An outstanding coach and a pair of record-setting athletes will be inducted into the University of Evansville Athletics Hall of Fame on Saturday, February 7. The trio includes Dave Enzler, who coached cross country and swimming & diving, along with volleyball player Julie Groves-Stewart and swimmer Dave Nel.

The trio will be honored at a 12 noon luncheon at Roberts Stadium. Reservations can be made by calling the athletics department at (812) 488-ACES. Now in its 37th year, the UE Athletics Hall of Fame will have 197 members with the induction of the class of 2009.

Enzler was an eight-time conference coach of the year in swimming & diving at UE, in the Heartland Collegiate Conference (1982, ‘83, ’84, 85), North Star Conference (1986) and Midwestern Collegiate Conference (1984, ‘85, ‘86). He was also head coach of the men’s cross country team in 1981 and 1982, and the men’s and women’s cross country teams from 1991 through 1996. Enzler left Evansville in 1986 to coach the swim teams at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where he spent five years and in 1989 was chosen as NAIA National Women’s Swimming Coach of the Year. He returned to UE in 1991 to serve as director of the Student Recreation and Fitness Center, and head coach of the cross country teams. Enzler coached swimmer Andy Haas and cross country runner David Denny, both of whom are in the UE Hall of Fame. Throughout his tenure at UE, Enzler also taught in the department of Human Kinetics and Sport Studies. An avid runner himself, Enzler competed in the 1994 Boston Marathon. For the past seven years, he has been Director of Recreation, Fitness and Wellness at the University of Southern Indiana. In addition, Dave and his wife, Frances, have coached the Evansville Memorial High School swimming teams the past 10 years. They have three children–Christie, Franny and David.

Groves-Stewart graduated in 2001 and at that time was ranked second in NCAA Division I history with 2,055 digs and ninth in NCAA history in consecutive games played at 455. She is still the University of Evansville career leader in kill attempts (4,401), second in kills (1,523), second in digs (2,055) and second in games played (497). Her 454 kills in 1998 and 1,256 kill attempts in 1998 are still the top single-season records in those two categories. A four-time all-Missouri Valley Conference selection, Groves-Stewart was a member of the MVC?All Newcomer Team in 1997, MVC?Honorable Mention in 1998, Second Team All-MVC in 1999 and First Team All-MVC in 2000. In addition, she was selected twice for the MVC Volleyball Scholar-Athlete Team. After earning her degree in business management in 2001, the Indianapolis native returned to central Indiana and worked for Capital Sports Center. Since 2003, Julie and husband Nick have been busy raising a family. Their oldest daughter, Grace, is 5; son Nicholas is 4 and Abigail is nine months. They reside in Indianapolis.

Nel completed his swimming career at UE in 2002, and returned to complete his degree with a double major of economics and finance in 2004. He was a four-time all-Missouri Valley Conference performer, and was MVC champion in the 200-yard medley relay in 1999, the 100-yard breaststroke in 2000, and the 400- and 800-yard freestyle relays in both 2001 and 2002. Two relays that Nel swam still hold Missouri Valley Conference records–the 800-yard freestyle event in 2001 with a time of 6:41.41 and the 400 free relay in 2002 with a time of 3:00.71. He still holds five University of Evansville individual records, in the 50-yard freestyle (:20.51), 200 backstroke (1:48.93), 100 breaststroke (:56.48), 200 individual medley (1:50.94) and 400 individual medley (4:01.29). Nel is also a member of all five relay teams in the UE record book. He made the MVC Scholar-Athlete Team in 2001, and is one of only five UE men on the Missouri Valley Conference All-Centennial Swimming & Diving Team. The native of South Africa earned a master’s degree at Southern Illinois University before returning to his home country. For the past three years he has worked for Investec Private Bank in Cape Town, while still remaining active in swimming. Nel holds four South African Masters records, and expects to compete in the World Masters Swimming Championships in Sydney, Australia in October.