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General Union Sports Communication

Union inducts six into Sports Hall of Fame

Link to Union Sports Hall of Fame

Watch Video of the Ceremony
JACKSON, Tenn. - The Union University Department of Athletics inducted the 2022 Sports Hall of Fame class. Caitlin Zimmerman Courtner (women's soccer), Brent Fronabarger (baseball), Kayla Hudson Irvin (women's basketball), Clara Martinez Rams (women's tennis), Mark Weidemaier (baseball), and Don "Bubba" Holsinger (meritorious service) were the newest group to join the hall of fame. 
This year's ceremony took place, Friday, April 29, 2022 in the Grant Events Center on the campus of Union University.
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Zimmerman Courtner played women's soccer at Union from 2006-09. She still holds the Union records for goals in a game, season, and career, while also holding many other records in points and assists. She remains the only women's soccer player to be named an All-American. 
Zimmerman Courtner played four seasons at Union. In those four years, she played in 59 games, starting 58 times. She recorded 54 goals, 21 assists, 129 points, 181 shots, and 15 game winning goals. Her best season came as a sophomore with 21 goals and nine assists. 
She helped lead Union to its best conference finish to that point in program history, a runner up finish in the TranSouth. 
Zimmerman Courtner was named NAIA All-America in 2007, was a three time NAIA Scholar Athlete, twice named all-region, and three times named TranSouth first team All-Conference. She is tied for the record with three goals in a game, something she did four times. She holds the top three totals for the record for goals in a season with 21, 17, and 12. Her 54 career goals in also the program record. She also holds the program records for assists in a game (3), assists in a season (9), assists in a career (21), shots in a season (76), shots in a career (178), points in a season (51), and points in a career (129).
She met her husband, Andrew, while at Union. The two married shortly after graduation, and moved to Nashville where Caitlin earned her Doctorate of Physical Therapy from Belmont University. After moving several times throughout all of Tennessee, the couple has come full circle and currently reside in the Jackson area. Caitlin works as a physical therapist at a local outpatient clinic, and Andrew serves as a professor in Union's School of Education. They have two sons, Aiden (5) and Hudson (1).

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Fronabarger played baseball at Union 1993-96 and was head coach for the Bulldogs from 2006-14. As a player, he was an All-American, a TranSouth Player of the Year, and holds many Union records including wins in a season and wins in a career. As a coach, he led Union to four NAIA National Championship Opening Rounds, 2009-12 and won three TranSouth Conference Tournament Titles. 
As a player at Union, Fronabarger holds the record for most wins in a season (13), wins in a career (33), most strikeouts in a career (306), most innings pitched in a season (117.2), most innings pitched in a career (328.2), most starts in a season (17), most complete games in a season (11), most saves in a season (10), most saves in a career (13). He was named NAIA All-American in 1996. He was also all-region, Tennessee Collegiate Athletic Conference (TCAC) All-Conference twice, and TCAC Player of the year in 1995. 
After playing at Union, he returned as an assistant coach in 1998. In 2006, he was named the head coach of the Union baseball program through 2014. He finished with a 273-203-2 (.573) record, posting 42 wins in 2010, one of only seven 40-win seasons in program history. He led Union to four NAIA National Championships Opening Rounds and three TranSouth Conference Tournament Championships. 
The Huntingdon, Tennessee native graduated from Huntingdon High School where he played football and baseball. He earned his bachelor of science degree from Union in 1997 and then a master's degree in 1998. He was named the 2003 AFLAC Assistant Coach of the Year and is also a member of the Carroll County Sports Hall of Fame (2008). He was offered a free agent contract by the Toronto Blue Jays in 1992 and played Independent League Baseball in 1996. 
Frongabarger married his high school sweetheart, Sandy (also a Union graduate), and they have two sons, Brady (14) and Landry (12). He is currently the baseball head coach, girls basketball assistant coach, and teacher at Crockett County High School.
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Hudson Irvin played women's basketball at Union from 2007-11. She helped lead Union to two NAIA National titles and four TranSouth Titles. She was a four-time NAIA All-American and all-conference player. Hudson Irvin holds numerous records at Union University.
In addition to the four All-America and all-conference honors, Hudson Irvin was an NAIA Scholar Athlete, NAIA All-Tournament selection twice, a member of the TranSouth All-Freshman team, along with being named the 2008 TranSouth Newcomer and Freshman of the Year. 
Hudson Irvin hit 342 3-pointers for her career at a record 46-percent clip. She holds three of the top six 3-point percentages in a season, including the top spot at 50-percent. She ranks second at Union in three pointers made for both the career (342) and season (121). She ranks first in free throw percentage for a career (.888) and season (.949). Hudson Irvin ranks first at Union in assists in a career (784) and season (257). Her 149 games played at Union is also a program record. She started all 149 games. 
For her career, Hudson Irvin accumulated 1,776 points, averaging 12 points for her career. He best season was 604 points as a senior (16.3 per game). 
In each of her four years, Hudson Irvin led Union to the top four season win-loss records in program history. This included two one-loss seasons and a perfect 28-0 regular season in 2007-08. The four-year record during her career was 143-6. In addition to the two NAIA National Titles in 2009 and 2010 in her career, Union had a national tournament third place finish in 2008 and a runner-up finish in 2011.
Hudson Irvin also spent three seasons as assistant coach for Mark Campbell at Union. During that time, Union had a NAIA National Tournament runner-up finish, a National Christian College National Championship, and a GSC Regular Season Championship during the membership change from NAIA to NCAA.
Hudson Irvin is currently the girls basketball head coach at Crockett County High School where she has been named District 13AA Coach of the Year and Jackson Sun West Tennessee Coach of the Year. Her teams have earned a district title, two region runner-up finishes, and two substate appearances. 
She is married to former Union baseball player Will Irvin and is "mom" to three, Scarlett (6), Klay (4), and Krew (8 months). She has a bachelor of science and a master's in education degree, both from Union University.
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Martinez Rams played women's tennis at Union from 1997-2000. She was a three-time NAIA All-American and earned several ITA region and national awards. Martinez Rams helped Union to numerous top-10 national rankings and played in the national tournament all four years. 
In 2000, Martinez Rams was named the Tennis Magazine/Arthur Ashe Leadership and Scholarship Award winner. That same season, she helped lead her team to the NAIA Region and NAIA National Tournament, reaching a No. 5 national ranking that season. 
The 1999 season was a special season as Martinez Rams advanced all the way to the final 16 competitors in the NAIA National Tournament, earning NAIA All-America for the third consecutive season. She led Union to both the TranSouth Regular Season and Tournament Titles. 
Currently, Martinez Rams and her husband live in Castellon de la Plana, Spain where she works as an administrator at Deao Ortopedia Deportiva.
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Weidemaier played baseball at Union from 1976-77. He was the team's offensive MVP both years and was a two-time All-West Tennessee All-Star. His post Union career has been spent in professional baseball. Most notably, as the bench coach/defensive coordinator/advance coach for manager Matt Williams, both for Korea and the Washington Nationals. Currently, Weidemaier is a manager in the Mexican league. 
Weidemaier has worked for numerous Major League Baseball organizations including the Nationals, Cincinnati Reds, Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, Kansas City Royals, Cleveland Indians, and the California Angles (now Los Angeles Angles). He also worked in Korea, Mexico, Dominican Republic, and Bahamas. His baseball career has spanned 40 years.
He spent several years coaching and teaching at the amateur level. Weidemaier was an instructor for Game On performance Center in North Carolina, was a coach for Team USA Baseball 18 & under in Cary, North Carolina, Assistant Director of Athletics at UNC-Ashville, and head coach at Montreat-Anderson College in North Carolina. 
Weidemaier graduated from Union in 1977 and went back home to The Ohio State University to get his masters degree. He was an assistant coach for OSU while there. 
Weidemaier is a member of several professional organizations including Major League Baseball Players Alumni, Professional Baseball Scouts Foundation, Association of Professional Ball Players of America, and American Baseball Coaches Association. Many of his amateur scouting reports are on file in the Baseball Hall of Fame - Professional Baseball Scouts Collection in Cooperstown, New York.
His wife, author Tracy Crow, is a former Marine Corps Officer. They live in Liberty, North Carolina, with their three dogs, Fenway, Hadley, and Hope.
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Holsinger was the legendary Buster the Bulldog, Union's mascot for three seasons, 1993, 1994, and 1996. His antics and skill as a mascot made his show a thing to see, drawing fans to games and entertaining crowds. Holsinger has continued his friendship with Union over the years, serving as president of the Union National Alumni Association for two years. 
Holsinger was a TSSAA High School Football official for 15 years, including the honor of being an official in the 2008 TSSAA Football Championship game.
After graduating Union in 1994, Holsinger became a key member of the Jackson community. He worked at FirstBank for 20 years. He spent many hours serving the community by volunteering on the board for numerous charities, including Habitat for Humanity, Birth Choice, Star Center, and the Boys and Girls Club. In 2018, he won the Star Center's Dancing with the Stars fundraising event. 
Most recently, Holsinger was the president of Franklin Synergy Bank for almost two years and now serves as the Chief Mortgager for Orion Federal Credit Union in Memphis, Tennessee.
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