Progress in UNI Women's Athletics -1952 to 1972 - Digital Archive - Elias Fefchak-Robinson

Physical Education Club
"The Physical Education club founded in 1932, strives to create more interest in the field of physical education and to develop social relationships within the women's physical education department. Highlights of the past year included the fall picnic, the annual Christmas party and several lectures by known leaders in the field of recreation and health and physical education. All physical education majors and minors are eligible for membership. Dr. Jean Bontz was the sponsor of the organization. Officers this year were Enid Miller, president and Jewell Glasscock, secretary-treasurer." --- 1952 Old Gold p. 206 (p. 209 online) (includes club photo).

Marlins (life saving corps)
"Marlins, life-saving corps strives to reduce deaths by drowning and to further the possibilities of swimming as means of art expression as well as merely a form of recreation. Girls who hold their senior Life saving certificate are eligible for membership. The Marlins present a spring water show each year. At their meetings members practice life-saving techniques and perfect water show stunts and routines. President this year was Adelia Florine; Belu Jones, vice president and Marie Weber, secretary-treasurer. Miss Barbara Yager (women’s Physical education department sponsor)" --- 1952 Old Gold p . 203 (p. 206 online) (includes club photo).

Intramural Athletics
"Hockey, soccer, golf and tennis intramural teams were organized during the fall quarter. In the winter season the women students turned their attention to volleyball, basketball and badminton intramurals. Softball intramurals were the highlight of the spring program. Teams were organized from students who indicated an interest in the various sports. Coaches were women physical education majors and minors.
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The Women’s Recreation Association assisted by the Women’s Physical Education faculty, sponsored the intramural program. One member of the board is responsible for organizing the intramural program for each particular sport. Evey interested woman student is given an opportunity to participate in the recreational activity of her choice." --- 1954 Old Gold pp. 154 and 156 (pp. 157 and 159 online) (includes photos of basketball and volleyball games).

Women Have Well-Rounded Intramural Program
"A very well rounded and efficient program of women’s intramural was carried on through the years under the supervision of various student activity leaders each being responsible for one particular sport. Last fall the women students engaged in field hockey and soccer. The highlight of the winter season were contests in badminton, basketball, and volleyball. Leagues were formed for these two sports and a champion was decided in each league. With the coming of spring, such sports as golf, tennis, stunts and tumbling and team softball were played. Cycling during the spring and skiing during the winter months were also included. Physical Education majors and minors served as team coaches during the intramural seasons." --- 1955 Old Gold pp. 172-173 (pp. 175-176 online) (includes photos of volleyball, field hockey, golf, and tennis).

Women's P.E. Department
"The latest developments in the women’s Physical Education Department was an experimental program under the supervision of Dr. Winsberg. This program was carried out in five classes each semester. The purpose was to determine whether physical fitness and an explanation of the necessity of physical education would be beneficial to all women students rather than to the physical education majors only. This summer the locker rooms and shower facilities will be entirely remodeled. Organizations sponsored by the department include the physical education club Marlins, Orchesis, and the Women's Recreational association." --- 1961 Old Gold p. 174 (p. 176 online) (includes photos of Dr. Jean Bontz and members of the Women's Physical Education Departmment).

Marlins
"Marlins is a synchronized swimming club sponsored by the department of Physical Education for women. The activities of the club include learning of synchronized stunts and strokes and the arranging of these into routines which are performed in the biennial water shows and in other demonstrations. Requirements for membership are the demonstration of synchronized swimming ability in tryouts and a senior red cross lifesaving certification. A junior club called Minnows is also organized for those not as highly skilled as the Marlins. The faculty Sponsor is Miss Barbara Yager." --- 1961 Old Gold p. 250 (p. 252 online) (includes photo of the club).

P.E. Club
"This year the Physical Education Club planned programs in accordance with its two purposes: to bring the discussion of topics of general and professional interest to the club and to create greater unity among the members through social affairs and group projects. The group met its objectives by including a recreational games night, a swimming meet, a volleyball play night, a panel discussion on "Are You Proud of Your Profession?" and speeches by a physical therapist and a person employed in recreational work. Dr. Jean Bontz is faculty sponsor." --- 1961 Old Gold p. 258 (p. 260 online) (includes photo of the club).

Women’s Recreation Association
"The Women's Recreation Association offers to the women of Iowa State Teacher's College the use of all their various facilities . WRA provides the following intramurals to the women students: basketball, volleyball, softball, archery, tennis, hockey, golf, badminton and trampoline. The organization sponsored several all-college play nights during the year, and also the freshman orientation picnic. The faculty sponsor was Dr. Elinor Crawford." --- 1961 Old Gold p. 259 (p. 261 online) (includes photo of the club).

SCI Coeds Finds Relaxation in Recreation and sports:
Women’s Recreation Association
"The Women's Recreation Association fosters interest and participation in athletics and recreational activities for all S.C.I. coeds. The organization helps members develop a high degree of recreational resourcefulness based on sound democratic principles. Participation in activities promoted the formation of new friendships while it increased physical efficiency. Among the sports offered were riflery, archery and trampoline. The members of WRA helped plan the All-College Play Nights. Any woman student at S.C.I. may become a member of this organization by participation in at least one activity during the year. Dr. Elinor Crawford sponsored the WRA." --- 1964 Old Gold p. 160 (p. 162 online) (includes photo of the club).

PEM is New Name of Physical Education Club
"Under the sponsorship of Dr. Jean Bontz, the Physical Education Majors Club provides an opportunity for women enrolled in the physical education curriculum to learn skills and become more career-conscious with the aid of professionals in the field . Among the guest speakers at the group's monthly meetings were Dr. Shirley Winsberg and Miss Betty Swanson, who presented their observations on the physical education departments in England and Germany. Miss Mardelle Mohn discussed the origin and training of cheerleading squads for those girls who plan to teach. The PEM Club sponsored a gymnastic demonstration by a company from Cedar Rapids on April 16. Once each month the girls held a fun night at the women's gym for all S.C.I. students." --- 1964 Old Gold p. 161 (p. 163 online) (includes photo of the club).

Practice in Synchronization Is Key to Water Stunts
"Twenty-eight girls belong to Marlins, the synchronized swimming club at State College of Iowa Whose names Originated from an aquatic stunt - the Marlin Turn. The Group’s purpose is to improve swimming skill and develop ability in performing aquatic numbers. A girl must be able to pass the swimming requirements set by the Marlins and hold a current Senior Life-Saving certificate in order to join the organization. Minnows, the junior section consists of girls who are learning the skills required for Marlin membership. With Miss Barbara Yager, sponsor of the group, the Marlins and Minnows traveled to an aquatic Symposium at Iowa State University in November. They attended workshops and had their techniques evaluated by aquatic professionals." --- 1964 Old Gold p. 162 (p. 164 online) (includes photo of the club).

Women's Physical Education:
Aims for Poise and Grace
"The Department of Physical education for Women contributes to the education of the student through activities of a physical nature. Their efforts are expanded through four channels : general education, the program for elementary majors, the preparation of teachers of physical education and the program of recreational activities and special interest groups. The women’s recreation association, Orchesis and Marlins are sponsored through this department." --- 1966 Old Gold pp. 194-196 (pp. 196-198 online) (includes photos of the department and class activities).

Marlins
"The most outstanding event of the year was the Aquatic art Symposium in which Groups from all over the midwest were represented. Marlins Strove to improve swimming skills, interest and develop ability in performing aquatic numbers. President was Kerry Underwood. Vice president was Kathy Sallee. Secretary-treasurer was Sharon Doolin and Miss Barbara Yager was advisor." --- 1966 Old Gold p. 227 (p. 229 online) (includes photos of the club and performances).

PEM-Club
"PEM Club brings together women physical education majors and minors into an organization promoting social and professional growth among its members. This year’s activities were highlighted by an opportunity for the group to attend the annual Convention of the American Association for Health. Physical education and Recreation Faculty advisor is Dr. Jean Bontz with Betty Wolf as President Barb Vovos, vice president: and Linda Schelldorf, Secretary Treasurer " --- 1966 Old Gold p. 232 (p. 234 online) (includes photos of the club).

Women's Recreation Association
"Offering a wide variety of recreational opportunities to the women students of SCI is the Women’s Recreation Association. All women are automatically members and need only participate in one or more activities to become an active member. The Invitational Sports Day was the planned project for the year. Officers elected in the camus election are president Marille Mateer: vice president, Sue Cameron: secretary- treasurer Roma Stromberg." --- 1966 Old Gold p. 235 (p. 237 online) (includes photos of the club and volleyball game).

Best in the MIdwest (UNI Women’s Field Hockey) by Dean A. Teeter.
"The Uni Women’s Field hockey team had a record of 5-0-1 going into the state tournament at Ames in November. The UNI Team swept three straight games in freezing weather and high winds to capture the 1971 Women’s state Field Hockey Championship under the brilliant coaching of Dr. Elinor Crawford, the women’s team improved vastly over that of a year ago and improved tremendously near the end of the season.
     The UNI Women’s Physical education Departments is among the best in the midwest today. The women that compete in field hockey are among the best in the department. Therefore, one would think that the women who compete on the hockey team are among the best in the midwest. If the teams from Iowa State, University of Iowa, Grinell and Luther are any indication (and they ore) this is true. It is backed by the fine performance these women had at the state tournament his year. They mode a three-game sweep to become the 1971 Iowa State Field Hockey Champions and hove a trophy to prove itl
      Hard work usually pays off for athletes and in this case it most certainly did. These women practiced four hours a week in all types of weather. When field hockey is played, most of the time is spent in running up and down the field. Since the field is 100 yards long, there is very little rest, and these women must be in excellent physical condition to be able to run the offense and counter on defense for 70 minutes is quite an accomplishment and to be able to do it better than the other teams, in the state is even more of an accomplishment.
      Field hockey is a very demanding sport, requiring both endurance and strategy. The regulation playing time is 70 minutes and is divided into two halves. The time can be less if the captains agree upon the time before the game starts. Play does not stop except in the case of personal injury, penalties, or the ball going out of bounds. In all cases, except personal injury, play resumes immediately. A player is still considered able to play even if her stick is broken during play. Play will always resume within five minutes, even after a member has been injured. There are no substitutions permitted.
      Most of the scoring is done by the five people in the forward line; however, the halfbacks may score but this occurs less often. During the regular season Jon Meier scored seven times, Brenda Coffield three times, Jon Hougon twice, and Teresa Roth once.
During the State Tournament in Ames at the beginning of November, UNI played Grinnell, University of Iowa, and Iowa State University. In the first game, UNI beat Grinnell by a score of l to 0, with Jon Hougon scoring. The score of the second game was UNI l and University of Iowa 0. Brenda Coffield scored. The championship pitted UNI against Iowa State University. Jon Meier scored 2 and Lois Hortman l. The final score was 3 to 0.
      UNI has had a field hockey team for the past four years. Dr. Elinor Crowford, coach of the field hockey team, had this to say about them: " I think this is the best team we have had since I started. It is a well-balanced team defensively and offensively."
      When asked about the prospects for next year, Dr. Crowford stated, " I am not too discouraged. I think we can rebuild the front line, though it will be difficult since there are some kids leaving who have played for the last three years. Freshmen are not allowed to play. There is good potential in the other kids. I am an eternal optimist."
      Next year, UNI will lose seven of the girls who played this year because of graduation. A strong defense will be retained, but the offense will have to be built up. If the hard work and dedication continues, UN! should hove another championship team." --- 1972 UNI Quarterly - Winter v3n2 pp. 94-95 (pp. 49-50 online) (includes photos of the team and competition)

Women's Basketball by Dean A. Teeter.
"The women 's intercollegiate basketball squad had a 7-0 season in 1972 but fell prey to Luther for an 8-1 overall record in the second round of action at the state tournament in Iowa City. UNI was the pre tournament favorite, as they had previously defeated all of the top ranking teams present.
      Ms. Wonda Green, head coach of the basketball squad since it started five years ago, termed this year's team as "one of the best."
      The state tournament, which was started in 1971, is open to any college in the state of Iowa who operates under the State Collegiate Boord. UNI won their first game against Iowa Wesleyan by a score of 54-49 and advanced to the semi-finals where they fell to Luther 49-42. The loss was termed an " upset" by those present as UNI had previously beaten Luther by scores of 39-35 and 57-42 in regular season play. Previous to the tournament, few people expected the UNI team to encounter many troubles that they could not overcome; however, the team came home without even a consolation title. "It is a single elimination tournament," said Ms. Green. "If you lose the first round, you play in the consolation match. We won, so consequently, we didn't have a chance at the consolation bracket; however, even with the name-consolation champions, the position was still lower than what we went home with ."
      There are some minor differences between men 's and women 's basketball. Women 's basketball does not have a ten second rule for bringing the ball up the court, nor do they have an over-and-back rule. Another difference is that whenever a foul occurs, except in the case of double fouls, the women take the free throws. The most important of all the differences, which men do not have, is the thirty second clock rule which requires the team to shoot the ball within thirty seconds of obtaining possession. Ms. Green stated, "This eliminates the stall game and I think it's great ... it keeps the game going." All other rules, which are standard, are put out by the Division of Girl 's and Women 's Sports and are the same as the AAU rules.
      During the tournament, these rules had a definite effect on the game scores. The thirty second clock did not allow time for the UNI team to stall and defeat Luther; however, this was not the only contributing factor. The average shooting percentage, for field goals, of the regular season was 33% while for the tournament it was 30%. Ms. Green said, "We played some games in which we made over 40% from the field and then some in which we were in the 20's, which was extremely low. Since we have kept statistics, 30-35% on field goals has been about average for our team. The loss to Luther was just a case of bad timing for a low shooting percentage.
      Eleven women had a chance to play for the "A" team during the season. " We always get a core of players that have good skills; however, this year our core was bigger," stated Ms. Green. "I felt that the eleven that ployed "A" squad were, in many ways, quite comparable to each other. We had depth on the bench this year which we haven't had in post years. This was the strongest team, in terms of depth, that I've hod since we started basketball."
      The prospect for next year does not shine as bright as Ms. Green would like it. S even of the eleven that played ‘A’ squad this year will be graduating in May. Several of the best ‘B’ squad members are juniors and will be student teaching during the basketball season next year. Although all five of the remaining ‘A’ squad members have indicated that they will play next year, much of the team will be composed of the better ‘B’ squad members and probably some new players.
      Linda Alloway was selected as an All-Tournament Player at the State Tournament in Iowa City and led the UNI team in scoring with 95 total season points. Lavonne Pierson, senior forward, scored 81; Kris Meyer, junior forward, scored 59; and Carla Pletsch and Jill Little, both senior centers, scored 47 points.
      Home games for UNI are played on the second floor of the Women's Gym where there is little room for spectators because of the equipment lining the playing floor. ‘I realize that Gym 214 leaves lots to be desired, as far as playing; however, as long as there is nothing previously scheduled, we have no problem in getting the gym. We have to practice here and that's important,’ emphasized Ms. Green. ‘I would hate to play home games someplace where we haven't been able to practice. This would throw the players off and we don't have much time to correct for that.’
      Practice is held four times a week, Monday through Thursday, for one hour which does not give Ms. Green much time to put together a basketball team. ‘With practice limited to four hours a week, it is pretty difficult to have a concentrated effort on shooting to improve the percentage. Much of our time is taken up in team play, organization, and strategy,’ stated Ms. Green.
      The reason for practicing only four hours a week was explained by Ms. Green. ‘We operate by a document of standards which was formed before we ever started intercollegiate sports. The purpose of having a limit on the practice time was, in essence, to protect the student and not demand too much of her time for what we consider an extracurricular activity. The thought is that the women are here first for an education and the sport should not become the only focus of the student during the season.’
      Ms. Green’s Philosophy concerning athletic competition is refreshing in the high-geared money-making sports mindset society of today. “I think that the game is for the players and my concern is for them to get as much out of the sport by gaining some self-satisfaction through participation. I’m not saying that you don’t play to win … You always play to win in a competitive situations, however I also think that how you play the game is important. You should play within the spirit of the rules and not just the letter of the rules. Sportsmanship is high on my priority list. I would hate to see the athletes used to boost the ego of the coach, school or in any other way competition is for the person playing.”
      Any woman that has a 2.0 Grade point average and is enrolled as a full time student may participate in intercollegiate basketball. Notices are posted in the women’s gym along with announcements in the Northern Iowan as to when practices and try-outs are held each fall. Ms. Green said “this is not at all limited to physical education majors. We would encourage any woman student whatever her major to come out for the team.
      Maybe next year they will be the state collegiate champions." --- 1972 UNI Quarterly - Spring v3n3 pp. 139-142 (pp. 30-33 online) (includes photos of competitive play)

Tennis by Janice Thomson.
"Women 's Intercollegiate Tennis - although virtually unknown to a high percentage of the UNI campus - has been in existence at UNI for five spring semesters since 1968 under the watchful eye of their coach, Ms. Betty Swanson. Many of the teams that UNI played when they started, such as the University of Iowa, Iowa State University, and Luther, are still in the league and continue to give UNI strong opposition. During the spring semester this year, the UNI women did not fair well in regular game meets but have looked much better in tournament play.
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      The potential for next year could be shaping up in favor of a strong UNI team as there will be no graduating seniors this year. Brenda Coffield, Clare McGee Teresa Roth, Kathy Jones, and Deb Sides are all juniors; Jan Thomson, Pam Vonder· cook, Jan Evans, Gail Riggs, Diane Marshall and Sharon Wade are sophomores; and the freshman on the team are Donna White, Linda Jansa, Julie Wood, Chris Osmeen, and Sue Yaeger
     The potential for Women 's Tennis is great for next year; however, the outlook is fairly dismal. At the current time, meets are only held on the weekends and there are very few meets during the season This all stems from lack of support and lack of money. Ms. Swanson stated, "Unless meets can be opened to weekdays, Intercollegiate Tennis for UNI can not expand." And probably will die" --- 1972 UNI Quarterly - Spring v3n3 pp. 155-156 (pp. 45-56 online) (includes photos of competitive play)

Softball by Dennis A. Teeter
"‘If we can fill in a few of our weak areas, we will be fairly tough next year.’ That is how Ms. Jone Mertesdorf, instructor and coach , summed up the 1972 Women 's intercollegiate softball season.
      Women 's softball, new to the UNI campus this year, did quite well in its first season with a record of 8-2 for regular season ploy. Ms. Mertesdorf stated, ‘ ... for our first year, we had a really good group of girls that worked well together.’
      In Morch forty-eight women reported their interests in intercollegiate softball but when the season started the team had been trimmed to 20 women. Selection for the team was based upon a number of qualities, but most important of these were skill and potential.
      Practice was held two nights a week for two hours, but since the women's intercollegiate athletics are snubbed by most people on campus, the team found it somewhat difficult to find a place to play and practice. The lab school diamond and city parks were used along with makeshift diamonds. ‘If we could have had one area to practice on, I'm sure that it would hove mode a difference ...’, stated Ms. Mertesdorf.
      Five teams competed with the UNI team during its first season. Ms. Mertesdorf said, ‘They could hold their own against any team in the state. Of course, some days they were down.’
      UNl's only defeat during the regular season came at the hands of Luther. Whenever these two teams met it was a touch and-go situation. The competition was tremendous and it was a toss-up as to who would win.
      Twelve teams participated in the state tournament at Ames. UNI lost to Luther in their second game and then to Parsons, who they had already beaten, in their third game. Kris Meyer, a junior, was the only UNI player of the 12 players selected for All-Tournament Player honors.
      Next year promises better things for Women 's softball. ‘Because it's the first year ... I'm sure it will pick up,' said Ms. Mertesdorf. There will be no increase in the number of games next year because of the budget, but 'we really can 't go with more games, because we play on the weekends. Experience is what counts and we view it as just another educational experience,' concluded Ms. Mertesdorf." --- 1972 UNI Quarterly - Spring v3n3 pp. 157-158 (pp. 47-48 online) (includes photos of competitive play)