Scorebook

Long overdue

31 former student-athlete alumnae finally receive their varsity letters

A decade before women’s tennis became a varsity sport at Marietta College, Nancy Devlin Edwards ’66 was dazzling teammates and opponents on the court.

She only played three matches — all three victories — against men from other schools. While her teammates welcomed her on the roster, opposing coaches didn’t share in their excitement. Desperate to remove her from competition, they used an archaic section in the College’s charter that resulted in her dismissal from the team. It stated that tennis was “for all bona fide male undergraduates.”

“I was young and didn’t want to put up a fight,” Edwards says. “I loved my time on the team. The guys were very supportive, and I loved my time at Marietta College.”

But Edwards, like many of the women who competed in athletics before Title IX passed in 1972, and others who represented the College on the fields, courts and rivers through 1980 didn’t receive the recognition they deserved.

That changed for some of them during the Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremony in February, when the College honored the early pioneers of women’s athletics and presented varsity letters to 12. Another 19 women have received or will receive their varsity letters soon through the mail or in-person from President Bill Ruud or other College representatives.

“During the summer and into the start of this academic year, we had a Title IX committee that discussed a number of ways to honor women’s athletics,” says Larry Hiser, Director of Athletics. “A lot of our efforts were focused on educating today’s women’s student-athletes on how much things have improved over the last 50 years. However, at some point was also realized we wanted to honor the women who played sports before Title IX and those who competed in the early days. I don’t remember who suggested the varsity letters, but once it was on the table, we all agreed it was a great idea.”

It was easy to see that the women who attended the event appreciated the gesture — and some of them couldn’t hold back the tears as they received their Varsity M inside a shadow box.

Edwards was on campus for the first time in 57 years to receive her varsity letter. Cassandra Sampas ’77, who returned for the event, fell in love with field hockey and basketball as a teenager and appreciated the opportunity to continue playing at Marietta.

“I grew up in Lowell, Massachusetts, and there were not many opportunities for women to play sports,” she says. “I loved my teammates, and I loved getting the opportunity to travel to other places and play games. It is an honor to be back at Marietta and to be recognized with these other women.”

Catherine Mazza ’80 could not attend the banquet, but she shared in the excitement of being recognized by her alma mater with a coveted.

“My field hockey years under Coach Violet LeClair were fun and more fun. We drove ourselves to away games, played a few games out of our league (Ohio State), and enjoyed lots of laughs,” says Mazza, who lives in Kent, Connecticut. “My years as coxswain for the women’s crew under Coach Norm Lindamood were eye-opening to me as I had no experience. Those four years were enjoyable and rewarding.”

Sue Gordon Shuping ’75 lives in Southport, North Carolina, and didn’t attend the ceremony. She is actually embarrassed by the attention.

“I was just an average athlete,” she says. “Most of the other basketball players were better than I was, but none of us would have been recruited by today’s standards. I think we all just enjoyed playing basketball (and other sports) and saw it as an opportunity to continue doing what we enjoyed. I don’t remember anyone complaining about not getting recognized for sports.”      

Becky Baker-Illman ’74, who played field hockey and basketball, could not travel from Norland, Washington, to Marietta. However, she appreciates the delayed recognition.

“To be honest, I thought we were playing varsity sports, so it did hurt a little to find out we were only playing club sports,” she says. “We practiced and competed like it was a varsity sport, though. We loved representing Marietta College.”

And her competitive spirit hasn’t dwindled a bit. The 72-year-old alumna still races motorcycles competitively.

“My motorcycle doesn’t know my age, and it doesn’t know that I’m a woman,” she says.

TOM PERRY

Earning their M
Nancy Devlin Edwards ’66
Mary Ann Smith Mitchell ’67
Mary-Lee Grannis Sale ’68
Jacqueline Machan Callery ’71
Nancy Ryan Cook ’71
Cynthia Cook Taylor ’71
Lynn Walton ’71
Mary Ellen Procko ’72
Elizabeth Whitehouse Manley ’73
Elizabeth Thompson Miller ’73
Lisa Redfield ’73
Rebecca Baker-Illman ’74
Diane Maher Burgess ’74
Janet Chase ’74
Susan Gordon Shuping ’75
Jane Stephens Auge ’76
Debra Grove Knapp ’76
Karen Mayle Robinson ’76
Cassandra Sampas ’77
Donna Murphy ’78
Joanna Popolin ’78
Pamela Reeve Pritchett ’78
Tina Thomas ’78
Elizabeth Beatty Black ’79
Susan Shanahan Davis ’79
Laurie Bell O’Rourke ’79
Jane Boak Florer ’79
Carolyn Lach Wilcox ’79
Catherine Mazza ’80
Martha Knight Thorne ’80
Robin Shands Martinez ’81