Georgetown’s Athletic Hall of Fame Inducted seven new members on Feb. 9. From left to right: Stephen Iorio (GSB ’98), Daniel Martin (COL ‘ 97), Ebiho Ahokhai (SFS ’97), Melissa Tytko (MSB ’99), Paul Tagliabue (CAS ’62), Matthew Rienzo (COL ’97) and Janne Kouri (MSB ’97), front.
Seven former Georgetown student-athletes were elected to the Georgetown Hall of Fame by the Georgetown University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics on Feb. 9.
The seven inductees were Daniel Martin (COL ’97), Janne Kouri (MSB ’97), Ebiho Ahonkhai (SFS ’97), Stephen Iorio (GSB ’98), Melissa Tytko (MSB ’99), Matthew Rienzo (COL ’97) and Paul Tagliabue (CAS ’62). In addition, James Higgins (GSB ’70) was awarded the Letter Winner of Distinction, which is periodically awarded to former athletes who embody Georgetown values.
A captain for the men’s lacrosse team in 1996 and 1997, Martin earned All-American honors three times and won a most valuable player award. Throughout his career, Martin scored 78 goals, for a total of 136 points, and made 58 assists.
Kouri was a member of the football team. He earned All-American honors and won the Metro Atlantic Conference Defensive Player of the Season his senior year. Kouri, a defensive lineman, holds the Georgetown record for career sacks with 31.5.
As a player for the women’s basketball team, Ahonkhai, earned All-Big East honors her final two seasons in 1995 and 1996, and also earned All-Big East Academic All-Star honors and the Big East Scholar-Athlete Award for her senior season. She ranks second among Georgetown’s players with a field goal success rate of 50.5 percent.
Iorio, a member of the football team, earned all-conference honors three times and won Georgetown’s outstanding back honors three times. Iorio, a cum laude graduate, was a four-time All-American Academic honoree and earned an NCAA post-graduate scholarship.
As the women’s volleyball teams’ captain, Tytko earned all-Big East honors her last two seasons in 1997 and 1998. She holds the Georgetown record for hitting percentage at 33.3 percent. She was also an All-Academic selection.
Rienzo, a defender on the men’s lacrosse team, was part of the Hoyas team that earned its first victory against Syracuse University’s vaunted program in 1997, which ultimately led to an NCAA Tournament bid for the Hoyas. He also served as captain and was a two-time most valuable player award winner.
Tagliabue, a captain for the men’s basketball team, served as president of his senior class from 1961 to 1962 and was a finalist for a Rhodes Scholarship. In his career, he served as commissioner of the NFL between 1989 and 2006 and served as chairman of the board of directors of Georgetown from 2008 to 2015. Today, Tagliabue serves as an athletic adviser and played an important role in the construction of the Thompson Athletic Center.
Higgins, who passed away in 2016, was a member of the basketball team and a co-captain of the Hoyas team that reached the National Invitation Tournament in 1970. Following his collegiate career, he went on to work at Morgan Stanley and co-founded Georgetown’s Wall Street Alliance in New York City.
