Two Terps Earn Places on Podium

Jones-Hill House, named for ACC pioneers Billy Jones ’69 (far left) and Darryl Hill ’65, features a 24,000-squarefoot strength and conditioning area with 22 custom weight racks, 40 yards of turf, a video wall and refueling station.

under way for space to house an interdisciplinary center studying brain and behavior.

“This is a first-class, first-rate facility, and I couldn’t be more proud of the individuals who worked so hard to put this together,” says Athletic Director Damon Evans.

That includes the building’s namesakes themselves. During his time as a Terp, Jones played with a forward-looking “why not?” mentality. Refusing to dwell on the unfair calls, hard hits and racial slurs he too often faced, he averaged double-digit points per game in two of his three seasons at Maryland and served as a team captain his senior year.

“A young Black kid from the east side of Towson could never imagine having his name on a building at the University of Maryland,” he says. “I felt beyond gratitude.”

Though Hill grew up idolizing Jackie Robinson, he told then-assistant coach Lee Corso in 1962 that he wasn’t interested in being a groundbreaker. When Corso asked if he was scared, “that was the button that he pushed that got my attention,” Hill says.

He went on to set the football program’s single-game record at the time, with 10 receptions against Clemson, establish an ACC season record with seven touchdown catches and notch 47 receptions in a season.

“(Jones-Hill House) tells a story about what Maryland did in terms of breaking down the barrier of racial segregation in sports,” Hill says. “It should serve as a beacon for our students.”—ad

Bronze-Medal Winners Highlight Group of Six Alum Athletes at Olympics

TWO OF SIX TERPS who headed to Tokyo for the pandemicdelayed Olympics this summer returned home with new hardware around their necks.

Field hockey player GRACE BALSDON, competing in her first Games, won bronze with Team Great Britain. The Terp, who in 2016 established herself as one of the best defenders in UMD history, scored three goals along the way, including the difference-maker in the final victory over India.

“We are extremely happy,” Balsdon told The Mirror. “We have worked incredibly hard, and you can see how much we wanted it for each other.”

DIANDRA TCHATCHOUANG, who was named to the 2009-10 All-ACC freshman women’s basketball team during her first of two seasons with the Terps, appeared in three games with Team France; it also took bronze when it defeated Serbia for the nation’s first

Olympic medal in the sport since 2012.

Other Terps at the Games were:

ABBY GUSTAITIS ’13 RUGBY, TEAM USA

After taking up rugby on UMD’s club team and earning AllAmerican honors, Gustaitis worked her way up to co-captain of Team USA. The sevens squad placed sixth in Tokyo.

THEA LAFOND ’15 TRIPLE JUMP, TEAM DOMINICA LaFond, who excelled in multiple field events as a Terp, entered this summer’s Games with a new approach after a disappointing showing in Rio. Now one of the world’s only female double-armed jumpers, she finished 12th in Tokyo.

NIKE LORENZ FIELD HOCKEY, TEAM GERMANY Lorenz, who was a key part of UMD’s 2018 Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles, played in her second Games with Germany after earning bronze in 2016. This summer, the team made it to the quarterfinals before falling to Argentina.

CHIOMA ONYEKWERE ’16 DISCUS, TEAM NIGERIA Between working as an engineer and planning two wedding ceremonies, Onyekwere kept up her training to qualify for Tokyo. She and nine teammates were disqualified, however, because Nigerian athletic officials hadn’t conducted enough drug tests in recent months.