Black History Month in MCCC Athletics

 

 

In honor of Black History Month, MCCC Athletics will highlight the first black All-Americans on its sports teams.

 

Mel Wheldon was the first MCCC black men’s basketball All-American in 1973.  Wheldon helped lead Mercer to its first ever men’s basketball national championship, the first time a team on the East coast to have won the title.  That year Wheldon was also named the 1973 NJCAA National Player of the Year.  Wheldon scored 1,111 points in his two seasons at MCCC.  Following his two seasons at MCCC, Wheldon went on to play at Boston College and helped lead the Eagles to a Sweet 16 NCAA Tournament appearance.  Wheldon was selected to play for the 1973 World University Games (USA) team in Moscow, Russia. The team finished with a perfect 9-0 record, and captured its first gold medal since the 1967 Games. Wheldon was inducted into the Boston College Varsity Club Hall of Fame (1991), the Hudson County Hall of Fame (2010), and the New England Hall of Fame (2013).

 

Mary Smith-Jones played women’s basketball at MCCC in 1988 and 1989.  Smith-Jones was the second MCCC women’s basketball All-American in program history and the first black All-American in women’s basketball history.  In her first season at MCCC, Smith-Jones tied the single-game scoring record, scoring 46 points in a game.  Smith-Jones earned All-State and All-American honors at MCCC in 1989.  After two seasons at MCCC, Smith-Jones transferred to Cheyney University, where she earned All-State and All-Conference honors both seasons and was also the top rebounder in the country.  After her two seasons at Cheyney, Smith-Jones played professional women’s basketball in Switzerland.  Smith-Jones has been inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame at Allentown High School, MCCC and Cheyney University.

 

Pat Fidelia was the first MCCC black men’s soccer All-American in 1976 (and he again earned this honor in 1977) and helped lead MCCC to the NJCAA National Championship in 1976.  In his two years at MCCC, Fidelia scored 43 goals.  The Haitian-American played four seasons in the North American Soccer League (NASL), two in the American Soccer League (ASL) and one in the United Soccer League (USL).  In 1978, Fidelia was drafted by the Houston Hurricanes with the last pick of the NASL Draft.  Fidelia was traded to the Philadelphia Fury and led the team in scoring with eight goals.  In 1979, Fidelia signed with the Cleveland Force of the Major Indoor Soccer League.  In 1982, Fidelia left the NASL for the Carolina Lightning of the ASL and scored eight goals that season.  In October 1979, Fidelia earned his only cap for the US National Team, appearing as a sub in a 3-1 win over Bermuda.  In 1980, The Complete Handbook of Soccer proclaimed Fidelia the highest scoring substitute the NASL has ever seen.”  Fidelia played with the Philadelphia Fury and Montreal Manic of the NASL, the Cleveland Force and Philadelphia Fever of the MISL, the Carolina Lightning of the ASL and the Charlotte Gold of the USL.

 

In 2016, Janine Dennis became the first MCCC black women’s All-American.  Dennis finished the 2016 season with 28 goals in 14 games, which was ninth most goals in NJCAA Division I Women’s Soccer.  Dennis had 8 assists and 64 points, which was 11^th best in the nation.  The forward was named the Division I Region 19 Women’s Soccer Player of the Year and Dennis was Mercer’s first women’s soccer All-American since 2010.  Following a season at MCCC, Dennis transferred to Bethel University in Tennessee.  Dennis scored 31 goals in her final season at Bethel including nine goals in one game.  Dennis was named Bethel’s Women’s Soccer Player of the Year and Co-Female Athlete of the Year in 2019 and was named an NAIA Academic All-American in 2018 and 2019.   Dennis helped lead Bethel to a National Tournament appearance in 2019 and earned All-Conference honors for her efforts.

 

In 2002, women’s tennis player Janine Hicks became the first black female All-American tennis player at MCCC.  Hicks was a member of the 2001 National Runner-Up team and helped MCCC win the National Championship in 2002.  The Vikings beat Fashion Institute of Technology by one point in the spring of 2002 to win their third national title in five years.  In the fall of 2001, MCCC women’s tennis went undefeated and won the Region 19 Championship, which was their sixth consecutive Region title.  (The national championship was held in the spring at this time.)  Hicks was one of four MCCC players to earn All-American honors in 2002.

 

Brandon Davis became the first African American men’s tennis All-American in 2016.  Davis (and teammate Andrew Jacome) won 1^st Doubles at the NJCAA Division III National Championship.  The title win was the first for a male African American tennis player at MCCC.  Davis helped MCCC men’s tennis to their highest finish ever at the National Championship, a second place finish.  In addition to earning All-American honors in 2016, Davis earned 1^st Team All-Region 19 honors at 1^st Doubles and 2^nd Singles and helped Mercer win the Region 19 Championship that spring.  Davis also earned 1^st Team All GSAC (Garden State Athletic Conference) honors at 1^st Doubles and 2^nd Singles.  Davis had 28 wins in two seasons at MCCC, fourth best in Singles history and 27 wins in Doubles matches, also fourth best in program history.  Davis finished his MCCC career with 55 combined Singles and Doubles wins, fourth best in men’s tennis history.

 

Thank you to these All-American athletes for helping to pave the way for future black athletes and All-Americans at MCCC!

 

For more on MCCC Athletics, visit: https://www.mccc.edu/athletics_home.shtml