MEREDITH RAINEY

HARVARD TRACK & FIELD

• First black female in Ivy League history to earn an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.  

• Two-time NCAA champion and 12-time Ivy League champion. All-time Ivy Best record holder in the 400m and 800m.    

• Competed in the 1992 and 1996 Olympics in the 800m, including a semifinals appearance in Atlanta.          

JUDY GEER

DARTMOUTH ROWING

• Geer is a pioneer rower, leading the first women’s crew team at Dartmouth.  

• Arrived at Dartmouth as a transfer the second year women were admitted as students.   

• First female Olympian from Dartmouth, qualifying for three Olympic Games: Montreal in 1976, Moscow in 1980 (boycotted) and Los Angeles in 1984.          

MARVELLOUS IHEUKWUMERE

COLUMBIA TRACK & FIELD

• Named the 2014 Ivy League Woman of the Year, won seven Ivy League Championships and a nine-time All-Ivy League honoree.   

• Honored in 2014 as the Arthur Ashe Sports Scholar Award Recipient, while graduating from Harvard Law School.  

•  Trained for the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics (Becoming a finalist at 2016 Nigerian Olympic Trials in the 200m).       

1976 TITLE IX PROTEST

YALE WOMEN'S ROWING

• Yale crew members stage a “Strip-In” in Director of Physical Education Joni Barnett’s office.  

 • Protested the lack of facilities for women rowers, about 20 team members strip off their sweats to reveal “Title IX” painted across their bodies.  

• Event received national attention and produced an increase in resources.        

JULIA ANN STAVER

PENN FIELD HOCKEY AND LACROSSE

• Staver was Penn’s outstanding female athlete when women’s athletics was awarded varsity team status in the early 1970’s.  

 • Two-time All-American in lacrosse (1973, 1974) and an All-American in field hockey (1973). Recipient of the Father’s Award in 1974. 

 • Captioned the 1980 U.S. Olympic field hockey team and was a co-captain of the 1984 bronze-medal winning Olympic team. 

SUSAN COSENTINI

CORNELL ICE HOCKEY, SWIMMING & DIVING

• Cosentini is the first Cornellian to have participated in two varsity women’s sports in one season.  

 • Competed in sprint events for the swim team for three seasons and played wing/defense for the ice hockey team for four years.   

• Lettered in swimming in 1978-79 (the first year Cornell awarded letters to women athletes) and she won letters in hockey in 1978-79 and 1979-80.      

JOSIE HARPER

DARTMOUTH DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS AND RECREATION

• In 2002, Harper became the first woman to hold the position of Director of Athletics and Recreation at an Ivy League school.  

• Coached the women’s lacrosse program to its first Ivy League championships in 1986 and 1987— posted an overall 88-69 record.  

• A recipient of the Katherine Ley Award, presented by the ECAC in recognition of her leadership and advocacy for women coaches and administrators.      

MEGAN GRIFFITH

COLUMBIA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

• Griffith serves as a three-year captain and was a two-time All-Ivy selection at Columbia.

• Recently led the Lions to their winningest season in program history, including a run to the WNIT Quarterfinal.

• Honored with the inaugural Asian Coaches Association Women's Basketball Coach of the Year.

CHIE CHIE YARD

BROWN WOMEN'S ICE HOCKEY

• Yard currently serves as the National Hockey League's Group Vice President.

• Represented Japan in the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympic Games. Serving as an alternate captain while playing in all five games.

• Named a Sports Business Journal Game-Changer in 2018.

JULIE CHU

HARVARD WOMEN'S ICE HOCKEY

• Harvard's all-time assists leader, NCAA record holder for career points, three-time All-American and Patty Kazmaier Award Winner.

• First Asian-American woman to play for the U.S. Olympic Ice Hockey team.

• Tied as second-most decorated female athlete in Olympics Winter Games history.

PRINCETON SOFTBALL

1995 PRINCETON SOFTBALL TEAM

• Princeton wins the NCAA Softball Play-In against Rider. The Tigers, who at one point won 29 games in a row, earn the right to host an NCAA Regional.

• With a win against Hofstra and two wins against UConn, Princeton becomes the first Ivy League representative in the College Softball World Series.

• The Tigers make a return trip to the World Series the following year as well.

KYRA TIRANA BARRY

COLUMBIA WOMEN'S SOCCER

• A member of Columbia College’s first fully coeducational class and founding member of the first women’s soccer team at Columbia.

• Named the first woman president of the Columbia College Alumni Association in 2011. Headed a committee that focused on increasing engagement in young alumni.

• Barry is also President of Beat the Streets Wrestling and created the first freestyle wrestling league for high school girls.

OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALISTS

1998 UNITED STATES WOMEN'S ICE HOCKEY

• In 1998, the United States women’s ice hockey team wins its first-ever gold medal in the sport in the 1998 Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan.  

• Eight team members had Ivy League connections: Lisa Brown-Miller, Katie King, A.J. Mleczko, Tara Mounsey, Sarah Tueting, Gretchen Ulion, Sandra Whyte and Ben Smith.  

• King (Brown ‘97) was the top women’s goaltender of the tournament with a save percentage of 93.75.

LAWRIE MIFFLIN

YALE CLASS OF 1973

• Graduated in Yale's first class to admit women as freshman.

• Responsible for the promotion of the field hockey to varsity status in 1972.
 

• Became one of the first woman sportswriters for the New York Daily News and The New York Times

• First Ivy League women to be honored with the NCAA Silver Anniversary Award in
1998.

SIDRA BONNER

CORNELL CLASS OF 2012

• Sidra Bonner earned degree in Biology and Society and was a member of the women's soccer team at Cornell.
 

• Solidified her path in medicine after participating in a program through the Cornell Biodiversity Laboratory at Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic during the summer leading up to her junior year.
 

• Member of the White Coats For Black Lives, an organization run by medical students with the self-proclaimed mission "to dismantle racism in medicine and promote the health, well-being, and self-determination of people of color."

IMAN BLOW

COLUMBIA CLASS OF 2019

• First black woman in Columbia athletics history to win individual national title- member of the 2016 & 2018 national championship teams.

• 3x All-American, 2x First-Team All-America selection, 2x All-Ivy honoree.

• A scholar in the Gerald E. Thomson Undergraduate Premedical Program

• Spearheaded the implementation of Safe Sport Training for athletes competing in the Junior and Cadet Pan American and World Championships.

HEATHER MARINI

 BROWN FOOTBALL

• Brown football’s Heather Marini became the first female position coach in NCAA Division I football history.  

• Joined Brown’s coaching staff shortly after attending her first Women’s Careers in Football. Former NFL Summer Scouting Specialist with the New York Jets.  

• Played competitively for Gridiron Victoria Women’s Tackle Football where was was the Rookie of the Year and First Team All-State, and Monash Warriors Women’s Gridiron, where she was the team’s offensive MVP, captain and quarterback.

RHODES SCHOLARS

 ALISON MUSCATINE, DENISE THAL, SUZANNE PERLES

• In 1976, women were eligible to receive Rhodes Scholarships for the first time in history.  

• Three varsity letterwinners were selected among the 13 women in the inaugural class and all three were from Ivy League institutions.   

• Alison Muscatine and Denise Thal both played basketball and tennis at Harvard-Radcliffe and Suzanne Perles played on the first field hockey team at Princeton.

1990 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS

 HARVARD WOMEN'S LACROSSE

• In 1990, Harvard outscored Maryland 8-7 to win the first NCAA championship for a Harvard women's team. 

• The Crimson posted a perfect 15-0 season and was led by first-team All-Americans Char Joslin ‘90, Maggie Vaughan ’90 and Julia W. French ‘90, and second-team selections Susan M. Carls ’91 and Karen M. Everling '90.  

• The 1990 women's lacrosse team shattered the glass ceiling for other Crimson women's NCAA teams to follow their lead as Harvard now has two women's NCAA titles and 36 total national championships.

TRAILBLAZERS

 YALE WOMEN'S SWIMMING

• Bonnie (Jackson) Kestner ‘74 was the first varsity captain of the women’s swimming and diving program in 1973-1974. 

• Roseanne Marcus Riddick '76 served as the captain for the following two seasons.

• When Riddick was a senior, Yale brought in their first big recruiting class. As a captain she had to teach them the ropes of balancing academics with athletics. By 1978, the team won its first Ivy Championship.

GAIL ROSSMAN KEDION

 PENN FENCING '88

• Rossman was one of only two Penn fencers to ever accomplish the feat of being a four-time All-Ivy recipient. She is also a four-year letterwinner and two-time captain. 

• In 1986, she helped Penn achieve their only women's NCAA fencing title. Rossman helped Penn win the Ivy League title in each of her four seasons.

• A former member of the United States National Fencing Team. She was a semifinalists at the Junior Pan American Games.

AGNES KURTZ

 DARTMOUTH

• Agnes Kurtz was hired in the fall of 1972 to start the Dartmouth women's athletics programs, starting with basketball, squash, lacrosse, field hockey, tennis and skiing.

• Kurtz developed intercollegiate and intramural programs for the women of Dartmouth college, but she also coached the squash, lacrosse and field hockey teams for several years. 

• The first Dartmouth women's collegiate competition took place in October of 1972 when field hockey played Keene State.

MERRILY DEAN BAKER

PRINCETON

• Merrily Dean Baker started the women's athletics program at Princeton — she was the first female athletics administrator. 

• Became the Director of Women's Athletics at Princeton from 1970-1982 and helped to build many of the women's programs from scratch.

• The first woman Director of Athletics in Big Ten history, 1992-1995, at Michigan State University.

STARTING STRONG

INAUGURAL FIRST-TEAM ALL-IVY SQUAD

• Lauren Epstein, Dartmouth Class of 2000

• Samantha Sommers, Dartmouth Class of 1999

• Megan Murray, Harvard Class of 1997

• Mary Moan, Princeton Class of 1997

• Charity Barras, Yale Class of 1998

• Chawwadee Rompothong, Yale Class of 2000

• Natalie Wong, Yale Class of 1998

SILVER ANNIVERSARY

WOMEN'S GOLF HONOR ROLL

• Susan Johnson, Dartmouth Class of 1985

• Tracey Welch, Dartmouth Class of 1993

• Alexis Boyle, Harvard Class of 1980

• Leslie Greis, Harvard Class of 1980

• Barbra Armas, Princeton Class of 1992

• Mary Moan, Princeton Class of 1997

• Andrea Francus, Yale Class of 1982

• Natalie Wong, Yale Class of 1998

BEST OF THE BEST

FOUR-TIME ALL-IVY HONOREES

• Sarah Seo, Yale (1999-00-01-02)

• Avery Kise, Princeton (2002-03-04-05)

• January Romero, Yale (2003-04-05-06)

• Cindy Shin, Yale (2004-05-06-07)

• Susannah Aboff, Princeton (2006-07-08-09)

• Emily Balmert, Harvard (2006-07-08-09)

• Kelly Shon, Princeton (2011-12-13-14)

• Hana Ku, Princeton (2014-15-16-17)

MICHELLE PIYAPATTRA

COLUMBIA WOMEN'S GOLF '14

• Named 2011-12 Ivy League Women's Golfer of the Year and three-time First-Team All-Ivy honoree

• One of two Columbia golfers to become an Individual Ivy League Women's Golf Champion

• Ranked as high as 105 in hr collegiate career. tied for 72nd in the 2012 NCAA East Regional. 

JUDITH GRACEY

BROWN CLASS OF 1981

• Ran the 100-yard dash in 11.7 seconds to capture her first Heptagonal Championship title as a freshman. Later that day, won another title in the 4x400 relay.

• Helped lead Brown to their first team championship in program history- the 1980 New England Outdoor Team Championships.

• Gracey concluded her career with five Heps crowns in four seasons and continues to sit in the top 10 of Brown's records today.

CARRIE DALY

COLUMBIA CLASS OF 1986

• Daly was one of many female student-athletes who helped build the Columbia-Barnard Athletic Consortium into what it is today.

• Just after the Consortium was formed, Daly captured the Consortium era's first Ivy League title in track and field when she won the javelin throw in 1984.

• Named to the 1984 All-Ivy League team and was on the United States Junior National Team which competed in the 1982 Junior Pan-American Games.

JEOMI MADUKA

CORNELL CLASS OF 2009

• Only individual, male or female, to win four individual events at one Indoor Heptagonal Championship.

• Helped Cornell claim seven team championships during her four years (one basketball, three indoor track, three outdoor track). Garnered 16 first-team All-Ivy honors.

• National runner-up at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in 2009 in the long jump, claimed seven first-team All-America honors in track.

GAIL KOZIARA BOUDREAUX

DARTMOUTH CLASS OF 1982

• Earned four Ivy League shot put titles as a member of Dartmouth's track and field team and was an All-American her senior year.

• First Dartmouth alum to receive the Theodore Roosevelt Award, the highest honor the NCAA can bestow an individual.

• Named to the Ivy League's 25-year anniversary team in basketball and Dartmouth College's 25-year anniversary team in basketball and track and field.

DARLENE BECKFORD PEARSON

HARVARD CLASS OF 1983

• In her four years at Harvard, she set four school records in five different events: 400m, 600m, 800m, 1500m and the mile. In 1979, she set the collegiate record by 15 seconds.

• A seven-time Ivy League champion in cross country and track events, a four-time Heps champions, a two-time Heps record holder and a 1980 All-American.

• In 1981, she was the NCAA indoor 800m champion; in 1982, she was the NCAA indoor mile champion.

DR. MARY TURNER DEPALMA

PENN CLASS OF 1984

• Considered one of the “Founding Mothers” of the Women's Track & Field program as she was one of the program's original recruits.

• One of Penn's first two NCAA qualifiers on the track, joining Riva Gensib at the 1982 Outdoor Championships where she ran the 800.

• Helped the Quakers finish first among the Ivy League teams at both the Indoor and Outdoor Heptagonal Games her senior year.

LYNN JENNINGS

PRINCETON CLASS OF 1984

• Earned All-American status and set several school and Heptagonal records that still remain in the top 10. She was the Princeton record holder in the indoor 3,000m.

• Competed in three Olympic Games — 1988, 1992. 1996. Became the first Ivy League female to win an Olympic medal in track.

• One of the most decorated American runners of all-time. Used to hold the World Record for the indoor 5,000m. She has won at least 39 national titles.

KATE O'NEILL

YALE CLASS OF 2003

• Three-time NCAA runner-up in cross country, indoor 5000m and outdoor 10,000m. Earned All-American honors in both cross country and outdoor track.

• Finished third in the Olympic 10,000m trials to qualify her for the 2004 Summer Olympics. In Athens, she finished 21st with a time of 32:24.04.

• One of Yale's first female track and field Olympians. She holds top times in the 3000m and 5000m in Yale's and the Ivy League's indoor records book.

JENNIFER L. BOYD

BROWN WOMEN'S SWIMMING '90

• Ten-time All-Ivy, as well as ten-time All-East in swimming. Selected as the Eastern Women's Swimming League swimmer-of-the-year and the Rhode Island female athlete-of-the-year.

• In 1990 at the NCAA Championships, she placed second in the 50-yard free, second in the 100-yard free and fifth in the 100-yard butterfly.

• U.S. National Swimming Team member - 1983,1984, 1985, 1990 and 1991. Also a member of Brown women's crew - won the Eastern Women's Rowing
Championships in 1990.

CHRISTINA TEUSCHER

COLUMBIA WOMEN'S SWIMMING '00

• The first Ivy woman to win an NCAA swimming championship. She captured the 500-yeard freestyle in a time of 4:35.45, the second-fastest time in U.S.
history. The following day she won her second title in the 400-meter individual medley.

• Two-time All-American and four-time NCAA champion. She won 12 Ivy League titles, set 17 Columbia record and never lost an individual race.

• Member of the gold medal-winning 800-freestyle relay team in the 1996 Olympic Games. Four years later, she earned a bronze medal in the 200
individual medley at the 2000 Olympic Games.

HELEN BARFIELD

CORNELL WOMEN'S SWIMMING '95

• Barfield was a four-year letterwinner who graduated with records in the 200, 500, 1000 and 1650 free and the 400 individual medley.

• She was named second team All-Ivy for her second place performances in the 500 and the 1650 free at the Eastern Championships in 1994.
 

• Barfield was team MVP her freshman and sophomore year, then served as a team captain in her junior and senior season. She was a Richie Moran Award winner as a senior for her efforts in and out of the classroom and community.

THE BEGINNING

DARTMOUTH WOMEN'S SWIMMING 

• In 1973, Dartmouth women's swimming and diving became the seventh program to reach fully-funded varsity status.

• Within the first five years of the program, eight athletes were All-American honorees: Diane L Fountas '78, Nancy Gildan '78, Maja C. Wessels "81, Joni C. Nicols ‘81, Jenna R. Dixon ’81, Helen Hemminger'81, Nancy C. Smith '81 and Karen E. McKeel '81.

• Hemminger and Smith were two-time All-American swimmers for the Big Green.

NANCY SATO

HARVARD WOMEN'S SWIMMING '75

• Lettered in both swimming and diving and field hockey in 1975, the first year the harvard "H" was awarded to Radcliffe athletes.

• At the end of her sophomore year, Sato was ranked No. 1 in New England and would continue her reign for the duration of her collegiate career.

• In 1975, she was ranked fourth in the East and 16th-ranked All-American.

ELEANOR DANIEL

PENN WOMEN'S SWIMMING '74

• Daniel was one of the most decorated American swimmers as a competitor in two Olympic Games and a world record holder as both an individual and
relay team member.
 

• Set the world record for 200 meters four times and swam the butterfly leg on four medley relay world records.

• A seven-time national champion during her swimming career and held 14 individual American and/or national records.

CATHY CORCIONE

PRINCETON WOMEN'S SWIMMING '74

• Corcione made history before she even stepped foot on Princeton's campus by becoming an Olympian at the age of 15 after competing in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics.
 

• A five-time national champion as part of Princeton's first women's swimming and diving team.

• Won the 100 free and 100 fly in national records to qualify for the World University Games where she was the anchor of the winning 400 free relay team and finished second in the 100 fly.

TRAILBLAZERS

YALE WOMEN'S SWIMMING

• Bonnie (Jackson) Kestner '74 was the first varsity captain of the women's swimming and diving program in 1973-1974.

• Roseanne Marcus Riddick 76 served as the captain for the following two seasons.

• When Riddick was a senior, Yale brought in their first big recruiting class. As a captain she had to teach them the ropes of balancing academics with
athletics. By 1978, the team won its first Ivy Championship.

BEST OF THE BEST

BROWN WOMEN'S FENCING

• Ruth Schneider is the most decorated women's fencer in Brown history. She is a two-time All-American (2003,2004) and a three-time NCAA Qualifier (2003, 2004, 2006).

• Caitlin Taylor (2010, 2011, 2014), Kathryn Hawrot (2011, 2012, 2014) and Christine Whalen (2012, 2014, 2015) are all three-time NCAA Qualifiers.

• Brown was finished top 20 at the NCAA Championships at least 13 times in program history.

CAITLIN BILODEAUX

COLUMBIA CLASS OF 1987

• A four-time All-American, four-time Northeast Regional champion and four-time All-lvy League selection.

• In both 1985 and 1987, she won the NCAA women's foil titles to become the first woman ever to capture two NCAA fencing crowns.

• Competed in the women's individual and team foil events at the 1988 and 1992 Summer Olympics.

• The top-ranked women's foil fencer in the United States from 1985-1992.

PEGGY WALBRIDGE

CORNELL CLASS OF 1974

• A three-time first-team All-American, she finished second in the National Intercollegiate Women's Fencing Association Championships in 1972 and
placed first in 1974.

• Led Cornell to national titles in 1972, 1973 and a second-place finish in 1974.

• One of Cornell's fencing selections to the Women's Ivy League Silver Anniversary Honor Roll.

EMILY CROSS

HARVARD CLASS OF 2008

• Member of the 2008 United States Foil Fencing Team that won silver at the Olympics in Beijing — first Harvard fencer to medal at Olympics.

• Became an individual national champion as a freshman to become the first Harvard and fifth Ivy woman to achieve that distinction.

• 3x All-American in foil, 3x Academic All-American (2006, 2008, 2009), 2008 Olympian-Silver Medal, 3x First-Team All-Ivy, Radcliffe Prize, Harvard-Radcliffe Foundation for Women's Athletics Prize.

MARY JANE O'NEILL

PENN CLASS OF 1986

• Three-time All-Ivy selection in foil (1984-1986), three-time First-Team All-American (1983-1985) and NCAA Individual Champion (1984)- the first for Penn women's varsity.

• The first Penn woman fencer to represent the United States in the Olympic Games in 1988 and 1992.

• O'Neill led Penn to the Ivy League title all four years, and as a senior, they won the NCAA team title.

ALL-AMERICANS

PRINCETON WOMEN'S FENCING

• Maya Lawrence ‘02, Jacqueline Leahy ’06, Eliza Stone ‘13, Susannah Scanlan ’14, Gracie Stone '16 and Katharine Holmes "17 are the program's six four-time All-Americans.

• Anna van Brummen, E. Stone and Holmes all represented Team USA at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

• E. Stone is the second Princetonian to win an NCAA title when she took the saber crown in 2013.

SADA JACOBSON

YALE CLASS OF 2006

• Won two medals at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, winning silver in the women's individual sabre competition and a bronze medal in the team
sabre competition.

• Won bronze in the women's individual saber competition at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

• Two-time NCAA Champion in women's saber (2001 and 2002).

• Became the first U.S. woman and second U.S. fencer to ever rank #1 in the world.