Cavalier Corner is the publication just for UVa sports fans!
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ELLEN FELDMANN ROBERTS SWIMMING (1975-78) Was there someone either at UVA or in your personal life that played a large impact on your athletic success? Roberts: "I really enjoyed swimming for Coach Ron Good. He pushed me, but in a good way. My confidence as a swimmer really increased as I trained with him. My parents were both great swimming parents. They encouraged but never pressured. They were clueless about swimming times. "If I had told them I swam two minutes for a 100-yard backstroke they would have said, 'Oh, Mary Ellen, that's wonderful.'" What was life as a female student-athlete like in the early years at UVA after Title IX? Were there any special challenges? Roberts: "I was there right at the cusp of Title IX, so there was no money yet. Swimming on the men's team was fun and worthwhile, but it had its chal- lenges. It took getting used to for some of the men to have a woman competing with them in practice and in meets. "That first year the swimmers had an intramural team for inner tube water polo in the Mem Gym pool. It was coed and they needed a woman, so I played with them. We won the tournament. I think I became one of the guys after that." How do you think being a student-athlete helped you as a student and later on in your career? Roberts: "Swimming, or being a student athlete in any sport, does instill life skills that help as you go through life. Self-motivation, dedication, capacity for hard work, teamwork, etc. Plus, I was able to get two great jobs through contacts I made while swimming at UVA. "Stu Isaac from the University of Michigan was my teammate at the 1973 World University Games. Stu recommended me for my job at Speedo. Six years later, Ray Essick hired me at USA Swimming. Ray was the coach of the Harvard team who also trained in St. Croix while we were there." ELLEN FELDMANN ROBERTS PHOTO COURTESY ROBERTS DEBBIE (LOTZ) WALKER BASKETBALL (1971-73) What was your favorite memory of playing sports at UVA? Walker: "My favorite memory of par- ticipating on the first women's [club] bas- ketball team was an exhibition we gave in University Hall at halftime of one of the men's games. My roommate, Em Hardy, and I thought it would be fun to have a blue and orange basketball to use as we ran out onto the court. So we painted a regular basketball blue and orange. I don't remember what kind of paint we used, but it would NOT dry completely! "We used hair dryers and tried every- thing we could to make it fully dry, but it was still sticky to the touch! Once the exhibition was over, we noticed that there were tiny little paint spots on the floor at U-Hall! Oops." What was life as a female student- athlete like in the early years at UVA after Title IX? Were there any special challenges? Walker: "I participated on the wom- en's basketball club team in 1971-72 and 1972-73. Title IX was signed in June of 1972, so it did not really have any impact on me while a student at UVA. "I graduated in 1973. Barbara Kelly worked hard to get us space and money, but it was very hard to do, as many in the athletics department did not think money should be given to women for athletics. She would go on to build a robust wom- en's program, however." How proud are you of the tradition UVA women's athletics has established in its 50-year history? Walker: "The strides that women's athletics have made at UVA have been amazing. I have enjoyed watching the basketball team and other women's sports succeed at the conference and national level. I am proud to know that my par- ticipation in the women's club basketball team has led to amazing opportunities for many, many women over the years. "People like [Big East commissioner] Val Ackerman and [South Carolina women's basketball coach] Dawn Staley have been very successful and knowing that had it not been for our little band of women asking to play in the early '70s their success would not have happened is so very special to me." DEBBIE (LOTZ) WALKER PHOTO COURTESY WALKER 18 CAVALIER CORNER