The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022 ■ 45 the things that have happened since [I was in college]," Yow said after record- ing her 500th career victory. "To have the opportunity to get 500 wins as a college coach takes me back to my roots. It takes me back down all those paths. "Ultimately, it reminds me of what has transpired over the last 25 years in women's college athletics. It makes me happy." The Modern Results Of Title IX After Title IX was passed, women's athletics were initially controlled by female coaches and physical educa- tion instructors who wanted to keep their sports more pure, with no off- campus recruiting and no reimburse- ments for campus visits. There were few resources at the time, and travel was a hardship. "When you start comparing what it was like back then to today — oh, my goodness," said NC State athletics di- rector emeritus Debbie Yow, Kay Yow's younger sister. "You can't even explain it." Put it this way: When Debbie Yow left her high school teaching and coaching job in Guilford County to become the head coach at Kentucky, her salary went down from $11,000 to $9,000. The younger Yow eventually left coaching for administration, becom- ing the athletics director at Saint Louis, Maryland and NC State. During her de- cade with the Wolfpack, she focused on upgrading facilities that are home to the women's program and hiring coaches she thought would win championships in their programs, including women's basketball coach Wes Moore, men's and women's swimming coach Braden Hol- loway, and women's tennis coach Simon Earnshaw. With much of the athletics world somed as a senior, repeating as an All-ACC performer, then shocking the diving community by winning her zone diving championship to qualify for the NCAA finals. She took a commanding lead on her second dive, then stood by patiently as her competitors failed to catch up. Betty Springs Geiger, cross country/track and field (1980-83) When the NCAA took over governance of women's athletics from the AIAW in 1981, cross country was the first sport to conduct team and individual national championships. Springs won that individual event to become the first women's NCAA champion, then came back after a year off recovering from a broken foot to win it again in 1983. She also won two outdoor track and field national titles, The Athletics Congress cross country national title and two international races in 1983. Sophie Hansson, swimming and diving (2018-2022) As a junior in 2021, the native of Helsingborg, Sweden, became the first NC State women's swimmer to win an individual national title, sweeping both the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke events at the NCAA Championships. She was also a member of two national championship medley relay teams that season. In her senior campaign, Hansson set an ACC record in the 100-yard breaststroke, posting a 56.72 to become the third-fastest woman ever in the event. At the NCAA Championships, she finished third in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke races to earn first-team All-America honors. The Henes family, cross country/track and field (1988-2021) Few families have ever contributed more to Wolfpack athletics than runners Lau - rie Gomez Henes, Bob Henes and their oldest daughter, Elly Henes. Laurie and Bob met while they were students at NC State as members of Rollie Geiger's successful cross country and track and field programs. Between them, they won 15 All-America honors, and Laurie capped her brilliant career by winning a na - tional title in the 5,000 meters at the 1991 NCAA Outdoor Track Championships. Elly Henes became a star during her Wolfpack career. She won 10 All-America awards in cross country and track and field and capped her career by winning the same 5,000-meter NCAA Championship her mother won some 30 years earlier. Charmaine Hooper, soccer (1987-90) Painfully shy as a child growing up in Zambia, where her father was a U.S. dip - lomat, Hooper never knew girls could play team sports. When she got the chance while living in Ottawa, Ontario, at the age of 12, she ran with it. What followed was a marvelous career that saw Hooper lead NC State to four NCAA Tournament appearances, including the 1988 national title game. She also paced Team Canada to its best finish ever in the FIFA Women's World Cup. Inducted into the Women's United Soccer League Hall of Fame, the Canada Soc - cer Hall of Fame and the NC State Athletic Hall of Fame, Hooper is one of the most decorated athletes in Wolfpack women's history. Chasity Melvin, basketball (1994-98) The leading scorer on the only NC State women's basketball team to reach the NCAA Final Four, this Roseboro, N.C., native was a 1998 All-American, the 1995 ACC Rookie of the Year and a three-time all-conference performer. While scoring more than 2,000 points and grabbing more than 1,000 rebounds, she helped the Pack earn four consecutive berths into the NCAA Championships. Linda "Hawkeye" Page, basketball (1983-86) Wearing both the jersey number and the nickname of her basketball hero, Charles "Hawkeye" Whitney, Page put No. 43 in the rafters of Reynolds Coliseum af- ter twice receiving All-America honors and twice earning All-ACC recognition during her career. She ranks second in school history in scoring with 2,307 points and third with 18.8 points per game. She is one of just four Wolfpack players to score 2,000 points in a career. Julie Shea Sutton, cross country/track and field (1977-81) Shea is NC State's most decorated athlete, a Raleigh native who began running with younger sister Mary for their father, Mike, an NC State physical education instructor and former men's cross country coach. In four years at NC State, Shea earned 11 All-America honors and won a remarkable seven individual national championships, including three during a 24-hour span at the 1980 AIAW Outdoor Track and Field Championships, in distances ranging from 3,000 to 10,000 meters. She also led the Wolfpack cross country team to a pair of AIAW national titles in 1979 and 1980. Her accomplishments were so grand, she was named one of the top 10 female athletes in ACC history during the league's 50th anniversary celebra- tion in 2003 and was an inaugural inductee into the NC State Athletic Hall of Fame. Andrea Stinson, basketball (1987-91) A highly recruited player out of North Mecklenburg High School in Charlotte, Stin- son chose to play for Yow, a decision that paid dividends in her first season, when she averaged a career-high 23.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 3.0 steals. She eventually became a three-time unanimous All-ACC selection and a first- round pick in the WNBA draft by her hometown Charlotte Sting in 1997. She was a three-time WNBA All-Star and the 1990 ACC Player of the Year, and is still the only player in program history to win the ACC Women's Basketball Freshman of the Year. Katelyn Tuohy, cross country/track and field (2020-present) As a sophomore in 2021-22, the Stony Point, N.Y., native overcame the injuries that limited her during her freshman year. She earned All-America honors with a 15th-place finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championship; recorded the eighth- fastest time in collegiate history in the 5,000-meter run at the Virginia Challenge, a 15.14.61; won an ACC title in the outdoor 1,500 meters, running the seventh- fastest time in collegiate history; and captured an NCAA title in the 5,000 meters, clocking the third-best time in the meet's history. — Tim Peeler