APRIL 2023 5
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HONORING THE FIRST
In mid-February, the Virginia athletics department hosted its annual
National Girls and Women in Sports Day, an event that has been held
since 1996 in collaboration with the Maxine Platzer Lynn Women's
Center. The occasion brings national attention to the achievements
of female athletes and to issues facing girls and women in sport.
This year's theme was "Half a Century of Opportunity. Half a Century
of Excellence." Letter winners from the first three varsity women's
teams at the University of Virginia were honored at a pregame recep-
tion and during halftime of the women's basketball contest versus
Duke. Those teams competed during the 1973-74 academic year.
That year, 12 women lettered in field hockey, seven in basketball and six
in tennis. There was enough interest in the sport for there to be A and B
squads in field hockey, and varsity and junior varsity teams for basketball.
This season, field hockey, basketball and tennis are fielding their
50th teams from those humble beginnings. With the addition of
squash in 2017, UVA's initial three-sport women's athletics program
has grown to 14 teams made up of 320 female student-athletes.
— Jim Daves/Photos by Matt Riley/courtesy UVA
