Top Highlights from 50 Years of Women's Athletics at SCSU
By Anne Abicht:
(Anne Abict served as the Director of Athletic Media Relations here at St. Cloud State from 1985 until her retirement in 2015. Over her tenure as the Athletic Department's top communications officer, Abicht had a front row seat for many of the top highlights and milestones in the history of women's athletics here at St. Cloud State. The following is a list compiled by Abicht describing a few of those many highlights from her time at SCSU.)
1984-85 Women’s Basketball: In March of 1985, the Huskies beat the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, SD., 56-55 for the North Central Region Championship. The game was played in the DakotaDome. The Huskies were down one point with :04 seconds left in the game. Following a timeout, SCSU inbounded the ball to Linda Nelson who nailed a jumper at the buzzer and the bench erupts in celebration. That team featured junior Ramona Rugloski and the “Fab Four” of the 1980’s in seniors Bonnie Henrickson, Linda Nelson, Dawn Anderson and Gwen Frederick. The four seniors helped the Huskies to a 97-25 record overall record during their four years, a 36-4 record in the Northern Sun Conference and a 10-4 record in the North Central Conference, losing only eight conference games during their entire career. They had a hand in three straight NSC conference championships and advanced to three straight NCAA Division II quarterfinal games.
1988: Track and field freshman Becky Anderson would begin a string of championships unheralded by a Husky track athlete at the time. She won the North Central Conference title in the indoor long jump and the triple jump and long jump at the outdoor championships. She repeated those titles in 1989 and became the first and only SCSU female track athlete at the time, to be named the Outstanding Performer at an NCC track championship. She went on to win ten NCC Championships, including four straight outdoor triple jump titles.
1992: Jennifer (GiGi) DesLauriers on the national championship in the high jump. She won both the indoor and outdoor championship in the high jump during the 1992 season. A two-sport athlete, she also excelled on the volleyball court.
1994: Addition of women’s soccer. That first season the team played on what had been intramural fields and the football practice area on the current site of Husky Stadium. It was an interesting set-up with a pop-up tent to cover the stats crew and announcer.
1995: The 1995 volleyball season culminated at the NCAA Division II Elite Eight in Miami Shores, FL. I traveled with the Huskies to that event. St. Cloud State took on the #1 ranked team and host school, Barry University in the quarterfinals. While the Huskies lost the match to the eventual national champion, they made a contest of it, falling in close sets. That team included Swen Minnema, Cami Selbitschka, Heather Modean and Courtney Powers. The Huskies placed second in the North Central Conference, SCSU’s highest volleyball finish in league play and were ranked tenth in the nation in the final poll of the year.
1996-97: Sarah Loquai became the first national champion in women’s swimming and diving, bringing home the 1-meter title from the NCAA Division II National Championships. She was a five-time All-American, five-time North Central Conference Champion and three-time NCC Female Diver of the Year.
1997-99: Mary Ahlin tore up the diving scene, winning four NCAA Division II National Titles, wining the 1 & 3 meter boards at the 1997-98 and 1998-99 Championships. She was the 1998 and 1999 NCAA DII Female Diver of the Year. Ahlin won six North Central Conference titles, was an eight-time All-American and three-time NCC Female Diver of the Year. She was featured in Sports Illustrated’s Faces in the Crowd.
1998: Under new head coach Paula U’Ren, the St. Cloud State softball team won its first North Central Conference title. U’Ren had been a Huskies graduate assistant coach the previous two seasons under head coach Sue Becker. Pitcher Karissa Hoehn was named the MVP of the NCC and was the first Husky to earn National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division II First Team All-America honors.
1998-99: 1998-99 marked the debut of women’s ice hockey at St. Cloud State. The women opened the season with a 4-2 win over St. Mary’s University at the National Hockey Center.
1990’s: During the 90’s, St. Cloud State hosted several North Central Conference Tennis Championships. The Huskies won the NCC title in 1990 and repeated in 1991, picking up their fifth conference title.
2004: The SCSU softball team won the NCAA regional title and finished third in the nation during the 2004 season under the leadership of head coach Paul U'Ren
2004-05 & 2005-06: The St. Cloud State women’s basketball team made back-to-back appearances at the NCAA Division II Elite Eight in Hot Springs, Arkansas. In 2005, the Huskies overcame a seventh seed in the North Central Region Tournament, winning three games to capture the regional title. The Huskies lost in the quarterfinals of the Elite Eight by one point, 79-78 to Merrimack College. SCSU’s Katie Huschle made two free throws with :25 seconds left in the game to give the Huskies a one points lead. Merrimack countered with a three to take a one point lead. The Huskies had one last opportunity to score the winning basket but fell short.
In 2006, the Huskies knocked off host team and top seed University of North Dakota to win the region championship and advance once again to the Elite Eight. This time the Huskies defeated Shaw University 78-71 in the quarterfinals, advancing to the semi finals where SCSU fell to American International University, 70-58.
Two-sport Athletes of Note:
Heather Miller - a member of the SCSU basketball team, Miller was also a national champion and All-American for the SCSU track and field team. Her athletic career has gone on to include an appearance at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games as a member of Team USA in the heptathlon.
Jennifer Higgins competed in both basketball (two seasons) and track and field (three seasons). She was the 1999 and 2001 North Central Conference Heptathlon champion and NCAA All-American in the event. She placed second in the heptathlon at the 2001 NCAA Championships, after finishing fourth in 1999 and 2000. After completion of her track career, she held six outdoor school records and seven indoor school records. On the hard court, she was named to the 2000 All-NCC team and the 1999 All-NCC Honorable Mention team. She was voted the NCC Defensive Player of the Year in 2000. Higgins earned Academic All-American honors in both sports and was a three-time NCC All-Academic team selection.
