THE FOUNDATION OF SUCCESS
IN RUTGERS WOMEN'S ATHLETICS
September 10, 1971
The University’s board of governors votes to admit women to Rutgers College, an all-male institution since its founding in 1766.
January 24, 1972
Rutgers Athletic Director Fred Gruninger announces the appointment of Janet L. Koontz, assistant professor of health and physical education at Douglass College, to oversee the initiation of intercollegiate athletics for women to begin with the 1974-75 academic year. Koontz served on the University’s Committee for Women’s Athletics for eight years and assisted in the inauguration of the Association of Women’s Collegiate Athletics Administrators of New Jersey.
Nancy Mitchell, an administrator and advisor at Douglass College, will also be a key figure in the establishment of women’s athletics and will serve the Rutgers community for 38 years. In addition to helping to push women’s basketball onto the national scene, when was the faculty representative to the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women and served as the Chairperson for the President’s Athletic Advisory Committee.
June 23, 1972
Title IX of the Education Amendment of 1972 is enacted.
September 30, 1972
Jennifer Judd becomes the first female to represent Rutgers University in intercollegiate athletics running in the JV race against St. John’s, Fordham, Iona and Columbia in Buccleuch Park.
December 15, 1972
Doris Meyer is appointed the first woman within the Division of Physical Education and Intercollegiate Athletics. In her position, Meyer will advise the athletic department in the implementation of women’s participation and assist in the hiring of staff positions.
January 24, 1973
Judy Melick, a 1972 Munich Olympian is the runner-up in the 200 breaststroke and a member of the winning 400 freestyle relay team swimming with the men’s team in the season-opening victory over Lafayette. She compiled a total of 13 points to qualify for a letter becoming the first female to earn a varsity letter at Rutgers.
June 22, 1974
The first three women’s sports coaches of the seven planned inaugural teams are announced – Sandra Petway – Track & Field, Ellen Johns – women’s basketball and Judy Vogt – softball.
September 1, 1974
Rita Kay Thomas is named the Assistant Athletic Director for Women’s Sports and head coach of the women’s tennis team. Thomas would be an integral member of the athletics administration for 29 years supervising, coordinating, administering and overseeing all aspects of Rutgers women’s athletic programs and eventually transitioned from a sport administrator to running the university’s compliance program while serving as an advisor to the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and also the Title IX liaison.
September 1, 1974
Charlotte Walker is Rutgers’ first woman to receive an athletic scholarship. Walker went on to participate in two AIAW national track and field championships taking sixth in 220 finals as a member of the club track team and advancing to the semifinals in the 220 and 400 in 1975. She was also a starter and leading scorer on the women’s basketball team that competed in the Eastern regionals of the AIAW championships and one of 12 women to be awarded letters in two sports in 1975.
September 5, 1974
Ellen Johns, who was also the first women’s basketball coach, is named the first coach of the oldest collegiate women’s sport – field hockey.
September 25, 1974
Field hockey and women’s tennis play their inaugural games both falling to Trenton State. Diane Froster comes up with 18 saves in the first-ever field hockey contest. Three days later, Debbie Payn would score the team’s first-ever goal in a setback to Princeton. The first women’s tennis team includes future head coach Eileen Kassower.
December 10, 1974
Women’s swimming & diving under the direction of the legendary Frank Elm hosts its first competition with a 73-40 victory over Towson State with 11 walk-ons and two divers in the first of three undefeated seasons.
December 17, 1974
Women’s basketball earns the first of 992 victories with a 76-60 victory over Princeton at the College Ave Gym. Charlotte Walker leads with 18 points while Barb Knudson adds 15 and Janet Youngholm scores 19 points.
January 31, 1975
Gymnastics under head coach Arlene Norris competes for the first time under the Rutgers Athletics umbrella. Rutgers Athletics had funded the team's competition at the 1973 AIAW Regional Championships at Temple. RU goes 1-1 on the day only .02 points behind Glassboro and defeated William Paterson. Marcia Knapp was the meet’s top all-around performer with the highest scores on bar, beam and floor.
March 15, 1975
Women’s swimming caps its inaugural season with the first of three undefeated seasons and a ninth-place finish at the AIAW national championships. Five swimmers compete against 140 teams represented by more than 600 competitors. Judy Melick along with Eugenie “Tiny” Condrillo, Holly Nash and Jean Klass combined to take third in the 200 medley relay and fourth in the 400 medley relay. They also will win the Eastern Championships in both events helping Rutgers to a fourth-place finish.
April 2, 1975
Softball opens its inaugural season against Trenton State featuring a 28-woman roster. Women’s basketball captain Barbara Knudson is the lone senior joining hoops teammate Joan Duda on the pitching staff.
May 28, 1975
Rutgers awards 102 letters in seven women’s sports in the first year of women-sponsored intercollegiate athletics.
August 19, 1976
Theresa Shank Grentz becomes Rutgers’ third women’s basketball coach and first full-time women’s coach. She will compile a 434-150 record in her 19 seasons winning the 1982 AIAW National Championship, six Atlantic 10 regular-season titles and four Atlantic 10 Tournament Titles along with nine consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament between 1986 and 1994. Grentz will be named the National Coach of the Year in 1987 and be inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2001 and the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2022.
September 27, 1976
Heidi Faith nets six goals in a victory over LIU establishing the single-game field hockey record for goals and points. Among Rutgers’ first two-sport athletes, Faith was a New Atlantic All-College First Team as a freshman in 1973 and All-College Field Hockey Team selection in 1975. She played with the US National Team in 1980 and 1981 and earned a bronze medal at the 1981 US Olympic Sports Festival. In lacrosse, she led RU in scoring all four seasons and earned an invitational to US team trials in 1976.
April 23, 1977
Rutgers University hosts its first-ever women’s intercollegiate rowing regatta on the Raritan River in its first varsity season under the tutelage of former Scarlet Knight oarsman Bill Wilber sweeping Washington College and the University of Virginia.
September 12, 1977
After leading the Rutgers women’s cross country and outdoor track and field teams to undefeated seasons, Sandra Petway is named the second full-time women’s coach.
September 27, 1977
Under first-year head coach Scott Mose, an assistant coach on the 1976 U.S. Women’s Olympic team, volleyball sweeps William Paterson College for its first-ever victory. Joanne Szec leads with 16 kills and Gunta Baernes serves up nine aces.
March 29, 1977
Women’s lacrosse opens an 11-game inaugural season hosting fourth-ranked Swarthmore under the direction of Betty Logan. The team is co-captained by Holly Henschel and Mary Jo Blewett who played with the Douglass club team the prior year. Freshman Mindy Teplick scores the team’s first-ever goal.
February 18, 1978
Jan Unger is named women’s golf head coach coming to Rutgers with 25 years of coaching experience in hockey, basketball and softball in addition to golf. She also ran the Rutgers Girls Junior Open for ages 12-14 and Junior Misses for ages 15-17 as one of only two open tournaments in New Jersey for junior girls. Unger also began the Rutgers Women’s Golf Invitational at the Rutgers Golf Course in an effort to boost women’s golf within the collegiate ranks.
February 18, 1979
Women’s track’s Debra Deutsch is the first-ever Rutgers women’s national champion as a freshman. She claims the 60-yard hurdle title in a time of 7.9 as Rutgers finished third at the AIAW Indoor Track and Field Championships.
May 24, 1979
Softball takes an undefeated record into game one of the AIAW Women’s College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. Hallie Cohen, who was also the recipient of the first field hockey athletic scholarship granted and earned a tryout with the 1980 Olympic field hockey team, is credited with 16 of RU’s 24 victories that season with 0.33 ERA and 132 strikeouts. She finished her career with a 39-3 record, 16 shutouts and two no-hitters. Freshman Colleen McNamara enters the first game against Northern Colorado hitting .383 with 28 hits and 20 runs scored and would become the team’s first All-American.
July 22, 1979
After two seasons of coaching field hockey, former US field hockey team member Ann Petracco is also named the women's lacrosse coach. The dual appointment makes her the third full-time coach at Rutgers. In her 26 years “On The Banks”, she would earn a program-record 248 victories and coach 11 nationally ranked teams with two Final Eight appearances in 1984 and 1986.
March 27, 1981
Kris Kirchner, a member of the 1980 US Olympic Team, becomes the first women’s basketball Kodak All-American. Kirchner is the first of six Kodak All-Americans, 16 Street & Smith All-Americans and 16 AP All-Americans for women’s basketball.
March 21, 1982
Lori McCauley wins the national championship in the AIAW indoor 400 meters in a time of 54.1.
March 28, 1982
Women’s basketball is the first Rutgers women’s team national champion with an 83-77 victory over Texas at the Palestra in Philadelphia in the final AIAW Women’s Basketball Championship. Tournament MVP Patty Coyle scores 30 points and Terry Dorner adds 25.
October 19, 1982
Volleyball defeats Penn State in five sets to win the Atlantic 10 title and earn Rutgers’ first-ever automatic bid to an NCAA Tournament by a women’s team in school history. Jacquiline Stokes is named the Most-Outstanding Player of the tournament while Peggy Scofield makes the first of two A10 All-Tournament Team appearances.
December 1, 1982
Volleyball is named to the 28-team field becoming the first women’s team to compete under the NCAA postseason umbrella with teams previously competing in the AIAW. RU falls to Purdue four days later in the first round and ends the season with a 42-9 overall record.
March 12, 1983
Lori McCauley is women's track and field’s first NCAA All-American as the runner-up in the 600 yards. She would end her career as a seven-time All-American and 14-time qualifier for either the NCAA or AIAW championships. McCauley would serve as an alternate on the 1984 Olympic team in the 400 IM hurdles missing making the delegation by .02 seconds.
February 26, 1984
Women’s basketball captures the first of 12 regular-season conference titles – Eight Atlantic 10 and four Big East. The Scarlet Knights win the Atlantic 10 regular-season crown with a 61-54 win over West Virginia at the RAC. Four players scored in double figures with Julie Salmon, Regina Howard and Lorrie Lawrence leading the way with 12 points and Crystal Berry adding 11.
March 12, 1984
Women’s fencing fields a team separate from the men for the first time during the 1983-84 season culminating with freshman and 1983 New Jersey High School Champion Janine Marnell winning the collegiate state title and leading RU to the New Jersey Association for Intercollegiate Athletics team title. Rutgers had 11 victories, led by Marnell’s seven wins. Marnell became the first women’s fencer to achieve 100 career victories.
April 28, 1984
Doubles teams Patti Neuguth and Diane Ventura become the first women’s tennis Atlantic-10 all-conference honorees with nine doubles teams and 20 singles Scarlet Knights going on to earn all-conference accolades.
May 18, 1984
Softball makes the first of two trips to the NCAA Tournament. Rutgers compiled a 22-12 record and claimed the first of two Atlantic 10 Tournament crowns. Lynn Luczkowski leads the Scarlet Knights hitting .324 with 21 RBIs and goes 13-9 inside the circle with the second-lowest earned run average in school history. She posts a 0.65 ERA, five shutouts and 88 strikeouts.
July 28, 1984
Volleyball’s Sandy De La Riva represents the United States in the first of her two Olympic appearances in handball at the 1984 Los Angles games. Fourteen Rutgers women have represented four countries in the Olympics to date.
September 15, 1984
Women’s soccer debuts with a 2-1 victory over Kean. Liz Pellerin on an assist from Diane Wimmershoff scores the first-ever goal, while Elyse Eichman-Dolan snaps a 1-1 tie on a penalty kick with 13 minutes remaining. Goalkeeper Jessica Hardy makes two saves.
November 10, 1984
Field hockey makes its first NCAA appearance as the 10th-ranked squad reaches the final eight. Liz McGuire becomes the first of 21 field hockey student-athletes to earn All-America honors and will have her jersey retired five years later. Elizabeth Ferrara, a member of the 1980 US U21 National Team and 1982 National Sports Festival, posts 13 shutouts.
March 5, 1986
Sue Wicks of women’s basketball is the first-ever women’s conference Player of the Year and Telicher Austin of women’s basketball is the first-ever women’s conference Freshman/Rookie of the Year and Theresa Grentz is the first-ever women’s conference Coach of the Year
Player of the Year honors will also go to women’s basketball’s Sue Wicks again in 1987 and 1988, along with Caroline DeRoose (1994) and Cappie Pondexter (2006), Kim Curcuru of women’s tennis in 1990, Beth Uydess (1993), Angie Catalano of softball in 1998, Reanda Richards in track & field in 2019.
Midfielder of the Year awards will go to Carli Lloyd (2014) and Frankie Tagliaferri (2022) of women's soccer and Cassidy Spilis from women's lacrosse in 2022.
Freshman/Rookie of the Year honors will also be bestowed upon Vicky Picott (1988), Tasha Pointer (1998), Cappie Pondexter (2003), Matee Ajavon (2005) and Tyler Scaife (2015) in women’s basketball, Heather Jones (1990), Jessica Pizzulli (1994) and Andschana Mendes (1998) in field hockey, Kelly Hammel (1992), Sharon Morris (1993) and Alyssa Landrith (2012) in softball, Carli Lloyd (2001), Nicole Whitley (2016), Amirah Ali (2017), Meagan McClelland (2018) and Riley Tiernan (2021) in women’s soccer, Alyssa Bull of field hockey in 2012, Reanda Richards in track & field in 2019 and Hannah Heideveld in women’s rowing in 2021.
Coach of the Year accolades will go again to women’s basketball’s Theresa Grentz in 1988, 1993 and 1994 and C. Vivian Stringer in 1998 and 2005, Chrystal Chollet-Norton of gymnastics in 1994, Marian Rosenwasser of women’s tennis in 2003, Phil Spiniello of women’s swimming & diving in 2014, Meridith Civico of field hockey in 2020/21 and Melissa Lehman of women’s lacrosse in 2022.
March 15, 1986
Following a 27-3 regular season, including a perfect 13-0 mark at home, women’s basketball garners its first-ever NCAA Tournament berth and defeated Villanova 85-58 at the RAC. Women’s basketball will compile a 36-26 record in 26 NCAA appearances.
May 24, 1986
Maria Grant becomes the first women’s lacrosse player to be named to an All-America squad. She totals 750 saves in 49 games while making 255 stops in 1986. She was also a four-year starter on the field hockey team. Rita Sweeney was named an honorable mention All-American setting the record for goals in a game with nine against Towson State and breaking the school record for points in a season with 65 points on 51 goals and 14 assists. Grant and Chris Lacy would also become the first of 12 Scarlet Knights selected for the prestigious Senior All-Star Game.
January 24, 1987
Gymnastics head coach Chrystal Chollet-Norton picks up the first of a school-record 253 victories as Rutgers defeats Southern Connecticut, 159.7-130.55. She will be named the Atlantic-10 Coach of the Year in 1994.
November 8, 1987
Renee Clarke, who helped field hockey to the Elite Eight in 1986, wraps up her career with a school-record 289 saves, a record that still stands 35 years later. She set the single-season save benchmark stopping 29 shots in a contest during the 1987 season and will graduate as RU’s all-time leader in saves (634).
December 26, 1986
Beth Schimenti is the first women’s soccer player to make an All-American team. A forward, Schimenti is a third-team honoree leading RU in points and the first of 12 women’s soccer All-Americans by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America/United Soccer Coaches.
January 2, 1988
Women’s basketball’s June Olkowski is the first woman in any sport to have her jersey retired “On The Banks”. Olkowski was a four-time Street & Smith All-American finishing her career with 1,500 points and 780 rebounds. Olkowski’s retired jersey would be joined by Sue Wicks in 1998 and Cappie Pondexter in 2016. Other retired Rutgers numbers include Liz McGuire and Regina Alonzo of field hockey.
March 18, 1988
Women’s basketball’s Sue Wicks is awarded the Naismith Trophy as the top women’s basketball player in the nation. She will become the second women’s basketball player to have her jersey retired having earned three Kodak All-American and three Atlantic 10 Player of the Year honors. She still holds the career scoring record, male or female, at Rutgers with 2,655 points, all from either 2-point field goals or free throws.
April 28, 1989
Pam Fearon was selected as the ITA Regional Senior Tennis Player of the Year and one of eight finalists for the National Volvo Senior Tennis Player of the Year. She was the Atlantic 10 Senior Player of the Year and joined doubles partner Kim Curcuru in playing to a 28-8 overall record, including a string of 18 consecutive victories. The tandem ranked as high as ninth nationally.
May 11, 1990
Pat Willis is named the Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year after softball captures the Atlantic 10 regular-season title behind a 27-19 overall mark and 11-1 conference record.
April 14, 1990
Kim Curcuru is named the Atlantic 10 Women’s Tennis Player of the Year. The four-time All-Atlantic 10 honoree compiled a 101-65 career singles record and was regionally ranked.
November 10, 1991
Junior Saskia Weber is one of 10 finalists for the Hermann Trophy – the soccer equivalent of football’s Heisman Trophy. Weber is the first of eight members of the women’s soccer team to be a Hermann Trophy candidate including semifinalists Carli Lloyd in 2004, Casey Murphy in 2017, two-time semifinalist Amirah Ali in 2019 and 2020, Gabby Provenzano in 2021 and Frankie Tagliaferri in 2021. Weber will go on to be named the Missouri Athletic Club Goalkeeper of the Year in 1992 finishing her career with 34 shutouts, a record that will stand for 17 seasons.
January 12, 1991
Women’s basketball upsets No. 1 Penn State 84-70 marking the first women’s team to take down a No. 1 team. Women’s basketball will also upset No. 1 Tennessee as an unranked squad in 1994, top No. 1 Notre Dame in 2001, down No. 1 LSU in 2005, defeat No. 1 Duke in 2007 during the NCAA Tournament and usurp No. 1 UConn in 2008. Women’s soccer will also have a victory over the top team in the nation defeating No. 1 Virginia in penalty kicks in 2015 to advance to the College Cup.
October 24, 1992
Women’s cross country crowns Alicia Giulano the Atlantic-10 champion as she crosses the finish line ahead of the pack in 17:43.20 in Van Cortlandt Park. She was RU's top finisher in eight-straight meets and would go to finish 11th at the ECAC championships and qualify for the NCAA Championships.
February 13, 1993
Women’s indoor track and field captures conference crowns as Alicia Guiliano takes first in the 5,000 and Tishona Watson wins the 55 hurdles at the Atlantic 10 Championships with Mackal Fieldhouse records. Denise Durham would also win an A10 indoor title in the high jump in 1995.
May 16, 1993
Carla Camino wraps up the softball season hitting a school-record .487 to finish the season fourth nationally and eventually earn All-America honors. Camino will graduate holding school career records for batting average, hits, singles, doubles, triples, RBIs and stolen bases.
April 12, 1994
Meredith Behson becomes the first gymnast to advance to the NCAA Regional Championships and will qualify for regionals for four consecutive years. She finishes fourth on floor with a score of 9.725 just missing the qualification for nationals. She also placed 15th in the region on all-around with a score of 37.175.
May 14, 1994
Heather Jones achieves the distinction of being named an All-American in two sports earning her third women’s lacrosse Brine/IWLCA Regional All-American honor. At the conclusion of her career, she graduates as the all-time leading scorer in both field hockey and lacrosse. Jones was an Honorable Mention All-American in 1990 and 1992 and First Team All-American in 1993 in field hockey.
July 14, 1995
C. Vivian Stringer is hired as the fourth women’s basketball coach in Scarlet Knight history. She will become the sixth women’s head coach to amass over 1,000 career victories and seventeen of her teams will play in the NCAA Tournament with Final Four appearances in 2000 and 2007. Stringer will be inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2001 and the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2009 alongside Michael Jordan, John Stockton, David Robinson and Jerry Sloan.
February 18, 1996
The first advance sellout of a Rutgers women’s basketball game is announced as a crowd of 7,793 packs the RAC to watch the Scarlet Knights take on UConn.
July 23, 1996
Saskia Weber is the first Rutgers woman athlete to win an Olympic gold medal as a member of the US women’s soccer team. Rutgers women will account for seven of the 12 Olympic medals earned by Scarlet Knights. Other Olympic medalists will include Cappie Pondexter of women's basketball in 2008 with gold, Maite Urtasun of women’s rowing with bronze in 2004, Jonelle Filigno of women’s soccer with bronze in 2012 with Canada and the most decorated Olympic Scarlet Knight, Carli Lloyd of women's soccer, with gold in 2008 and 2012 and bronze in 2020
April 28, 1997
Women’s basketball’s Sue Wicks is drafted in the first round of the first-ever WNBA draft and sixth overall by the New York Liberty. Twenty-one Rutgers women’s basketball student-athletes will go on to be drafted by the league with six Scarlet Knights - Chelsea Newton, Cappie Pondexter, Tammy Sutton-Brown, Essence Carson, Epiphanny Prince & Kahleah Copper - earning a total of seven WNBA Championship rings. Cappie Pondexter was named one of the top 20 players of all time during the league’s 20th anniversary in 2016, Erica Wheeler was named 2019 WNBA All-Star MVP and Kahleah Copper was voted the 2021 WNBA Finals Most Valuable Player.
May 30, 1997
Rutgers is one of eight schools to go “full boat” – varsity eight, second varsity eight and varsity four – in the first-ever NCAA Women’s Rowing Championships. Maite Urtasun rows in the varsity eight and would go on to become a two-time Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association All-American in 1999 and 2001 and make six consecutive National Teams from 1999 to 2004. Urtasun will capture 2002 World Championship as a member of the women’s eight and a bronze medal at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.
May 3, 1998
Angie Catalano of Rutgers softball is Rutgers’ first-ever Big East Conference Player of the Year. The team’s catcher, she leads the league in conference batting average (.500) and hits (21) and ranks second in home runs (4) and runs scored (13). Cappie Pondexter of women’s basketball will also become a Big East Player of the Year as a unanimous selection in 2006.
May 5, 1999
Women’s lacrosse makes its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. Leading scorer Liz Chambers gave the Scarlet Knights a 4-3 lead with 10:02 to go in the first half before falling 11-6 to host James Madison. Goalkeeper Nicol Parceluzzi makes 23 saves helping to hold JMU’s All-American leading scorer to only one goal. The team finishes the year at 14-3.
March 27, 2000
C. Vivian Stringer becomes the first coach – men’s or women’s – to take three different programs to the Final Four as Rutgers advances to its first-ever NCAA Tournament national semifinal with a 59-51 upset of top-seeded Georgia in the West Regional Final. Shawnetta Stewart is named the West Region MVP while Tasha Pointer and Tammy Sutton-Brown earn all-tournament honors.
March 4, 2001
Kim Fife wins women’s track & field’s first Big East title in winning the high jump. Women’s track would win three more Big East indoor gold medals with Shameka Marshall in the long jump in 2005 and 60m hurdles and long jump in 2006.
November 16, 2002
Julie Culley places third at the District II championships in West Virginia, 17 seconds behind first place, to represent Rutgers at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. Culley will finish 32nd and earn All-America honors.
March 19, 2001
Erin McIntyre becomes the first NCAA women’s swimming qualifier in program history and goes on to earn Honorable Mention status in the 400 individual medley. A year later she becomes an All-American with an eighth-place finish in the 1650 freestyle. McIntyre captured the 1650 freestyle title at the 2001 Big East Championships and also helped Rutgers to back-to-back Big East championships in the 800 freestyle relay in 2001 and 2002. Outside the pool, McIntyre would be named the 2002-03 Big East Scholar-Athlete of the Year and be one of two national winners of the Tau Beta Pi Laureate for excellence in academics and athletics.
April 18, 2002
Courtney Turner becomes the first-ever Rutgers women’s gymnast to qualify for the NCAA National Championships scoring a 9.775 on the floor.
March 23, 2003
Alexis Jemal is the national champion in women’s saber at the NCAA fencing championships. Jemal posted a 33-2 record during the season and captured the title after placing 10th in 2002 and fifth in 2001 en route to earning three All-American honors.
May 2, 2004
Women’s track & field captures the first two of Big Ten outdoor titles with Shameka Marshall taking first in the 100m hurdles and Jen Austin with the top throw in the javelin. Marshall was responsible for two more Big East titles in her career repeating as 100m hurdle champion in 2005 and joining Jacqueline Todd, Ariel Brockman and Coryn Gomez on the championship 4x100 relay squad.
March 18, 2006
Kelly Harrigan earns her fourth First Team All-American honor taking third in 200 back and eighth in the 100 back at the NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships. Harrigan was also a First Team All-American in the 200 back in 2004 and 2005. She was a 20-time Big East Champion breaking 10 conference championship records and named Big East Most Outstanding Swimmer in 2005 and 2006. She was also a three-time Olympic Trials competitor in 2000, 2004 and 2008 and represented the US at the 2007 World University Games.
March 6, 2007
Women’s basketball is the first women’s program to bring home a Big East Championship with a 55-47 win over top-seeded UConn. Matee Ajavon is named the MVP of the Championship.
March 26, 2007
Midfielder Katie Batiuk becomes the first women’s lacrosse member to be named to a Tewaarton Trophy watch list. The award is recognized as the pre-eminent lacrosse award honoring the top varsity lacrosse players in the United States, equivalent to the Heisman Trophy in football. Since her nomination Meghan Ball (2021) and Cassidy Spilis (2021 & 2022) have appeared on the “watch list”.
April 1, 2007
Women’s basketball registers a 59-35 victory in the NCAA national semifinal game against LSU. The Tigers’ 35 points are the lowest point total in Final Four history.
March 7, 2008
Essence Carson is voted the Big East Defensive Player of the Year for the third time in her career, only the second player in the Big East to win the league’s top defensive honor three-straight seasons. Women’s basketball’s Chelsea Newton also earned the honor in 2005 and Syessence Davis will capture the award from the Big Ten in 2015.
November 5, 2009
Erin Guthrie is the first conference Goalkeeper of the Year honoree, who allowed only 10 goals with a 0.47 goals against average behind 77 saves and 11 shutouts. She broke Saskia Weber’s career shutout record at RU with 43. Gurthrie’s shutout record would later be broken by two-time Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year Casey Murphy. Murphy collected 48 clean sheets along with a career-best .417 goals against average and received a call up to the US National Team in June of 2018 for a friendly with China.
January 15, 2010
Captains Erin Guthrie and Jen Anzivino become the first women’s soccer Scarlet Knights to be drafted into the pros. Guthrie is the 32nd overall pick and Anzivino is the 49th overall selection in Women’s Professional Soccer. The duo become the first of 10 Scarlet Knights to be drafted into professional leagues.
March 8, 2013
Luisa Leal of gymnastics sets the all-round record scoring a 39.500 in a 195.550-194.600 victory at Towson.
April 5, 2014
From a walk-on in 2010 to an eventual Rutgers Athletics Hall of Famer, Alexis Gunzelman is the second Scarlet Knight to qualify for the NCAA Gymnastics Championships and the first in the all-around competition scoring a 39.175 at regionals.
February 28, 2014
Both Rutgers’ American Athletic Conference Champions come from track & field with Asha Ruth winning the 2014 indoor long jump title. During the outdoor campaign, Gabrielle Farquharson would win the outdoor long jump title and later become RU’s first-ever Big Ten Champion in 2015.
March 23, 2014
Nicole Scott is the first women’s diver to earn All-American honors with honorable mention status on platform. Alyssa Black would also go on to dive to honorable mention All-America status on 3-Meter in 2016 and 2017 and Addison Walkowiak picked up the honors on 1-Meter in 2018.
April 21, 2015
Alyssa Landrith becomes softball's all-time leader in victories and is the arm behind the team's first-ever Big Ten victory, an 11-5 win at Indiana. Landrith concluded her career also holding the Rutgers strikeout record with 642 Ks. The lefty also finished with one of the best career ERAs (2.58) since the early 1980s.
October 30, 2015
Erica Skorski is named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year accolade as she helps women’s soccer to a program-record 770:16 minutes of shutout soccer thru the first nine matches of the year and 22 total shutouts. Gabby Provenazno of women’s soccer would also be a Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year in 2021.
December 4, 2015
Women’s soccer makes the first of two College Cup appearances. The team sets the school record for wins at 19-4-3 overall and shutouts (19) and beats No. 1 Virginia on the road to advance to the national semifinals. The Scarlet Knights would give up only one goal during their tournament run.
February 27, 2015
Gabrielle Farquharson of women's track is Rutgers’ first-ever Big Ten champion winning the conference indoor title in the 200m with a school-record time of 23.32 at the Spire Institute in Geneva, Ohio. Chloe Timberg will also claim gold in 2022 with the pole vault.
January 15, 2016
Women’s soccer All-American center backs Brianne Reed and Erica Skroski were selected 18th and 23rd overall respectively by the National Women’s Soccer League draft. They become the first of eight Scarlet Knights drafted by the league.
February 15, 2018
Addison Walkowiak is Rutgers swimming & diving's first Big Ten medalist taking silver as the runner-up on 1-Meter. The following day she would take bronze on 3-Meter. Walkowiak would win the NCAA Zone A title on 1-Meter and go on to earn NCAA All-American status. Future Big Ten medalists include Vera Koprivova with bronze in the 100 and 200 back and Francesca Stoppa with bronze in the 200 fly in 2019 and Terka Grusova with silver in the 100 back in 2020.
February 24, 2018
Libby Groden is gymnastics’ first-ever American Athletic, Inc. Award semifinalist. The award, considered the Heisman of gymnastics, is given annually to the most outstanding senior female gymnast in the country. Belle Huang will become the first two-time AAI nominee in 2021 and 2022.
March 24, 2018
Rutgers hosts the Big Ten Gymnastics Championship marking the first time in the 36-year championship history that competition takes place on podium.
June 12, 2019
Reanda Richards is named the Big Ten Track Athlete and Freshman of the Year. The first Big Ten Player of the Year recipient was the second Scarlet Knight in women’s track & field history to win gold at the Big Ten Championships winning the 400 hurdles. She will win the NCAA East Regional title and become an NCAA All-American taking fourth in the event at the NCAA Championships. Adding to Rutgers’ Big Ten Player of the Year count will be field hockey’s Gianni Glatz in 2021.
April 16, 2021
Sophomore Hannah Joyner becomes the third Rutgers gymnast to qualify for the NCAA Championships. She is the first Scarlet Knight to post above a 9.9 at an NCAA Regional with a 9.925 finishing her career as the RU record holder in total career 9.9s with 13.
May 16, 2021
Behind five medal-winning performances, women’s rowing sets programs records for team finish, points, medals and all-conference selections with a third-place finish at the Big Ten Championships. The team ranked as high at fourth nationally with Luisa Neerschulte being named a CRCA First Team-All American.
September 10, 2021
Coming off its best season in Big Ten play, Rutgers volleyball plays its first home game in the 8,000-seat Jersey Mike's Arena earning a 3-0 sweep of NJIT.
October 21, 2021
Women’s soccer claims Rutgers’ first Big Ten regular-season title and advances to the NCAA College Cup. The Scarlet Knights go 19-4-2, matching the most program wins in history and go undefeated in Big Ten play at 10-0. RU would earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament behind nine All-Big Ten selections including Big Ten Midfielder of the Year Frankie Tagliaferri, Big Ten Defender of the Year Gabby Provenzano and Big Ten Freshman of the Year Riley Tiernan.
November 7, 2021
Field hockey becomes the first Rutgers program to win a Big Ten title. The Scarlet Knights defeated Michigan, 1-0, for its fourth NCAA Tournament. Rutgers enters the NCAA tournament as the No. 1 seed behind four All-Big Ten selections including Big Ten Co-Player of the Year Gianna Glatz.
May 6, 2022
Women's lacrosse advances to its first Big Ten Conference title game after it knocks off No. 4 Northwestern, 13-5, at SHI Stadium in Piscataway. The victory marked the program's first over a top-five opponent and its first over the Wildcats in 17 chances. Rutgers would go on to set numerous individual and team records during the 2022 campaign, which included a program-best 16 victories and its second consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. Attacker Taralyn 'TT' Naslonski finished the season as the program's all-time point and goal scorer while midfielder Cassidy Spilis set a program single season record for goals scored in a season with 69. Spilis and defender Ball would be named to the IWLCA All-American squad.
