Hall of Fame Inductees

1975-1976 & 1976-1977 Undefeated College Tennis Teams

The inaugural class of inductees into the Saint Mary's Athletics Hall of Fame includes beloved former chair of the physical education department, coach, teacher, and dean of students Mary Lou Jones and her undefeated college tennis teams of 1975-1976 (18-0) and 1976-1977 (16-0). These teams boasted a 34-0 combined record over the two years, including fall and spring seasons each year, in intercollegiate competition with all colleges and universities in North Carolina and beyond, including teams from each of the ACC's Big Four universities – Duke, N.C. State, UNC-Chapel Hill, and Wake Forest.

Mary Lou Jones, North Carolina Tennis Association Hall of Famer, recorded more than 330 wins as head coach of Saint Mary's college and high school tennis teams from the 1960s into the 1990s, including 12 undefeated seasons, the 1980 NCISAA high school state championship, six consecutive North Carolina Women's Colleges State Tournament championships, and numerous conference, region, and district championships. Jones held her legendary tennis camp at Saint Mary's for 25 years.

1999 Undefeated State Champion Swim Team

The 1999 team capped off a perfect 19-0 regular season by sweeping the Triangle Independent Schools Athletic Conference (TISAC) regular season and conference meet championships and the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association (NCISAA) championship. It was the first conference title and only state championship in swimming for Saint Mary’s School.
At the 1999 state competition, Saint Mary’s finished first with 103 points, followed by Greensboro Day School (80), Durham Academy (76), Cardinal Gibbons (60), Cary Academy (40, Ravenscroft (33), and Salem (28), and others.

Mary Margaret Gamblin received All-American honors with a time of 57.6 to win the state championship in the 100-meter butterfly. She also finished first in the state in the 100-meter backstroke and joined Rene Bermudez, Adrienne Peacock, and Megan Connole, to win first place at the state meet in the 400 freestyle relay that also received All-American honors. The 200 free relay team of Mary Margaret Gamblin, Rene Bermudez, Megan Connole, and Michaela Idhammar placed first and received All-American honors.

The team was coached by faculty member Kim Gabele in her seventh year as the Saints coach. Assistant coach was Saint Mary’s faculty member Stephanie Gavilan.

The News & Observer wrote about the state championship team saying, “Saint Mary’s swimming coach Kim Gabele’s seven-year building project reached a high point as the Saints captured their first NCISAA state swimming championship, held at the Pullen Aquatic Center. Five freshman played key roles in the Saints’ run to the title – Mary Margaret Gamblin, Rene Bermudez, Sarah Bermudez, Adrienne Peacock, and Megan Connole – made key contributions.

“I went to the University of Michigan, and I guess we had the Fab Five thing going,” said Coach Gabele. “Everybody kept telling me we were the team to beat, but I wasn’t completely sure until December when we beat Ravenscroft, Durham Academy, and Cardinal Gibbons – all the power teams. What made this team so strong, though, is our depth. Our juniors and seniors have made the difference. The really amazing thing is that all of them dropped their times in the state championship.”