AASU Athletic Hall of Fame - Class of 2003

One of the top men's basketball players to ever suit up for Armstrong Junior College in the early days of Geechee athletics, William Short played basketball from 1955-1957 and showed great versatility in playing every position on the court, averaging over 20 points a game and helping Armstrong basketball gain regional prominence during his career.

A local graduate of Commercial High School, the six-foot-two Short started right away as a freshman for coach Roy Sims at center. Despite being described as "probably the shortest center in Georgia collegiate basketball" by the Savannah News Press, Short helped the Geechees advance to the semifinals of the state Junior College tournament. The second-leading scorer on the team that season, "Billy" earned Atlanta Constitution Honorable Mention All-State recognition and was also named to the state Junior College All-Tournament team in 1956. Short scored 20 or more points several times during the season and was one of the top freshman in collegiate basketball in the state.

During his sophomore season, Short moved to the forward position and continued to dominate from the floor, averaging nearly 23 points a game during the season and also earning the Ashley Dearing Cup for leading the Geechees in free throw percentage during the season. An excellent rebounder, Short averaged double figures in rebounds in both seasons as well.

A collegiate teammate of fellow AASU Athletics Hall of Famer Ed Burns, Short graduated from Armstrong Junior College in 1957 and embarked on a long and successful career working for BellSouth, earning numerous managerial awards.

A four-time All-American women's tennis player at Armstrong State, Sandra Van der Aa was the driving force in leading the Lady Pirate tennis teams to the school's only NCAA Division II Natinonal Championships as ASC captured the 1995 and 1996 women's tennis crowns. Van der Aa played No. 1 singles and doubles for the Lady Pirates and collected over 160 career wins for Armstrong State.

As a freshman from Haaren, Holland, Van der Aa was a freshman when the Lady Pirates captured their first title in 1995 and made an immediate impact on the collegiate tennis scene, being named the ITA DII Rookie of the Year, earning ITA All-America honors in singles and doubles as well as being named the Peach Belt Conference Women's Tennis Player of the Year.

The following year, Van der Aa became the first Armstrong women's tennis player to capture the prestigious Rolex/ITA National Singles Championship. Again, Van der Aa led her team to the promised land, compiling an outstanding 19-1 singles and 21-2 doubles record during the spring dual match season as the Lady Pirates defended their NCAA Division II National Championship. She again earned ITA All-America honors in singles and doubles and PBC Player of the Year honors.

The next two seasons, the Lady Pirates advanced to the NCAA Championship matches and Van der Aa was again a mainstay at the top of the lineup. She finished the 1997 season undefeated in singles play at 18-0 during the dual match season, earning All-America honors yet again, then capped off her playing career in 1998 with ITA Senior of the Year honors, a fourth year of ITA All-America honors in singles and doubles and becoming the first female in Peach Belt Conference history to earn league Player of the Year honors three times, regardless of sport.

An outstanding student, Van der Aa was twice named an ITA Scholar Athlete and graduated from Armstrong in 1998 with a computer science degree, earning the school's Outstanding Senior Award.

A four-year standout for the Pirates, Tony Yeomans ranks among several career hitting categories for the Armstrong State baseball team, playing from 1981-84 for head coach Joe Roberts, and is the school's all-time leader in games played and at-bats.

A high school standout at Wayne County HS in Jesup, Ga., Yeomans joined the Pirates as a catcher, designated hitter and backup outfielder in 1981 and played in 60 games, hitting .325 with a team-record eight home runs and 34 RBI and earning the Jim Parker Rookie of the Year award. The eight home runs were the most an Armstrong player had hit ever, making the freshman the career leader after just one season played.

As a sophomore in 1982, Yeomans hit .260 with four home runs and 27 RBI, then he moved to the outfield as a junior in 1983 and responded with an outstanding season, hitting .340 with a school record-tying 28 stolen bases and a school-record 63 runs scored. Yeomans earned NAIA All-District honors in 1983 as the Pirates finished the season ranked No. 8 in the final NAIA Baseball Top 25 poll.

Voted to be a co-captain in his senior season in 1984, Yeomans closed out his stellar career with his best season at the plate, hitting .365 with 20 doubles, 10 home runs, 69 RBI, 71 runs scored and 36 stolen bases in 37 attempts. Again playing the outfield and catching, Yeomans earned All-District and All-Conference honors and finished his career as ASC's all-time home run leader (29).

To this day, Yeomans still holds six Armstrong hitting records, including most games played (265), most at-bats (869) and plate appearances (1,033), and he ranks prominently in several other categories as well, placing second in all-time hits (282) and total bases (422), third in runs scored (206), doubles (49) and runs batted in (176) and fourth in stolen bases (83). He was a career .325 hitter and his home run total still ranks sixth among all-time Pirate players.

Yeomans graduated from Armstrong with a degree in physical education and entered the high school coaching ranks. Yeomans has coached at Brantley County HS, Long County HS and currently coaches baseball at Ware County HS.