WESTERN ILLINOIS WOMENS BASKETBALL

3OFFICIAL LeAtherneCk AthLetICs WeBsIte

hIstOrY OF the LeAtherneCk nAMe

COLOneL rOCk

LeAtherneCk trADItIOns

2011-12 rOster

2011-12 sCheDuLe

2011-12 prevIeW

2010-11 OverALL stAts

WESTERN ILLINOIS

WOMENSBASKETBALL

WELCOMETO

WESTERN ILLINOIS

UNIVERSITY

InFOrMAtIOn GuIDe

Dr. Jack thomas

Dr. Gary Billervice president

student services

Board of trustees

Brad Baintervice president

Advancement andpublic services

Dr. kenneth s. hawkinson

provost & Academic vice president

Julie DeWeese, Interim

vice president Administrative services

Dr. Joseph A. rivesvice president for Quad

Cities, planning & technology

president of Western Illinois

university

Dr. tim van Alstine

Director of Western Illinois

Athletics

Athletic Department staff Directory

cORE vALUESwESTERN iLLiNOiS

1920sIn 1920, President Morgan hired Ruth Glassow. At that time, the two most

important female sports were field hockey and basketball; a small number of women also played tennis. Since there was less to offer female students,

Glassow developed Westerns first womens track team and baseball (softball) team and organized the Womens Athletic Association (WAA).

Dora Sharp was hired in 1925 to replace Glassow. Under Sharps leadership, the WAA

became the most important female organization at Western, where it remained so for decades.

Volleyball, archery, golf and tennis were popular activities. The 1926 Sequel photograph (right)

shows WAA members with athletic equipment for various spring sports.various spring sports.

Dorothy Watson (28 BA), who attended WIU in 1927 and 1928, earned a varsity letter in baseball (softball) as the left fielder.

In 1925, the state legislature provided $180,000 to start construction on Morgan Gymnasium. The photograph shows two

gym floors: one for the men and one for the women. They were separated by a fold

partition, but when combined as shown, they partition, but when combined as shown, they constituted the second largest gym in Illinois

at that time.

1910sUnder Helen Rockwells leadership, field

hockey, which demanded skills like dribbling, driving, bullying and lunging, was added as a

female sport in 1914.

EARLY 1900s

President Henninger organized the first athletic board and the womens basketball team in 1903. The team quickly became the most integral part

of the athletics program during those early years.

Womens basketball was the first team at Western Illinois University. It was

first managed by Dr. J.P. Drake.

In 1907, Ethel Anderton was the captain of the basketball team.

A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCEA Historical Perspective of Womens Athletics

at Western Illinois University

1930-40sPerhaps the finest all-around female athlete of the 1930s was Evelyn Brackeveld,

who was outstanding in field hockey, basketball and baseball. The president of the WAA in her junior and senior years, Brackie, as she was commonly called, was a model athlete. In June 1935, just before her graduation, she received the WAAs

highest award, a rarely presented gold pin, for her four years of athletic and scholastic achievement.

1930s Field Hockey Team 1940s Womens Golf

All womens sports in the the 1940s Brophy Hall

Dr. Kathleen Brophy, hired in 1936, taught physical education to all grades in the training school and college courses. She chaired the Womens Physical Education department for 17 years, and Brophy

Hall was later named in her honor. She remained at Western Illinois for 31 years.

Up to this time, women did not have the opportunity to compete at the intercollegiate level, so many other national governing bodies such as the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), American Softball

Association (ASA), United States Field Hockey Association (USFHA), and the United States Track and Field Association (USTFA) provided women the opportunity to compete at state, regional, national and

international levels in the 1930s and 1940s.

1950sThe construction of the indoor pool allowed Western to develop its

first swim team during the 1951-52 school year. A womens synchronized swimming club, the Westerfins, organized in 1953, also used the new pool. The Westerfins were coached by June

Sebree and sponsored by the WAA.

In 1957, the National Joint Committee on Extramural Sports for College Women (NJCESCW) was formed to guide and

administer womens intercollegiate athletic programs.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Dr. Rosemary Aten (57 BS-ED), who later became chair of Westerns Physical Education Department, a position she held from 1981-93, participated in sports days

and as an intercollegiate athlete in basketball and softball for Western Illinois University.

1960s

By the mid-1960s, Westerns women had intercollegiate competition in basketball, swimming, archery, volleyball, field hockey, gymnastics,

tennis, softball, fencing, badminton and golf.

On the national level, in 1965, with the desire to consolidate governance of womens intercollegiate athletics under one

organization, the NJCESCW agreed to let the Division for Girls and Womens Sports (DGWS) assume control over competition and

extramural events.

The first action of the DGWS was to establish the Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (CIAW) to assume responsibility for designing, sponsoring and sanctioning womens

intercollegiate sports and championships.

Dr. Ann Lamb was influential in the establishment of the womens intercollegiate athletic program through her position as the Chair of the Womens Physical Education Department from 1966-1981.

Beginning at this time, the mens and womens athletic departments were separate, with the men in Western Hall and

the women in Brophy Hall.

In 1967, Dr. Marion Blackinton was hired as the Director of Womens Intramurals, the Director of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (1967-1986),

coached volleyball and was instrumental in Western Illinois University becoming a founding member of the Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference (GCAC).

1970sThe Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) developed from the CIAW in recognition of the need for institutional membership and

elected representation. Western Illinois University became a Division I charter member of the AIAW during the 1971-72 school year.

Dr. Blackintons volleyball team won the 1970 state tournament and participated in the first national tournament sponsored by the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women in 1971.

Womens Golf Team with Coach Virginia Hayter

Womens Tennis Team Womens Gymnastics Team

Laurie Meyers (77 MS) Potter (Track and Cross Country, Field Hockey, Swimming) was a four-year student-athlete at Western in the early 1970s and the first woman to represent Western in national

track and field competition. She later coached track and field at Western from 1975-1977.

1970sIn 1972, the softball team, coached by Valerie Lindbloom, placed third in the nation. Then, under Coach

Kathy Veroni, softball won two state championships, placed 5th nationally in 1975, 13th nationally in 1977 and 7th nationally in 1979. Veronis field hockey teams won the 1979, 1980, 1981 and 1982 state

titles; in softball, her teams finished 5th in 1980 and 7th in 1982 at the AIAW national tournament. In 1984, 1987 and 1989 Coach Veronis softball teams captured three GCAC titles but were unable to compete at the

national tournament because the conference did not have an automatic bid. From 1982-1998, Coach Veronis softball teams won the Mid-Continent

Conference six times and won a record-setting 37 games in 1995. In 2000 and 2001, Veronis softball teams won back-to-back Mid-Continent

Conference titles and competed at the NCAA regional. Veroni was inducted Conference titles and competed at the NCAA regional. Veroni was inducted into the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Hall of Fame in 1998 and the WIU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2007. She ended her career

ranked among the top-15 winningest coaches in NCAA history.

In 1976, fifteen female coaches and student-athletes filed suit in federal court against the Illinois Board of Higher Education, Board of Governors, Westerns President, Provost and the Student Government

Association in an effort to improve the resources for women athletes at Western Illinois University. The suit claimed unlawful discrimination in educational opportunities because women constituted 40% of

students engaged in the athletic programs but only received 18% of available funds. The suit was dismissed by the judge on the basis that, in his words, Men and women are different.

Dr. Donna Phillips coached Westerns winning badminton team for 13 seasons, guiding the Westerwinds to eight national tournaments (AIAW). Western placed in the top seven in each of those national championship appearances, including

two that were hosted on WIUs campus.

Dr. Bea Yeagers basketball coaching career record from 1971-1982 was 121-114. She coached four future Western Hall of Famers: Carol Anderson (85 BS-Kaskaskia), Wendy Hedberg (74 BS), Kelle Lindbeck (84 BS) Oest

and Pat Stoffel (82 BS)

In July 1977, a county-wide contest was held to establish an identity for Westerns female student-athletes. Ms. Malea Kotter submitted the winning nickname, voted on by female athletes and coaches. The new nickname was the Westerwinds,

which represents a strong, powerful wind that blows forcefully into town, threatening to blow its opponents away.

On a national level, in the early 1970s, women leaders began to challenge discrimination on all fronts, not only in athletics, but also in the classroom and in the work force. Women did not receive equal

pay for equal work, nor did they receive the same opportunities in higher education.

On June 23, 1972, President Richard Nixon signed the Higher Education Act, which included Title IX. Title IX states that No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from

participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.

In 1974, womens athletics was granted departmental status at Western Illinois University, and Dr. Blackinton was appointed the first Director of Womens Intercollegiate Athletics, a position she held

until her retirement in 1986.

Patty Viverito, pictured with tennis coach Judy Butterfield, was named the GCACs

first and only commissioner.

1980sThe first issue of Westerwinds Newsletter was published.

In July 1982, Westerwinds Athletics combined with nine other universities to form the Gateway College Athletic Conference, which included Eastern Illinois

University, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Illinois State University, Bradley University, University of Northern Iowa, Drake University, Wichita State

University, Southwest Missouri State University, Indiana State University and Western Illinois University.

In June 1989, the mens and womens athletic departments merged into the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics.

In 1982, Sheila Cooper was the first African American head coach of a

female sport at Western.

At the start of the 1982-83 school year, womens athletics became part of the NCAA.

Dr. Helen Smiley came to Western Illinois University as a professor and as the

second Director of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women.

Patty Murray (88 BB) became the first-ever Western student-athlete to earn a NCAA Division I national title when she won the 10,000 meter run in 1987. That summer, she won a gold medal in the World University Games and a bronze medal in the Pan

American Games. She also participated in the 1988 Olympic Trials. Patty still holds 6 WIU records.

1990s

Lee Ann Majerle (93 MS-ED) Kitchell, a three-year basketball and four-year track and field student-athlete, was named Westerns Lincoln Acadamy of Illinois Student Laureate. The prestigious

award, which is presented annually to an outstanding senior from each of Illinois four-year degree-granting institutions, honors a students overall academic excellence and extracurricular activities.

The first women inducted into the Western Illinois University Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame were: Dr. Donna Phillips, former badminton coach, and Laurie Meyers (77 MS) Potter, standout

student-athlete and coach.

In July 1992, the original Gateway College Athletic Conference disbands. The GCAC continued to operate with a new name and a new look. In 1992, the league was reformed and became the

Gateway Football Conference.

1990sIn 1992, Andrea Shane (92 BS), who ran cross country and track, was named the

NCAA Woman Athlete of the Year for the state of Illinois.

In 1994, Dr. Helen Smiley was named Director of Athletics. At the time, she was one of very few women to hold that position at the NCAA Division I level. Smiley was named the National Association of Collegiate

Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Athletic Director of the Year in 2000. The Mid-Continent Conference All-Sports Awards was renamed the Dr. Helen Smiley Womens All-Sport Award in 2001. Dr. Smiley was

inducted into Westerns Hall of Fame in 2010.

In 1995, the basketball team won its first Mid-Continent Conference title and

competed in its first NCAA tournament under coach Regina Miller. The teams star was forward Oberon Pitterson (96 BA), who

was named Mid-Continent Conference Player of the Year.

In 1996, Susan Edwards (96 BS), who played basketball, was named the NCAA Woman Athlete of the Year for the state of Illinois.

In 1997, womens soccer was added as an intercollegiate sport.

The womens swim team, coached by Jerry Champer, won the 1999 conference championship and finished second in the conference in 1994-95, 1995-96, 1996-97, and 1997-98.

2000s

Coach Leslie Crane led the Westerwinds basketball team to four-straight Mid-Continent Conference regular season titles in 2002-03, 2003-04,

2004-05, 2005-06. She also led Western to a 46-game home winning streak from 2001-06, the longest in the nation for both men and women during that

time. Zane Teilane (06 BA) Tamane, the starting center for those teams, still holds many school and conference records.

In 2001, womens golf was reinstated as an intercollegiate sport, raising the number of womens intercollegiate teams to 10. This equaled the number

of mens sports and gave Western a total of 20 sports.

Zane Teilane Tamane was the first ever WNBA draft pick from

Western. She was chosen 35th overall by the Detroit Shock in

Standout thrower Aubrey Martin (06 BS) was a four-time All-American shot putter, eight time Mid-Continent Conference Champion, finished 5th in the NCAA Nationals

as a senior and 7th at the 2006 Olympic Trials (pictured right). In 2006, Jennifer Gilson (06 BS-ED) finished 7th as a senior at the NCAA Nationals in the shot put

and earned All-American honors.

Holly Killion (08 MS-ED) Van Vlymen was a third team All-American in softball in 2000.

In 2007, 2009 and 2010 Head Softball Coach Holly Van Vlymens teams were conference champions and in 2008 advanced to the NCAA regionals where

they won the 1st NCAA postseason game in program history.

On June 1, 2007 the Mid-Continent Conference changed its name to

The Summit League.

In 2009, the men and women began using a unified nickname, THE FIGHTING LEATHERNECKS

1110

Leatherneck Womens Basketball

JACkIe rIeGer trICIA COAtes reBeCCA henrICsOn BrIttAnY DeMerY MICheLe sALvAtOrI sADIe WeBB rACheL evAns vALenCIA keLLY

There is Only ONE ... Leatherneck Womens Basketball

1312

JD GRAVINAHead CoachFirst Season

eDuCAtIOn: William Jewell College B.S. 2000 UMKC M.A. 2002 Emporia State M.A. 2007

COAChInG resuMe: Western Illinois Head Coach: 2011-present

Quincy University Head Coach: 2007-11 Record: 93-28 (4)

McPherson College Head Coach: 2005-2007 Record: 21-33 (2)

nCAA pOstseAsOn eXperIenCe: NCAA Division II Tournament 2007, 2008, 2009

persOnAL:Wife: MeredithHometown: Monmouth, Ill.

COACh GrAvInAs BIO

COACh GrAvInA FILe

Two-time GLVC Coach of the Year

Three-time Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Division II Coach of the Year

Womens Basketball Association Region 4 Coach of the Year

2009 Finalist for National Coach of the Year

1514

KERRY JUHLINAssistant CoachThird Season

TIFFANY COPPAGEAssistant CoachFirst Season

JESSIE BIGGSGraduate ManagerSecond Season

SETH MINTERAssistant CoachFirst Season

MACKENZIE LESHEStudent Manager

MEGAN SORRILLStudent Manger

1716

CARA VAN DORNStrength & Conditioning

MOLLY REISAthletic Trainer

DIANE BRUNSDirector Athletic Equipment Operations

2011-12 SENIORS

1918

There is Only ONE ... Leatherneck Womens Basketball There is Only ONE ... Leatherneck Womens Basketball

LInDsAYCArrOLL

FreshmanRoscoe, Ill.

#5

trICIACOAtes

SeniorJoliet, Ill.

#44

BrIttAnYDeMerY

SeniorOklahoma City, Okla.

#32

rACheLevAnsSophomore

Noblesville, Ind.

#42

reBeCCAhenrICsOn

SophomoreLidingo, Sweeden

#15

LAurA AtkInsOn

JuniorOregon, Wis.

#45

2120

There is Only ONE ... Leatherneck Womens Basketball There is Only ONE ... Leatherneck Womens Basketball

vALenCIAkeLLY

SeniorBrunswick, Ga.

#4

sALuekOntAutAIte

JuniorBerciunai, Lithuania

#21

kArIsphILLIps

JuniorSouth Bend, Ind.

#23

JACkIerIeGer

JuniorPark Ridge, Ill.

#12

ChrIstInA JOnes

JuniorKnob Noster, Mo.

#10

MArtYnAkuDZIeLA

FreshmanBrisbane, Australia

#33

2322

There is Only ONE ... Leatherneck Womens Basketball There is Only ONE ... Leatherneck Womens Basketball

Front row (L to r): Michele Salvatori, Valencia Kelly, Christina Jones, Karis Phillips, Lindsay Carroll, Rebecca Henricson. Back row (L to r): Graduate Manager Jessie

Biggs, Assistant Coach Kerry Juhlin, Saule Kontautaite, Sadie Webb, Brittany Demery, Tricia Coates, Head Coach JD Gravina, Rachel Evans, Jackie Rieger, Laura Atkinson,

Martyna Kudziela, Assistant Coach Seth Minter, Assistant Coach Tiffany Coppage

MICheLesALvAtOrI

JuniorRock Falls, Ill.

#25

sADIeWeBB

SeniorEmporia, Kan.

#24

2524

hannibal-LaGrangeNovember 11

Macomb 7 p.m.

vanderbiltNovember 14

Nashville, Tenn. 7 p.m.

northern IllinoisNovember 16

DeKalb, Ill. 7 p.m.

valparaisoNovember 22

Valparaiso, Ind. 7:05 p.m.

Wisconsin-MilwaukeeNovember 26

Macomb 4:30 p.m.

eastern IllinoisDecember 5

Charleston, Ill. 7 p.m.

IowaDecember 9

Iowa City, Iowa 7 p.m.

nebraska-OmahaDecember 20

Macomb 7 p.mJanuary 30

Omaha, Neb. 7 p.m.

BradleyDecember 21

Peoria, Ill. 7 p.m.

William WoodsDecember 27

Macomb 5 p.m.

south Dakota stateNovember 30

Macomb 7 p.m.February 27

Brookings, S.D. 7 p.m.

north Dakota stateDecember 2

Macomb 7 p.m.February 25

Fargo, N.D. 4:30 p.m.

IupuIDecember 31

Indianapolis, Ind. 1 p.m.January 28

Macomb 4:30 p.m.

IpFWJanuary 7

Fort Wayne, Ind. 11 a.m.February 6

Macomb 7 p.m.

OaklandJanuary 9

Rochester, Mich. 5:30 p.m. February 4

Macomb 4:30 p.m.

southern utahJanuary 14

Macomb 4:30 p.m. February 13

Cedar City, Utah 8 p.m.

Oral robertsJanuary 16

Macomb 7 p.m.February 11

Tulsa, Okla. 2:05 p.m.

south DakotaJanuary 21

Vermillion, S.D. 5 p.m. February 20

Macomb 7 p.m.

uMkCJanuary 23

Kansas City, Mo. 7 p.m.February 18

Macomb 4:30 p.m.

summit Leaguetournament

March 3-9 Sioux Falls, S.D. TBA