennis.
Following graduation, Cakans attended UW-Milwaukee for one year before transferring to UW-Oshkosh. In his first year of athletic competition at UW-Oshkosh (1967), Cakans won the WSUC No. 1 singles title and helped the Titans to a share of the league championship. Cakans advanced to national competition that season and finished eighth in singles at the NAIA Championships.
Cakans repeated as conference champion the following year and again helped UW-Oshkosh to the league title. At the NAIA Championships, Cakans advanced to the semifinals in singles and led UW-Oshkosh to a third-place finish. During Cakans’s two years at UW-Oshkosh, he never lost a singles match to a WSUC opponent.
For the past 11 years Cakans has been employed by Marquette University as men's tennis coach and assistant director of the Halfaer Recreation Center. He also has been actively involved with the Milwaukee Tennis Classic and fund-raisers for cystic fibrosis.
Lindy Kemp enrolled at UW-Oshkosh after graduating from Kaukauna High School in 1963. When she arrived at UW-Oshkosh, the only opportunity for women in competitive athletics was at the club level. She played on the women's tennis team, but there was no conference yet for women, nor any state competition.
Kemp’s athletic talents blossomed following graduation from UW-Oshkosh in 1967. She was a member of Amateur Athletics Union teams that won five state titles in basketball and two in softball.
For the past 21 years, Kemp has been teacher and coach at Brookfield East High School. Her coaching record in girls basketball is 286-106, a mark that ranks among the best in the state. Kemp's teams have won 10 Braveland Conference titles and participated in the WIAA State Tournament three times. Kemp has coached eight athletes who have received NCAA Division 1 athletic scholarships.
Kemp has served on numerous committees and been a clinician at several camps. She helped start the girls basketball all-star game that has been played at UW-Oshkosh for the past five years. Four times since 1985 Kemp has been the color commentator for televised games at the WIAA State Tournament.
Ralph Sims attended Waukegan (Ill.) East High School and enjoyed a basketball career that helped set the tone for what was to follow at UW-Oshkosh. In his senior season at Waukegan East High School, Sims led the conference in scoring and received All-State third team honors.
At UW-Oshkosh, Sims was recognized as one of the nation's top collegiate players, earning All-American honors by the NAIA twice. He was a three-time All-WSUC selection and was named the Most Valuable Player in the league as both and junior and senior. His junior season he led the WSUC in scoring with an average of 27.6 points per game. As a senior, Sims helped UW-Oshkosh to an 18-10 record and the WSUC championship by averaging 20.8 points per game. He scored 37 points against UW-La Crosse to clinch the WSUC title for the Titans. That season UW-Oshkosh came one victory away from advancing to the NAIA National Tournament in Kansas City, Mo.
Sims established 17 school records during his career with the Titans. He currently ranks first in career scoring with 2,303 points and sixth in career rebounding with 717. His single-game scoring best was a 44-point performance against Northland College during the 1977-78 season.
Sims, who graduated from UW-Oshkosh in 1978, is currently employed as a counselor and supervisor for the Allendale School in Waukegan.
Gerty Van Lith extended her all-around athletic abilities in volleyball, basketball, and track & field at Kimberly High School right to UW-Oshkosh.
At UW-Oshkosh, Van Lith enjoyed an outstanding career in athletics. In basketball, she was a three-time All-WWIAC selection and scored 1,420 points to rank as UW-Oshkosh's all-time scoring leader. Van Lith had her best season during the 1976-77 campaign when she averaged 22.8 points per game. Van Lith demonstrated her athletic skills by also playing volleyball for three years, softball for two and field hockey for one at UW-Oshkosh.
After graduating from UW-Oshkosh in 1979 with a 3.85 grade point average, Van Lith traveled to Europe to play basketball for a team in Holland. Upon her return to the United States, she accepted a teaching and coaching position at Freedom High School. Van Lith has coached girls basketball at Freedom High School for the past seven years and guided the team to the conference championship in 1984.
During the summer, Van Lith is the director of instruction for various recreation swimming pools in the Appleton area. She also runs a variety of programs for children such as the “Just Say No” group.