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Julie Chu, who has won four Olympic medals for the U.S. Women’s team, and Marty Roos, the winningest high school coach in the state, were among the Hall inductees announced at the UConn-Stamford campus.
They will join Stamford coaching legend John “Sharkey” Laureno, Noralk’s Mickey Connolly, Trumbull’s Craig Breslow and Bridgeport’s Nadine Domond and Efrain “Chico” Chacurian as the newest members of the Hall, which is overseen by the Fairfield County Sports Commission.
The Hall of Famers will be honored at the Commisssion’s 10th anniversary Sports Night on Monday, Oct. 20, at the Hyatt Regency Greenwich.
Chu has won three silver medals and one bronze medal in the Olympics. She also won four gold medals in other international competition for Team USA. She was the flag bearer for the U.S. at the closing ceremonies for this year’s Winter Games in Sochi and has been a member of the U.S. team for 14 years.
“Through it all, I’m most proud that she has remained so grounded,’’ said her father, Wah, who attended Tuesday’s announcement. His daughter was in Los Angeles and participated in the Stanley Cup celebration ceremony with the Los Angeles Kings. “She took it all in with humility.”
Chu played at Choate Rosemary Hall in high school, and at Harvard University in college before joining the U.S. team. “Making one Olympic team is a privilege,’’ Chu said. “Making four is blessing.”
The family nearly got to celebrate a gold medal in February. Canada nipped the United States, 3-2, scoring a goal with 3:26 left in regulation before winning in overtime.
“It was surreal,’’ Wah said. “We haven’t had the courage to go back and look at the tape. I was at an angle in the stands where I couldn’t really see what happened. But that’s sports, it’s unpredictable. I felt bad for her. She had dedicated so much on the ice. It took her a long time to come out of the locker room after that one.”
Roos retired in 2012 after 40 years as the coach at Fairfield Prep and Notre Dame. He compiled 536 wins and six state championships. After spending 19 years and winning 265 games at Prep, he moved to Notre Dame in 1991 and helped the Lancers move from Division II to Division I. He won state titles at Notre Dame in 1999 and 2006.
Perhaps the most recognizable name from the other new Hall of Famers is Breslow, a Major League Baseball pitcher with the Boston Red Sox. He helped the team win the World Series last year and has pitched for six teams.
Connolly was a five-sport star in high school in Norwalk, and played football at Boston College. He died in 2006.
Laureno was a successful coach in Stamford, particularly in baseball, and was also a longtime official in baseball, basketball and football. He died in 1987.
Domond is sixth all-time among girls basketball players in Connecticut in scoring, and led Bridgeport Central to the 1994 state title. She played at the University of Iowa and in the WNBA.
Chacurian was a longtime college and amateur soccer coach, and a standout player. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
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