2021-22 Syracuse Jersey Honorees
Impactful as student-athletes at Syracuse University and as influential figures in the world of sport, four Orange alumni will have their jerseys retired during the 2021-22 academic year. Felisha Legette-Jack (1984-89), Gary Gait (1987-90), Anna Goodale (2002-05) and Katie Rowan Thomson (2006-09) will be honored during Syracuse athletic events over the course of the year.
FELISHA LEGETTE-JACK
Women's Basketball (1984-89)
When she took off the Orange uniform for the final time in March 1989, Felisha Legette owned the Syracuse women’s basketball career records for points, rebounds, field goals made and attempted, and free throws made and attempted. More than 30 years later she remains in the top 10 in career points, rebounds, and field goals made and attempted. The mark she made on the program is undeniable.
In her first year, Legette earned BIG EAST Conference Freshman of the Year honors after helping lead the Orange to their first BIG EAST Championship. An honorable mention All-American and All-BIG EAST First Team selection as a sophomore in 1985-86, Legette averaged a double-double with 15.8 points and 10.1 rebounds per game, leading the Orange to a 19-10 record, including a 12-4 mark in the BIG EAST. She followed that up by earning honorable mention All-America and All-BIG EAST Second Team honors following a junior season in which she averaged 13.0 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. After missing the 1987-88 season due to a knee injury she returned to the court and earned All-BIG EAST honors. She was one of 15 players named to the BIG EAST Conference Silver Anniversary Team in 2004. In 2011, she was named a Syracuse University Letterwinner of Distinction.
A veteran basketball coach, Legette-Jack started her collegiate coaching career as an assistant at Syracuse before becoming the head coach at Hofstra and then Indiana. She is currently the head coach at the University at Buffalo, where she has led the Bulls program for the past 10 years.
- Ranks 8th in program history in career points (1,526)
- Ranks 4th in program history in career rebounds (927)
- Ranks 4th in field goals made (632)
- Ranks 7th in rebounding average (7.9 in 117 games)
- Ranks 6th in single-season rebounds (292)
- One of three players in school history to score more than 1,500 points and grab more than 900 rebounds
- Three-time All-BIG EAST selection
- Named to the BIG EAST Conference Silver Anniversary Team in 2004
GARY GAIT
Men's Lacrosse (1987-90)
Widely considered the greatest lacrosse player to play the game, Gary Gait has had a profound impact on the sport collegiately, professionally, internationally and in the coaching ranks. He has won every major collegiate, professional and international championship in the sport during his career. A native of Victoria, British Columbia, Gait and his twin brother, Paul, began their playing careers at Syracuse in 1987. There, under the tutelage of SU Hall of Fame head coach Roy Simmons Jr., the duo revolutionized lacrosse, bringing a sense of style and excitement to the game that had never been seen before. At no time was that more evident than in the 1988 national semifinal against Penn at the Carrier Dome when Gary unveiled the “Air Gait,” scoring twice by dunking over the top of the goal from behind.
While Gait’s individual theatrics delighted the crowd, Syracuse also excelled as a team with him running the midfield. His Orange squads registered an overall record of 51-5 (.911) from 1987-90, won three-straight NCAA titles (1988-90), and posted two undefeated seasons (1988, 1990). In 1990, Gait was selected as the NCAA Tournament MVP on what many still call “the greatest lacrosse team ever assembled.”
Gait is a successful coach, winning seven NCAA titles at Maryland as an assistant for the Terrapins’ women’s program before taking the reigns as the Syracuse head women’s lacrosse coach in 2007-08. He led the Orange through a period during which every player to stay the duration of her eligibility reached a final four. Following a NCAA title game appearance in 2021, Gait became the Roy D. Simmons Jr. Head Men’s Lacrosse Coach at Syracuse on June 7, 2021.
- A three-time NCAA Champion and four-time All-American as a player
- 1988 and 1990 Lt. Raymond J. Enners Award winner, presented annually to the nation's most outstanding player
- Holds Syracuse records for career goals scored (192), which was the NCAA single-season record until 2008, and single-season goals (70). His nine goals against Navy in the 1990 NCAA Tournament tied the tournament and Syracuse single-game standards.
- As head coach, led the Orange women’s squad to three national title games, eight national semifinals, six conference regular-season titles and three conference tournament crowns
- Mentored four Tewaaraton Award finalists (Katie Rowan, Michelle Tumolo, Alyssa Murray and Kayla Treanor)
- 2008 IWLCA Regional Coach of the Year
- 2011 BIG EAST co-Coach of the Year
- 2015 and 2017 ACC Coach of the Year
- Inducted as a charter member of the NLL Hall of Fame (2006)
- Earned International Lacrosse Federation (ILF) All-World Team honors
- Won three NLL titles, three MLL titles, three Mann Cups, one Heritage Cup and one ILF World Championship
ANNA GOODALE
Women's Rowing (2002-05)
Anna Goodale joined the Syracuse women’s rowing team as a walk-on in the fall of 2001 and graduated as a three-time All-American in 2005. A member of two BIG EAST Championship teams (2002 and 2003), Goodale rowed for the first Syracuse squad to earn a team bid to the NCAA Championship in 2002. That team placed fifth at the Eastern Sprints. In 2005, Goodale rowed in the varsity eight that won the BIG EAST Championship and finished fifth at Eastern Sprints enroute to a NCAA Championship invitation.
A gold medalist in the women’s eight at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Goodale was a U.S. National Team member for six years. A 20-year veteran in the sport, Goodale is currently the executive director and head coach for Megunticook Rowing, a non-profit community rowing program in her home state of Maine.
- 2003 and 2005 All-American (first team)
- 2004 All-American (second team)
- Four-year varsity member at SU (2001-05)
- 2005 Soladay Award winner (the highest honor presented to a Syracuse female and male student-athlete)
- Three-time CRCA National Scholar-Athlete Award winner
- 2005 CoSIDA Academic All-American (second team)
- Six-year member of the U.S. rowing team:
- 2008 Olympic gold medalist
- Won four World Championships (set world record time in 2006)
- Won three World Cups
- Competed in record-setting boats at the Henley Regatta (set course record in 2006)
- Won three gold medals at the head of the Charles Regatta
- 2015 Maine Athletics Hall of Fame inductee
- Coached at Gonzaga University (2014-15) and Ohio State University (2015-19)
- Became a part of the national rowing team in 2005
KATIE ROWAN THOMSON
Women's Lacrosse (2006-09)
One of the most decorated players in program history, Katie Rowan helped Syracuse become a perennial national contender. As a junior in 2008, she led the nation in scoring and Syracuse advanced to the NCAA Championship Weekend for the first time. Rowan was named a finalist for the Tewaaraton Award as the player of the year, as well as the Honda Award. Syracuse’s all-time leading scorer, she also ranks among the top scorers in the history of the sport. She is ninth on the NCAA Division I career record list for points (396) and 11t in assists (164). Rowan also succeeded in the classroom, earning CoSIDA Academic All-America honors in 2008 and 2009 and was a four-time BIG EAST All-Academic selection.
Rowan also captivated the sport on the international stage, helping Team USA to the 2009 and 2013 FIL World Cup. She earned All-World honors in 2013 and still holds the Team USA single-game record for goals (8) and career records for points (69) and assists (35).
In June 2018, Rowan was named head women’s lacrosse coach at the University at Albany after leading the Wagner program for three seasons. She began her collegiate coaching career as an assistant at Syracuse in 2010, immediately following her playing career, and was also an assistant coach at UAlbany.
- Syracuse all-time leader in points (396) and assists (164)
- 2008 Tewaaraton Award Finalist
- 2008 Honda Award Finalist
- 2009 Soladay Award winner (the highest honor presented to a Syracuse female and male student-athlete)
- Three-time IWLCA All-America First Team honoree
- Two-time BIG EAST Attacker of the Year
- Four-time All-BIG EAST First Team selection
- Two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American
- Holds the NCAA Tournament single-game records for points (13) and assists in a game (8)
- Led Team USA to FIL World Cup in 2009 and 2013
- 2013 All-World Team
- Holds US Lacrosse career records for points and assists
