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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Carlyn Esslinger: 2006 BGSU Hall of Fame Inductee
August 31, 2006 | General
Aug. 31, 2006
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University Athletics Hall of Fame will welcome nine new members on Sept. 8. The 2006 class will be inducted during a formal dinner on the BGSU campus.
The class of 2006 includes Sara Collas '90 (women's cross country/track and field), Carlyn Esslinger '96 (volleyball), Steve Klein '98 (men's soccer), Brian Leaver '95 (football), Carla Marshack '92 (women's tennis), Jim McDonald '59 (men's basketball), Megan McGuire '91 (women's basketball and volleyball), Vince Palko '95 (football) and Andy Tracy (football and baseball).
The official induction ceremony will take place Friday, Sept. 8, in the grand ballroom of BGSU's Bowen-Thompson Student Union. The social hour begins at 6:00 p.m., with dinner served at 7:00 p.m. and the program starting shortly thereafter.
In addition, the class will be introduced at halftime of the Sept. 9 BGSU-Buffalo football game at Doyt Perry Stadium. The game begins at 3:00 p.m. and is designated as Hall of Fame Day.
Tickets for the Sept. 8 dinner are $35 ($30 for Varsity BG members), and advanced reservations are required. Tickets can be reserved by calling the Falcon Club office at (419) 372-7100. Football game tickets can be purchased through the ticket office by phone, at 1-877-BGSUTICKET, or on the web at www.BGSUFalcons.com.
The public is invited to attend the induction dinner.
The following is the second of a nine-part series that takes a look at this year's inductees...
CARLYN ESSLINGER (volleyball; 1992-95)
Esslinger, a native of Tampa, Fla. was a two-time All-MAC First-Team selection who capped her stellar career by earning the league's Player-of-the-Year award in 1995. She led the team in both kills and hitting percentage during each of her final three years with the Falcons, and finished her career as BGSU's all-time leader in attack attempts (3,821), while ranking second in kills (1,462) and fifth in blocks (367).
Esslinger still holds the school record for career attack attempts, and she currently ranks second in kills, eighth in both digs and blocks and 10th in hitting percentage. Esslinger, just the fifth player in school history to reach 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in a career, was a freshman on the 1992 Falcon squad that won the MAC and posted a runner-up finish in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC).
Following graduation, she returned to Florida and held several jobs as a sales rep. She eventually worked at TMP, where she was promoted into a position that was created for her. Esslinger also worked in her parents' restaurant before becoming a stay-at-home parent.
Esslinger, now Carlyn Smith, married former BGSU baseball standout Andy Smith in 1998. The couple has two sons, Landon and Carter, and resides in Powell, Fla.
