50th Anniversary Team Honors Women's Athletics at UNI
10/24/2018 8:44:00 AM | General, Women's Golf, Women's Soccer, Women's Swimming and Diving, Women's Tennis, Women's Volleyball, Cross Country
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – UNI Athletics is unveiling a 50th anniversary team to as part of the yearlong celebration honoring the start of women's intercollegiate athletics at the university.
The team comprises female coaches, administrators and student-athletes who helped shape what Panther athletics is today. The set includes familiar faces part of the very first teams while others of more recent history are women who saw a lot of success and have pushed UNI in a competitive landscape.
"When selecting an anniversary team, we wanted to choose 50 women who would be representative of the last 50 years in athletics," said Christina Roybal, senior associate athletic director for sports administration at UNI. "However, it was going to be too difficult of a task to narrow down that list. Instead, we didn't limit the number of members but focused on women who were among the first student-athletes to All-Americans to Hall of Famers to staff and administrators who made a strong impact on UNI Athletics."
The first field hockey team started with 14 players in 1968, and women's basketball competed in the 1968-69 schoolyear. The first female tennis team at UNI started competition in 1971.
UNI kicked off the anniversary activities 50 years after the exact date of when Dr. Elinor Crawford blew her whistle at the first field hockey practice to mark the official start of women's activities at UNI on Sept. 10, 1968.
On that same date 50 years later, UNI student-athletes and Panther pioneers gathered to share stories to kick off the celebration. More activities are planned throughout the year, including reunions for current teams and the 15th annual Women at Play event on January 19, 2019.
The reunions continue to be added to the online alumni calendar as they are set.
UNI alumni wanting to be a part of the reunions, join a panel or share a memory are urged to contact Roybal at (319) 273-2556 or email Christina.Roybal@uni.edu.
The team comprises female coaches, administrators and student-athletes who helped shape what Panther athletics is today. The set includes familiar faces part of the very first teams while others of more recent history are women who saw a lot of success and have pushed UNI in a competitive landscape.
"When selecting an anniversary team, we wanted to choose 50 women who would be representative of the last 50 years in athletics," said Christina Roybal, senior associate athletic director for sports administration at UNI. "However, it was going to be too difficult of a task to narrow down that list. Instead, we didn't limit the number of members but focused on women who were among the first student-athletes to All-Americans to Hall of Famers to staff and administrators who made a strong impact on UNI Athletics."
The first field hockey team started with 14 players in 1968, and women's basketball competed in the 1968-69 schoolyear. The first female tennis team at UNI started competition in 1971.
UNI kicked off the anniversary activities 50 years after the exact date of when Dr. Elinor Crawford blew her whistle at the first field hockey practice to mark the official start of women's activities at UNI on Sept. 10, 1968.
On that same date 50 years later, UNI student-athletes and Panther pioneers gathered to share stories to kick off the celebration. More activities are planned throughout the year, including reunions for current teams and the 15th annual Women at Play event on January 19, 2019.
The reunions continue to be added to the online alumni calendar as they are set.
- Women's basketball: Drake game Jan. 20
- Softball: Dome Tournament Feb. 8-10
- Women's track and field: MVC Indoor Track and Field Championships Feb. 23
- Tennis: MVC Team Championship April 26-28
UNI alumni wanting to be a part of the reunions, join a panel or share a memory are urged to contact Roybal at (319) 273-2556 or email Christina.Roybal@uni.edu.
50th Anniversary Team
Coaches
- Meredith Bakley
- Elinor Crawford
- Wanda Green
- Sharon Huddleston
- Jeannette Marsh
- Jane Mertesdorf
- Bobbi Petersen
- Carol Phillips
- Betty Swanson
- Tanya Warren
Administration
- Barbara Bakker
- Julie Bright
- Nancy Justis
- Sandra Williamson
Student-Athletes
- KK Armstrong - BB
- Lizzie Boeck - BB
- Alex Cook Oakland - BB
- Debra Drenth - BB
- Lisa Geske Bluder - BB
- Cassie Hager - BB
- Jacqui Kalin - BB
- Kathy Shogrun Fell - BB/SB
- Allison Starr Pohlman - BB
- Amy Swisher - BB
- Madison Weekly - BB
- Diane Braun Eckardt – FH/SB/BB
- Lori Kluber - FH
- Judy Martin Graham - FH
- Connie Shafer- FH/BB
- Mary Taylor - FH
- Barbar Wahlstrom Carter- FH/SB/BB
- Jenni Berger - SB
- Alyssa Buchanan - SB
- Jody Dean McKowen - SB
- Paula Evers - SB
- Jamie Fisher - SB
- Krista Fosbinder Demeulenaere - SB
- Chris Meyer Plueger - SB
- Patty Stockman - SB/BB
- Lindsay Wood Stanford - SB
- Brittany Atterbury - GF
- Jill Fjelstul - GF
- Pauline Kelly - GF
- Lisa Miller - GF
- Jeanne Sutherland - GF
- Jill Arganbright - VB
- Bobbi Becker Petersen - VB
- Mary Bernhardt - VB
- Ellie Blankenship - VB
- Kate Galer Hawkins - VB
- Kara Galer Kimm - VB
- Kim Kester Tierney - VB
- Kim McCaffrey Davis – VB
- Maryellen McCann Durow - VB
- Molly O'Brien - VB
- Bre Payton – VB
- Shannon Perry Wieland - VB
- Bethany Hovland – DIVE
- Molly Lembezeder - SWIM
- Mary McCuskey – SWIM
- Rachel Jansen - T&F
- Paige Knodle - T&F
- Olimpia Nowak - T&F
- Diana Leftridge - T&F
- Dani Stipe - T&F
- Shantel Twiggs - T&F
- Brenda Coffield - TN/FH
- Nancy Land - TN
- Clare McGee Struck - TN
- Erica Medlin - TN
- Phoebe Walker - TN
- Penny Wilson - GYM
- Chelsie Hochstedler - SOC
- Anne-Marie Witko - SOC
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