University of Nevada Athletics

In celebration of the 30th anniversary of National Girls and Women in Sports Day, Nevada Athletics is taking a look at the rich history of Wolf Pack women’s sports all this week. The celebration will culminate with the Feb. 6 women’s basketball game vs. Colorado State, which will be free for all fans. That day, Nevada will hold a reception for alumni and community members and will recognize former Wolf Pack student-athletes in attendance and great moments in Wolf Pack women’s history during the game. For more information, please contact Senior Associate Athletics Director Rhonda Bennett at 775-682-6981 or rlundin@unr.edu.

Wolf Pack Women in the Hall of Fame

Since the University of Nevada Athletics Hall of Fame was established in 1973, 27 women and one women’s team have been honored for their outstanding achievements and contributions to Wolf Pack Athletics. Wolf Pack swimmers and divers make up the largest contigent of Hall of Famers from the women’s sports with 11 recognized as the best the University of Nevada has produced.

Skier Dodie Post Gann was the only woman selected to the inaugural 13-member Nevada Athletics Hall of Fame class in 1973. She holds the distinction of being the first Wolf Pack woman to compete in the Olympic Games. She captained the U.S. women's ski team at the 1948 Winter Olympics but suffered a broken ankle while preparing for the Games in St. Moritz, Switzerland. She did compete in the 1952 Olympics in Oslo, Norway and served as team manager for the U.S. squad at the 1956 Olympics in Cortina, Italy. One of the top junior skiers in the West, she excelled as a skier for the Wolf Pack before Nevada had a women's skiing program. She was also inducted into the U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame in 2001.

After Gann, it would be another 15 years until the next woman was inducted in Nevada's Athletics Hall of Fame. Here is a complete list of all the Wolf Pack women’s athletics who have been inducted into the Nevada Athletics Hall of Fame:

1973 - Dodie Post Gann (1943-47/Skiing)

1988 - Candy Oliver Borda (1969-73/Gymnastics)
In 1970, Candy Oliver finished in the top six in the country in tryouts for the University World Team, which secured a position on the team for her. As the first woman at the University of Nevada to receive an athletics scholarship, she led the Wolf Pack women’s gymnastics team to the championship of the Southwest Regional Collegiate Gymnastics Tournament in 1971. She went on to become an educator and coach at Fernley High School where she won two state championships in track and two in gymnastics during her eight-year tenure. She married Ted Borda and has three sons.

1989 - Ann Belikow Ballatore (1977-79/ Swimming and Diving)
Ann Belikow was an Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) All-American selection for three years. She competed in the AIAW national championships those three years and helped the 1979 Nevada team win the national championship by scoring 77 points for the team in the meet. She set national records and won national titles in the 50 and 100-meter breaststroke in 1979 and also won the national crown in the 200-meter breaststroke. At the time of being inducted into the Hall of Fame, she was still the university pool record holder in those three events plus the individual medley. She was named the University of Nevada female athlete of the year in 1979 and was a finalist for the prestigious Sullivan Trophy for United States female athlete of the year.

1991 - 1979 Swimming and Diving Team
The 1979 women’s swimming and diving team turned in a 13-0 record in dual meets in 1979 before capturing the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) national title in a meet held in Lombardi Recreation Building. That marked the first national championship for a Wolf Pack women’s team. The team roster included student-athletes Anne Belikow, Paige Bryant, Shari Buonamici, Barbara Buck, Connie Gerling, Pam Gordon, Patti Gordon, Janette Jackson, Mary Mirch, Karen Petterson, Gale Reeder, Teresa Roth and Cathy Trachok and head coach Jerry Ballew, assistant coach Loren Cordain and diving coach Clyde Devine. Ballew, who coached the Wolf Pack for seven seasons, was also inducted into the Hall of Fame individually in 2009. He coached Nevada to a 68-35 record, turned out 29 All-Americans and led the team to six national top 25 finishes in his seven seasons (1976-83, 1985-86).

1992 - Patty Sheehan (1977-78/Golf)
Patty Sheehan started her collegiate career at the University of Nevada, forming a one-woman golf team for the Wolf Pack in 1978. A local product from Wooster High School in Reno, she won three straight Nevada high school championships (1972–74), three straight Nevada State Amateurs (1975–78) and two straight California Women's Amateurs (1977–78). She transferred to San Jose State in 1979 and reached the pinnacle of her college career by winning the AIAW national championship in 1980. Sheehan has had a brilliant professional career as a member of the LPGA Tour, winning six major championships and a total of 35 LPGA Tour events. In addition to Nevada’s Athletics Hall of Fame, she was also inducted into the Collegiate Golf Hall of Fame in 1990 and the LPGA Tour Hall of Fame in 1993.

1995 - Karen Petterson (1978-80/Swimming & Diving)
Karen Petterson was a member of the Hall of Fame as part of Nevada’s 1979 AIAW national championship team but was inducted individually in 1995. Petterson was a three-time All-American for the Wolf Pack and set five school records in the 50 yard freestyle, the 200 yard free relay, the 400 yard relay, the 200 yard medley relay and the 400 yard medley relay. Her records stood until the late 1980’s. She earned All-America honors in 1978, 1979, and 1980. In the 1979 national championship meet, she finished eighth or higher in six different events, including four fourth-place finishes. Petterson also finished third place in the 1980 NCAA Championships in the 50 yard backstroke. She was team captain her junior and senior seasons. She was a scholar athlete at the University of Nevada and was the university’s female athlete of the year in 1980. Petterson remained in Reno and owned and operated a successful photography studio.

1999 – Kelly Dick Orlich (1981-83/Softball)
Kelly Dick Orlich was a multi-sport athlete at Sparks High School and graduated in 1979. In her early years, she went on to become a member of the Cincinnati Reds organization as a key cog in the “Big Red Machine” that won the World Series in 1975 and 1976. Orlich carried her amazing talents to the Nevada softball team, earning All-American honors as a shortstop in 1982. By the time her Nevada career ended, Orlich held the team records in virtually every offensive category, including batting, home runs, runs batted in and stolen bases. After college she got into coaching, leading McQueen High School to the state softball championship in 1986.

2000 - Karen Kostelyk (1979-83/ Swimming and Diving)
Karen Kostelyk was a three-time AIAW Division II All-American for the Wolf Pack wimming and diving team from 1979-83. Kostelyk was named the school’s top female athlete in 1982. An outstanding student, Kostelyk was also selected for “Who’s Who among Students in American Universities” in 1983. She was selected a Coaches Association “Top Three” All-American in 1980.

2003 - Robbin Thein (1982-85/Swimming & Diving)
A local product from Wooster High School, Robbin Thein finished third in the 200-meter backstroke at the 1982 AIAW Division II Championships and fourth in the 100 backstroke. During the 1983 AIAW Championships, she set a national record and took first place in 200 backstroke. Thein also took second place in the 100 backstroke and third in the 50 backstroke at the same meet. She was also named Nevada's Woman Athlete of the Year in 1983.

2006 - Ali McKnight (1991-95/Women’s Track & Field)
A graduate of McQueen High School in Reno, Ali McKnight earned All-America honors in the heptathlon at the 1995 NCAA Championships. Her second-place finish in the event marked the highest a female Wolf Pack track and field competitor had ever placed in the national competition. She competed in both the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Trials in the heptathlon. A two-rime Big West Conference Athlete of the Year in 1994 and 1995, McKnight captured back-to-back conference titles in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 100 meter hurdles. In 1995, she led Nevada to a runner-up finish to Utah State at the conference meet, which was the highest the Wolf Pack had finished in the Big West Championships. McKnight went on to post the second-fastest 200-meter time in the history of the heptathlon and later earned a spot on the 2000 U.S. Women’s World Cup Bobsled team.

2007 - Chris Starr (1982-86/Women's Basketball)
The first Wolf Pack women’s basketball player to earn induction into the Hall of Fame, Chris Starr ended her collegiate career as the most decorated player in school history, earning All-America honors in 1985 and 1986. A native of Klamath Falls, Ore., the 6-0 forward set over 20 school records in her career and still holds the majority of them. She scored 2,356 points in her four seasons to set the Nevada women’s basketball career scoring record, a mark that stood for 21 years as the most points by any Nevada basketball player - man or woman - until Nick Fazekas surpassed it in 2006-07. Starr made 60.3 percent of her career field goal attempts and also holds the Wolf Pack career records for rebounds (948), free throws made (594) and free throw percentage (.865). She also earned Academic All-America honors in 1985-86. Starr is currently the Director of Intramural Sports at Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Colo.

2008 - Tiffany Neumeier Breeden (1994-97/Volleyball)
One of the most dominating players in Nevada volleyball history, Tiffany Neumeier Breeden is the Wolf Pack’s career leader with 1,779 kills. She turned in 472 kills in both 1996 and 1997 to set the school single-season record, and only two players since have surpassed her single-season mark. She ranks third with 1,243 career digs and is sixth with 107 career service aces. Breeden still holds three of the top 10 single-season marks for kills and attacks. She also ranks in the top 15 for single-game kills, attacks and digs, including a 30-kill performance against New Mexico State in 1995 which is still the third-best match in school history.

2009 - Lisé Mackie (1995-98/Swimming & Diving)
One of the top swimmers in Wolf Pack history, Lisé Mackie was named the Big West Conference Swimmer of the Year three times in her career and helped the Wolf Pack to three conference titles. A seven-time NCAA All-American, she still holds the fastest times in school history in the 200 freestyle and 200 individual medley and as part of the 400 medley relay and 400 freestyle relay teams. The Brisbane, Australia, native still appears on Nevada's list of top times a total of 13 times. Mackie represented Australia at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain and the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Ga., winning a bronze medal as part of the Aussies' 800 meter freestyle relay team in 1996.

2009 - Susan Eisele Whitehouse (1995-99/Swimming & Diving)
Susan Eisele Whitehouse helped the Wolf Pack to four consecutive Big West Conference championships during her career at Nevada. She won a total of 10 Big West Conference championships, including five individual championships and five relay titles. Whitehouse won the 200 backstroke race at the Big West Championships in each of her four years at Nevada. She held Nevada's school record time for the 200 backstroke for 10 years (since broken) and set school and conference records in the 100 back twice. She still has one of the top five fastest times in school history in the 100 back. Whitehouse qualified for the 2000 Olympic Trials but was unable to compete due to injury.

2010 - Limin Liu (1998-2000/Swimming & Diving)
Limin Liu won three NCAA individual championships during her prolific career, winning the 200 butterfly at the NCAA Championships in 1999 and the 100 and 200 fly in 2000. She still holds school and Big West Conference records in the 100 and 200 fly. A three-time All-American, Liu was named the Big West Swimmer of the Year in 2000. She was also part of school and conference record-setting 200 and 400-meter medley and freestyle relay teams. Liu captured the silver medal in the 100 fly while representing her native China at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and also competed in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. She held the world short-course record in the 100 fly and also won a gold medal at the World Championships.

2010 - Dawn Pitman (1986-90/Women's Basketball)
A four-time All-Big West conference honoree, Dawn Pitman ranks third in career scoring (1,654 points) and is only one of four players in program history to record at least 1,500 career points. She is also second all-time in career rebounding (918) and is one of just two players in program history to record at least 900 career rebounds. Pitman joins Nevada Hall of Famer Chris Starr as the only two players in women's basketball history to have recorded at least 1,500 points and 900 career rebounds. She ranks in Nevada's single-game top 10 in field goal attempts (tied for fifth) and field goals made (tied for eighth) and the single-season record book in scoring (seventh; 17.8ppg) and rebounding (eighth, 8.9). Pitman led the team in scoring and rebounding in each of her last two seasons, including 17.0 points and 7.8 rebounds per game as a senior in 1989-90.

2011 - Suzy Catterson Kole (1996-99/Swimming & Diving)
Suzy Catterson Kole earned 12 All-America certificates and helped the Wolf Pack to three Big West Conference championships during her distinguished Wolf Pack career. She was a three-time individual All-American, earning certificates in the 100 backstroke in 1997, the 100 freestyle in 1998 and the 100 backstroke in 1999. She was also a member of nine relay teams that won All-America honors and 11 that won Big West championships. Kole won four individual Big West championships, including three consecutive 100 backstroke titles (1997-99), and appears in the Wolf Pack record book 10 times. She still holds the school record for the 100 backstroke and was part of the fastest 400 medley relay and 400 freestyle relay teams in school history.

2011 - Suzanne Stonebarger Barnes (1998-2001/Volleyball)
One of the top players in the history of the Wolf Pack volleyball program, Suzanne Stonebarger Barnes earned all-conference honors in three of her four years at Nevada. She was a two-time All-WAC selection (first team in 2000 and second team in 2001) and was named to the All-Big West freshman team and second-team all-conference squad in 1998. She appears in the Wolf Pack record book 10 times, ranking seventh in career kills (1,198) and 10th in career service aces (99). She also holds three of the top 10 single-season marks and four of the top 10 single-match records for digs, including the school record with 38 digs at San Jose State in 2000. A former member of Team USA, Barnes has gone on to have a successful AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour career with fellow Wolf Pack alum Michelle More.

2012 - Jennifer Ashcroft (1999-2002/Track & Field)
Jennifer Ashcroft earned first-team All-America in the pole vault in 2002 and helped the Wolf Pack to the Big West outdoor track championship in 2000 and second-place finishes at the WAC championships in 2001 and 2002. She was a four-time conference champion in the pole vault, winning the Big West outdoor championship in 2000, the WAC indoor and outdoor titles in 2001 and the WAC outdoor championship in 2002. She set the school record with a vault of 13’ 3 ¾ ” in 2002. Ashcroft was a three-time academic all-conference selection and a U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-Academic selection in 2000. Active in campus and community service volunteer activities, she was the state of Nevada winner for the 2002 NCAA Woman of the Year award, won Nevada’s Ruth Russell Award as the Wolf Pack’s top senior student-athlete and captured the WAC’s Stan Bates Award as the conference’s top female scholar-athlete in 2002. Ashcroft qualified for the 2000 Olympic Trials. She has gone on to a career in coaching and is currently an assistant track and field coach at Cal Poly.

2012 - Tracey King (1988-92/Women’s Tennis)
A four-time first-team All-Big Sky Conference selection from 1989-92, Tracey King set Nevada’s career leader in victories with 83 and held that mark for 22 years. She still holds two of the top five single seasons for victories in school history, including the Wolf Pack single-season record with 24 wins in 1991. She led the Wolf Pack to the 1992 Big Sky championship and is the first Hall of Fame inductee from the women’s tennis team. King was the state of Nevada’s nominee for the 1992 NCAA Woman of the Year award and went on to get her master’s degree in sociology and social research and her doctorate in health psychology. She founded and runs a health beverage company in New Zealand called Ti Tonics.

2012 - Angie Yoon (1997-2001/Women’s Golf)
Angie Yoon was named the Big West Golfer of the Year twice in her career, earning the award in 1999 as a sophomore and 2000 as a junior. She won nine tournaments in her collegiate career and helped lead the Wolf Pack to the first NCAA Regional appearance in program history in 2001. She earned All-Big West first-team honors three years from 1998-2000 and was an All-WAC selection in 2001. Yoon turned in three top five finishes at the Big West Championships with her best finish being a runner-up showing in 1999. She was featured in Sports Illustrated after winning four consecutive tournaments in the fall of 1999 and also captured medalist honors twice as freshman and twice as a senior. Yoon made an NCAA Regional appearance as an individual in 2000 and was selected to play in the Golf Coaches Association of America U.S.-Japan Matches and the U.S.-Ireland Matches.

2013 - Terina Cook Dutton (1995-2000/Swimming & Diving/Track & Field)
Terina Cook Dutton was a two-sport standout in both swimming and track and field, qualifying for the conference championships in both sports. She was an eight-time All-American in swimming, all as part of Nevada’s relay teams, and helped the Wolf Pack to four Big West Conference team titles championships from 1996-2000. Dutton was part of the school-record 200 and 400 medley relay teams and appears nine times in the Nevada record book. She helped the Wolf Pack win nine Big West relay titles and won the Big West individual championship in the 50 free in 1996 and 1997, breaking the school record both years. She also qualified for and competed in the U.S. Olympic Trials. She has co-founded the Dutton Foundation and Heavenly Hope Ministries with her husband, John Dutton (a former Wolf Pack quarterback and fellow Hall of Fame inductee) to help people all over the world with the mission to lead, nurture, and inspire the faith, integrity, and service of both our present and future generations.

2013 - Katerina Hanusova Nash (2001-02/Skiing)
One of the top skiers in the history of the Wolf Pack program, Katerina Hanusova Nash was a three-time NCAA champion, winning the 15k freestyle and the 5k classical in 2001 and defending her 15k freestyle title in 2002. She became the second Wolf Pack skier to win a national title since Nevada Hall of Fame inductee Pat Myers won the downhill title in 1952. A four-time All-American, Nash is a four-time Olympian, competing in mountain biking in 1996 and 2012 and cross country skiing in 1998 and 2002 for her home country of the Czech Republic.

2013 - Kate Smith (1999-2003/Women’s Basketball)
One of the best women’s basketball student-athletes in school history, Kate Smith earned honorable-mention Kodak All-America honors in 2001. A three-time all-conference selection, she appears in the Nevada record book 13 times. Smith was named the 2000 Big West Conference Freshman of the Year and earned second-team All-Big West honors that year, while she earned first-team All-WAC honors in 2001 and 2002. She ranks second in career scoring at Nevada with 1,942 points and third in career rebounding (785) and free throws made (464). One of just six players in school history to record 1,000 points and 500 rebounds, she is also 10th in career assists (216), third in career free throws made (464) and seventh in career blocked shots (82). Smith signed a professional contract with Helios, a professional team in Switzerland, in 2003, and went on to become a public defender in Washoe County after her playing career was done.

2014 - Michelle More Williams (1999-2002/Volleyball)
Michelle More Williams earned first-team All-WAC honors and helped the Wolf Pack to NCAA appearances in 2001 and 2002. She was the first Wolf Pack player to be named to the American Volleyball Coaches’ All-West Region squad in 2002 and also earned Big West freshman team honors in 1999 and second-team All-WAC accolades in 2000. Williams became the first Pack player to surpass 500 kills in a season and set the school single-season record with 570, while her 668.5 points during her senior are still the school record. She held all three Nevada career block marks upon graduation (since broken) but still ranks in the top three. In total, her name appears in the Nevada record book a total of 20 times. Williams went on to star on the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour with fellow Hall of Fame inductee Suzanne Stonebarger Barnes.

2014 - Lang Rao (1997-99/Swimming & Diving)
Lang Rao earned All-America honors three times and helped Nevada to Big West Conference championships in 1998 and 1999. She won four individual Big West championships, sweeping the 1 meter and 3 meter springboard titles in both of her years at Nevada. She set Big West Conference records in both events. Rao finished second and earned All-America honors in the 1 meter springboard at the 1999 NCAA Championships. She also earned two All-America certificates at the 1998 NCAA Championships, finishing fourth in the 1 meter and fifth in the 3 meter. She was undefeated in dual and Big West Conference meets in 1998. She also won the 1 and 3 meter events at the 1999 NCAA Zone E Diving Championships and was second in both events in 1998. A native of Zi Chuan, Zi Gmong, China, she was the Chinese national champion in the 1 meter in 1994 and the 3 meter in 1996 and finished fifth in the 3 meter springboard at the 1998 World Championships.

2015 - Ieesha Donadelle Cannida (1994-98/Women’s Basketball)
Ieesha Donadelle Cannida earned first-team All-Big West Conference honors in 1997-98. She ranks eighth in career scoring and rebounding at Nevada with 1,095 points and 594 rebounds and holds the second-best career field goal percentage in school history, shooting 51.4 percent in her four seasons. She also ranks fourth in school history with 305 free throws made. Cannida helped the Wolf Pack to a 19-9 overall record and second-place finish in the Big West’s Eastern Division in 1997-98, which was the most wins in school history until the 2010-11 team captured 22 victories. She is just the third women’s basketball student-athlete in school history to be inducted into the Nevada Athletics Hall of Fame and is part of the second husband-wife duo in school history to be inducted. Her husband, James (Football/1994-97), was inducted in 2008.

2015 - Jia Lin Sun (1997-2000/Swimming & Diving)
Jia Lin Sun earned All-America honors 12 times in her career and helped the Wolf Pack to four Big West Conference titles from 1997-2000. Known by the nickname “Sunny” around campus, she holds the school records in the 50 free and the 100 free and was part of the school-record setting 400 free relay team. Sun won 14 Big West titles in her career, including five individual titles. She was part of six conference championships in 2000, including individual crowns in the 100 breast, 100 free and 50 free and three relay titles. She was the 50-meter freestyle champion at the World University Games in Fukuoka, Japan, in 1995, and the Chinese national champion in 1994. She also won the 400 meter free and was part of the winning 400 medley relay team at the Chinese National Short Course Championships in 1996-97. Sun currently serves as the program coordinator in the Center for Chinese Studies at the University of Hawaii.

For a complete list of Nevada’s Hall of Famers, click here.