Truman Review - Sports

Scott Finishes Career With All-America Wrestling Honors
This season, 118-pound senior Karega Scott was the only Bulldog to make it to the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships. He finished eighth at 118 pounds and was an all-America for the second time after also finishing eighth as a freshman. Scott is the only 'Dog to make four consecutive trips to the national championships. He is the fourth Bulldog to be a two-time all-America and he finished eighth on the Bulldog career wins list.
Junior Calvin Buhler had another excellent season, going 25-12 after moving up two weight classes to 150 pounds. Buhler is on pace to pass the current career wins record, currently totalling 85 wins against 33 losses.
Sophomore Chris Brown finished his second 20-win season, and junior Matt Mark-ham and freshman Sean Fowler added 20-win campaigns. Markham and Fowler join 32 other Bulldogs who have 20 or more wins in a year.
The 'Dogs ended the campaign with a 9-9 dual record. They finished eighth at the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional and tied for 31st in the nation.
As a team, Truman finished second in the nation on the NCAA All-Academic Team list with a 3.287 combined grade point average.
This was also the last season for Scott Buckallew and Ken Gawronski. Buckallew finished with a career record of 19-31 and Gawronski was 11-40 during his tenure.

Softball Returns to MIAA Postseason Tournament
The Truman softball team finished its 1998 campaign with a 20-15 overall mark and 11-9 in Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association play, tying for fifth place.
The team fought through inexperience and foul weather to qualify for the MIAA tournament for the first time since 1994. It was also the first time since '94 the Bulldogs finished above .500 in the league.
The young team, comprised of eight sophomores and eight freshman, began the season by sweeping two from then 12-1 University of Southern Indiana and took third-place in the Spring Fling Tournament in Florida.
However, after returning home the team lost a tournament and two doubleheaders to the weather and was forced to reschedule MIAA dates six times.
Truman dropped a 4-5 heart-breaker to Central Missouri to begin conference play. The Bulldogs bounced back the next weekend, traveling to Missouri-Rolla for a double-header sweep of the Lady Miners.
The women would go on to sweep two other foes, Lincoln and Southwest Baptist, and split with every other school in the MIAA accept CMSU.
The team qualified for the conference tourney as the sixth seed and faced Missouri Western. Truman took an 8-1 lead into the sixth inning when the Lady Griffons stormed back and stole the game away by a 10-9 score.
Momentum left the team completely as it faced Northwest Missouri in the second round. Truman gave up 11 runs on 12 hits and could scrape up only five runs to lose the game.
The team finished third in the league in hitting with a school record .305 average, while five everyday players hit above .300.
The squad also set school records in slugging percentage (.430) and doubles (66) and tied the home run mark (15). Four of the top-10 individuals in doubles in the MIAA played for Truman. The pitching staff finished third in the league with a 2.45 ERA.
Sophomore first baseman Stephanie Schlegel, sophomore designated player Jen Wright and freshman catcher Kristi Bredbenner were named second team all-MIAA. 'Dogs named honorable mention were sophomore shortstop Megan Sullivan and freshman pitcher/third baseman Heather Mackie.
Schlegel led the team from the half-way mark in the season from the lead-off position, batting .343. She hit five home runs, tying the Truman single-season mark, and had 35 hits. Schlegel led the team with a .657 slugging percentage, 22 walks and 11 of 13 stolen bases.
Wright tied the season home run record for the second consecutive year and her 10 homers is the career mark at Truman. Wright and Schlegel tied for second in league home runs, and Wright led the team in RBIs (30).
Bredbenner threw out 21 of 32 basestealers and hit .343 with three round-trippers, finishing fifth in MIAA slugging percentage.
Sullivan led the league and hit a Bulldog season-record 16 doubles. She also led the team with 43 hits, five off the record, and at-bats (118).
Mackie hit an even .400, the highest average for a 'Dog since 1993, and led the team with a 1.96 ERA.
Head coach Dan Zimmer concluded a nine-year career. Zimmer, who stepped down to devote his full-time efforts to his duties as intramurals director at Truman, finished with a 135-186 record. His tenure was the longest of any Bulldog coach and he guided five teams to the MIAA tournament.

Baseball Ends With First MIAA
Tournament Appearance Since '94
The Truman baseball team lost a pair of games to Central Missouri and were knocked out of the MIAA playoffs, ending its season. It was the first time the Bulldogs had made a postseason MIAA tournament appearance since 1994.
Truman completed the season with a 9-23 record and a 7-17 MIAA mark. The team had its best winning percentage since 1994 and the most conference wins since 1993. The Bulldogs began the season by going 1-3 against tough non-conference opponents. The lone win was a 19-3 rout of Quincy University (Ill.), the largest margin of victory for the squad since 1992. Truman's most difficult opponent in 1998, the weather, then took over and caused the 'Dogs to cancel the next 20 games, including all 12 on their spring break trip.
The 'Dogs began conference action strong with a two-game sweep of Southwest Baptist. Truman then dropped its next 16 games.
The boys of summer made a late-season run and snapped the losing streak with a 16-5 win over Missouri Western, and proceeded to win six of the eight remaining regular season games. One of the wins was over the Missouri-St. Louis, ranked 13th in the nation at the time.
After winning two of three games from Washburn (Kan.), the Bulldogs squeezed into the eighth and final MIAA playoff spot.
Truman's offense showed improvement in '98, increasing its run production by almost one per game. The team batted .270 for the year and had 159 runs (4.97 per game), 272 hits, 49 doubles and 17 home runs.
The leading hitter for the Bulldogs was sophomore Mike Kubinski who batted .336 and led the team with 40 hits, a .409 on-base percentage and seven stolen bases. He earned honorable mention all-MIAA recognition.
Sophomore Jason Eldridge and senior Gabe Nardie were the only other regulars to bat over .300. Eldridge hit .315 and had 19 runs, 34 hits, 17 RBIs, seven doubles and three homers. Nardie ended his Truman career hitting .314 with 21 runs, 38 hits, 18 RBIs, four doubles and a home run, and took second-team all-conference honors. Nardie is ninth on Truman's career at-bats (374) list and 12th in career hits (100) and RBIs (49).
Senior Shawn Bergman finished his three-year stint tied for 14th in career games (31) and tied for 12th in career games started (20). Sophomore Jeff Birdsong led the team in wins with a 3-6 record and 6.98 ERA, earning honorable mention laurels from the league.
Senior and Kirksville native Andy Jackson compiled a 3-6 record in 20 games. He had a 10.44 ERA in 64.7 innings.
The other Bulldog senior was Cory Hanstein who finished tied for 11th in career games (32) and 12th in career starts (20).
The Bulldogs had a .956 fielding percentage and only two players had more than four errors. Eldridge led the team with 207 putouts and a .991 fielding percentage.

Stukart Recipient of MasterCard
Graduate Scholarship For Women's Golf
The Truman women's golf team concluded spring play at the Lewis (Ill.) University Spring Classic, finishing fourth out of 10 teams.
The Bulldogs' spring season was a bit lack-luster with the team starting out at the Jacksonville State (Ala.) Tiger Invitational where they placed 15th of 20 schools. Truman then played host to the Bulldog Classic and had its best outing of the spring, finishing third. Senior Erin Stukart tied for fifth individually.
At Southwest Missouri, the women were last of 10 teams and the Illini Spring Classic marked the second straight mainly Division I field the Bulldogs faced. Truman ended the two-day tournament 13th out of 16 teams.
Better focus in the fall paid dividends as the women began the campaign with second- and third-place finishes at Mount Mercy (Iowa) and St. Ambrose (Iowa), respectively.
In three straight Division I dominated tournaments, Truman paced non-Division I institutions. At Minnesota, the women were ninth, at Northern Iowa they were fourth, and at Illinois, the 'Dogs were sixth.
They completed the fall campaign with sixth- and fourth-place finishes at the Franklin College and Missouri-Kansas City tournaments, respectively.
Junior Jaime Geer posted the lowest fall average with an 82.8. Seniors Tara Rice and Stukart were next with 84.9 and 85.9 averages, respectively.
Stukart stepped up in the spring to end her career with the lowest average, an 88.1, while Rice was next with an 89.8. Stukart was also the first recipient of the MasterCard Graduate Scholarship Award for Division II Women.

Men's Golf Squad Repeats Fourth-Place MIAA Finish
The men's golf team finished its season at the MIAA Championships in Tan-Tar-A. The Bulldogs garnered fourth-place in the tournament and in the final conference standings. Junior co-captain Bryan Daniels earned all-MIAA recognition after finishing among the top 10 MIAA performers for the season. He led the 'Dogs in the fall with a 75.5 average, but posted a 77.2 in the spring for second behind the other co-captain, senior Craig Fischer who sported a 76.8.
The Bulldogs began the spring season by placing sixth out of 12 teams at Missouri-St. Louis. The men then put on a great showing at Central Missouri, placing second of 16. Daniels shot only one stroke behind the No. 1 golfer.
At Missouri Western the men took fourth-place of 20 teams and Fischer placed sixth, while Daniels clinched ninth. The last tournament was at Lincoln where the men ended the spring with a strong third-place showing.
The Bulldogs began the fall campaign with fifth-place at their own meet, followed by an eighth-place finish at Missouri-Rolla.
They dropped to 12th at Missouri Southern, but climbed to fifth the next week at Washburn. Truman completed the fall with an eighth-place finish at the Drury Classic.
Fischer, the only loss the Bulldogs will suffer for next season, began his career in 1994, but made an impact as a junior last year, earning all-MIAA recognition and tying for 63rd at the NCAA regional tournament.

Women Swimmers Finish Fourth In Nation

The Truman women's swim team (above) made University history by placing fourth at the NCAA Division II Championships. It was the team's best finish ever at nationals, and head coach Seth Huston was named the NCAA Division II women's coach of the year.
The women finished with a 7-2 dual record, and at the University of Iowa Swimming and Diving Invitational, the team enjoyed one of its most successful meets. Not only did the women place second out of eight teams, but three relays and five Bulldogs qualified for nationals at the invitational.
Seven of the 11 women who competed at the national meet earned all-America status in individual events. A swimmer must place in the top eight at nationals to earn all-America recognition.
Sophomore Sonya Burgers finished fifth in the 400 individual medley, sixth in the 200 butterfly and eighth in the 200 breaststroke.
Senior Katie Weyforth was third in the 200 backstroke and eighth in the 100 backstroke and 200 individual medley.
Junior Sarah Dunn took third in the 1,650 freestyle, junior Angie Ridnouer placed eighth in the 200 butterfly.
Freshman Bryna Busch finished third in the 100 and 200 freestyle events and fifth in the 500 freestyle, while Jess Martin was fourth in the 1,650 freestyle and seventh in the 500 freestyle. Andrea Newton placed fifth in the 200 backstroke.
Earning the team's highest place at nationals, second, was the 800 freestyle relay team of Busch, sophomore Jen Malone, Martin and Newton. The 200 and 400 freestyle relay teams of Busch, Malone, sophomore Jill Myers and Newton both placed fourth at nationals.
In February, the team won the Mideast Classic for the fifth consecutive year. This was also Huston's fourth consecutive year to earn the Mideast Classic's women's coach of the year award.
Sixteen team records and five Pershing Natatorium records were set by Truman swimmers during the 1997-98 season.

Men's Swimming Is 11th In NCAA Again
The Truman men's swim team placed 11th at nationals, the same place it earned in 1997. The men finished with a 5-6 dual record.
Nine Bulldogs competed at the national meet with eight of them placing in the top 16 in their events. All-Americas in individual events included senior Bill Mataya who was eighth in the 50 freestyle, sophomore Steve De La Piedra, fourth in the 100 backstroke, and in the 200 breaststroke, freshman Michael Morris finished eighth.
The 200 medley relay team of De La Piedra, Morris, sophomore Erik Rogers and Mataya, and the 400 medley relay team of De La Piedra, Morris, Rogers and freshman Craig Fowler placed fifth at nationals for all-America honors.
Sophomore Mike Hoskovec and freshmen Spencer Gillis and Daniel Lopez earned honorable mention all-America recognition.
The men placed second behind the University of Missouri-Rolla at the Mideast Classic after defeating the Miner's by one point earlier in the season. It was Truman's first victory over UMR's men in 30 trys.
Another big meet for the team was the Iowa Swimming and Diving Invitational in early December. The team earned second-place out of seven teams and qualified four relay teams and three individuals for nationals.
Nine team records and four Pershing Natatorium records were set by Truman swimmers in the 1997-98 season.

Men Cagers Fall To WU In MIAA Tourney
The Bulldogs closed out the 1997-98 season 14-13 overall and 8-8 in the MIAA. They also made the league postseason tournament, facing Washburn University.
The 'Dogs traveled to Quincy University for their first regular season game. Truman led at the break but was plagued by 24 percent shooting and lost, 80-66. Freshman forward Brian Brown posted a team- and career-high 19 points.
Truman suffered losses to Iowa Wesleyan and Southern Illinois-Edwardsville before heading back to Pershing Arena to begin a three-game win-streak. They beat Missouri-St. Louis, 71-55, Culver-Stockton, 58-55, establishing a three-point lead with only 14 seconds remaining, and had an 85-60 win over Monmouth (Ill.).
The Bulldogs hit the road again, traveling to No. 2 Southern Indiana where fouls plagued both teams which combined for 34 in the hour long first half alone. Despite Bulldog pressure late, they could not break the Eagles' seven-point lead in the last minutes and lost, 92-85. The 'Dogs remained on the road to face Southeast Missouri. Truman began well, but the Division I Indians went on a 28-7 run to seal their, 79-65, win.
Truman won the Quincy rematch, 61-57, and took the lead from Drury late in the second half to chart a, 64-58, triumph. The Bulldogs went to undefeated Pittsburg State to begin the MIAA season. But turnovers and foul trouble gave the Gorillas an edge as they won, 93-64. At Missouri Western, the men lacked free-throw shooting, going just 8-26. The Griffons took advantage, and the win, 75-58. Next, the 'Dogs came close to knocking off No. 13 Washburn, holding the lead until the final seconds before the Icabods pulled out the, 72-69, upset.
Back in Kirksville, the Bulldogs traded the lead with Rolla several times before the Miners took the 63-61 win on last-second free throws. The 'Dogs played well against Missouri Southern, but the Lions also went ahead for good in the final minute, winning, 72-69. Northwest only let Truman within four points during the second half and hung on for the, 70-56, win.
The Bulldogs traveled to Central Missouri and broke a six-game conference skid, winning, 75-64. Lincoln came within four points of the Bulldogs late in the second half, but the 'Dogs used a string of free throws to take the, 71-59, win.
Truman, now 9-10, hosted Missouri Western on the momentum of two straight wins. The eventual MIAA tournament champion would change that, though, defeating the 'Dogs, 67-74. The Bulldogs made up for the loss, defeating Washburn, on Truman turf this time, 65-63.
Missouri-Rolla forced the game into two overtimes before Truman pulled out a, 72-68 win.
Facing Emporia State for the only time of the season, Truman opened with a 19-2 run, taking the lead into the halftime break and came away with their own last-minute win, 45-43.
The Southwest Baptist Bearcats cruised to a, 74-46, win in the last regular season loss for the 'Dogs.
Truman again took on Central Missouri which was unable to get within 12 points in the second half as the Bulldogs won, 74-60, clinching a playoff birth.
The 'Dogs rounded out the season in strong fashion not letting Lincoln break into a their double-digit lead after the 10-minute mark of the first half. The 73-63 Truman victory gave Truman momentum going into postseason.
The Bulldogs' first-round opponent was Washburn again. The 'Dogs fell behind early in the game, and although they outscored the Icabods in the second half, it was not enough. Washburn ended Truman's season, winning, 63-52.
The Bulldogs finished fifth in the MIAA after being picked to place eighth in the preseason coaches' poll. Sophomore forward Cory Parker led the MIAA in rebounding with a 9.6 average, earning first-team all-conference recognition.
Senior Jimmy O'Donnell finished his career with honorable mention all-MIAA honors for the second year. Sophomore Jason Reinberg was third in MIAA rebounding with an 8.3 average and was named to the GTE Academic All-America District VII College Division Basketball team with a 4.00 GPA. Brown exceeded all expectations and finished the season with the team's second-highest field goal percentage. He injured his wrist after 18 games, however, and sat out the remainder of the season.

Women's Basketball Returns to
Postseason After Six-Year Hiatus
Although the Bulldogs fell, 88-73, to Emporia State (Kan.) University in a first round game, the Truman women's basketball team advanced to the league playoffs for the first time since the 1990-91 season. The contest marked one of the many high-points of the 1997-98 campaign.
Truman opened the season against Rockhurst College, losing a hard fought, 58-56, contest. Returning to Kirksville to open the home slate, the Bulldogs rattled off two straight wins before traveling to rival Quincy University. Behind a triple-double by junior point guard Amy Eagan, the women took the first of a home and home series.
The squad then lost two at the North Dakota State Thanksgiving Classic, but gained much needed experience facing national championship caliber teams. The friendly confines of Pershing Arena again set the women back on the winning track with the downing of another area rival, Culver-Stockton.
Quincy journeyed to Kirksville looking to get some revenge but went home with another loss, earning the Bulldogs a sweep of the regional rival. Illinois-Springfield closed out the non-conference portion of the schedule and sent the squad home for Christmas break on a two-game win streak and with a 5-0 home mark.
Jan. 3 marked the beginning of the conference campaign and the start of a three-game road skid. Again the Bulldogs rebounded at home, scoring two straight victories and extending the home win-streak to seven games. However, Northwest Missouri ended the home streak and the Truman women began a four-game slide.
The Bulldogs finished the season winning five of their last seven contests and earned the team its first postseason appearance since 1990-91. Truman posted a program-best 10-3 record at home.
In the first-round game, Truman broke out to an early seven-point advantage on the un-defeated Lady Hornets which was the largest deficit ESU had faced all year, hammering opponents by nearly 30 points a game. The Bulldogs kept the game close in the first half, heading into intermission down by just eight points. The 'Dogs opened the second half with an 11-4 run, clawing to within one before ESU's bench went on a hot streak, stretching the lead to as much as 22. The Bulldogs closed the gap in the final five minutes to make the final score 88-73. It was the second time in the season that Truman scored 70-plus points against Emporia, making Truman one of only two schools to accomplish the feat twice and one of only six to do it all season long.
Eagan scored in double figures in all but one game during the year and became the eighth Truman women's player to break the 1,000-point barrier. Freshman guard Wendi Sobaski set the freshman record for three-pointers with 67, the second-best single season mark and sixth-best on the career list.
Sophomore guard Megan Kahn was voted to the GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-America District VII third team.

Women's Tennis Undefeated Until Regionals

The women's tennis team had perhaps one of its most successful seasons in 1997-98, going 17-1 for the year, suffering its first loss in the Midwest regional tournament to Midwestern State (Texas).
The Bulldogs defeated four opponents 9-0 in the fall before opening the spring schedule at Principia and coming away with an 8-1 victory. The Truman women's next two victories were over Washington University and Nebraska-Kearney, both 7-2, before earning their first conference win, 8-1, versus Missouri Southern.
Southwest Baptist had to forfeit its match due to a lack of players. The Bulldogs then narrowly defeated MIAA foe Washburn, 5-4.
The women racked up two more non-conference wins against, Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, 6-1, and Mankato State University (Minn.), 9-0, before resuming MIAA play.
Truman beat Missouri Western, 8-1, and defeated Northwest Missouri, 7-2. The only two losses NWMS suffered in the league since 1991 were to Truman, with the other Bulldog win coming in 1995.
The women completed the regular season with resounding 9-0 wins over MIAA schools Lincoln and Emporia State, and a non-conference win against Rockhurst, 7-2.
Senior Marilee Boullear completed her career, going 20-8 at No. 2 singles and 20-5 at No. 2 doubles with junior Iris Del Rosario.
Kelli Brady, also a senior was 24-3 for the season at No. 5 singles and 14-1 at No. 3 doubles with freshman Oleysa Paramonova. Paramonova joined the team in January and was the only undefeated player with a 15-0 record at No. 4 singles. Brady graduated with a 4.0 and was named to the GTE Academic All-America District VII first team.
Junior Courtney Jeter moved up to No. 1 singles after the first semester and posted a 16-11 record.
Freshman Jennifer Bickel made an immedi-ate impact, earning the No. 3 singles spot and ended her first year with a 25-4 singles mark and a 19-6 record at No. 1 doubles with Jeter.
The women took first-place at the MIAA tournament, their fourth title and first since 1995. Jeter, Bickel, Paramonova and Brady were conference champions at their positions and head coach Pete Kendall was named women's coach of the year. The women ended the season ranked 30th in the nation and ninth in the Midwest region.

Men Netters End Season With Seven-Match Win-Streak
The men's tennis team, 10-5 overall and 3-2 in the MIAA, began the season with a win over Central Methodist, but would lose its next three matches to end the fall.
However, they regrouped in the spring and began with two wins over Central College (Iowa), 8-1, and Nebraska-Kearney, 7-2. The Bulldogs would next suffer through the rest of their losses for the season, four in a row, to Drury, 2-7, MIAA opponents Southwest Baptist, 1-8, and Washburn, 3-6, and SIU-Edwardsville, 4-5.
Then the 'Dogs began a seven-game win-streak to finish the regular season. They posted wins over William Jewell, 9-0, Missouri-Rolla, 5-4, Indianapolis, 7-2, Mankato State, 8-1, Northwest Missouri, 8-1, Rockhurst, 5-4, and Emporia, 9-0. The men's victory over Northwest was their first since 1986.
Senior Matt Lazinski was the No. 1 singles man and went 15-16 for the year, while senior Cole Haynes, his doubles partner, was 15-12 at No. 4 singles. The pair was 14-10 in doubles action in '97-98.
The men repeated their fourth-place finish of a year ago at the conference tournament with senior Matt Saabye the only MIAA champion for the Bulldogs, winning at No. 6 singles. He finished his career with a 20-6 mark for the year, while senior Shawn Siegele went 13-14 at No. 5 singles.

Women's Indoor And Outdoor
Track And Field Led By Mudyirwa
At the 1998 Indoor MIAA Championships, the women's team placed fifth overall with sophomore Dafros Mudyirwa tying for the fourth-best point total. She scored 20 points, bringing home two second-place finishes in the 55-meter dash and long jump and coming in fourth in the 55-meter hurdles.
Senior Megan Mosher, in the 55-meter hurdles, and sophomore Natasha Carter, in the shotput and weight throw, qualified for the Division II meet, but did not finish in the top six.
The Bulldogs duplicated their outdoor performance of '97 by placing fifth at the MIAA outdoor meet in Kirksville. The Bulldogs' 4x100-meter relay squad of Molly Kandlbinder, Gretchen Bruemmer, Sa-Tonya Carter and Mudyirwa was the only winner for the women, turning in an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 47.13.
The 4x100-meter relay team set an outdoor school record and qualified for the national meet, bringing home a sixth-place finish and all-America honors for the four women. Mudyirwa also qualified in the long jump, while Natasha Carter did in the hammer throw. Neither woman made it to the finals competition in their events.

Men Hold Steady Indoors And Record Best MIAA Outdoor Finish Since 1980
The men's indoor track and field squad repeated its fourth-place performance of '97 at the the MIAA meet. Senior Matt Antognoli earned his second-straight league title in the 400-meter dash and finished with the third-highest point total with 20.5. He also anchored the first-place 4x400-meter relay squad.
Antognoli was the only qualifier for the NCAA Division II indoor meet. After advancing to finals with a time of 48.50 in the 400-meter dash, he came away with all-America honors for his sixth-place national finish in a time of 48.18.
The men's team achieved success at the MIAA outdoor conference meet by placing second. It was the Bulldogs' best finish since 1980. Truman played host to the MIAA meet for the first time since 1970.
Sophomore Brian Waters was the MIAA high jump champion, Antognoli was the winner of the 400-meter dash and senior Jon Coyle won the long jump. Truman took second in the 400-meter hurdles, triple jump, 1,500 meter run and 4x400-meter relay.
The men also competed at the Drake Relays, placing fourth in the 4x800-meter relay and fifth in the 4x400-meter relay in the college division. The 4x400-meter relay team of Aaron Krill, Chad Froelker, Coyle, and Antognoli provisionally qualified for nationals with a time of 3:11.88.
The men's team placed first at the Washington Invitational at Washington University in St. Louis, dominating competition with first place finishes in five events.
Antognoli made his third trip to the national outdoor meet, competing in the 400-meter dash. He entered the meet with a personal best time of 47.00, but was unable to make it to the finals. Two sophomores also made their first trips to nationals. Keith Aumiller competed in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles, but also did not qualify for the finals. Sophomore Chad Froelker earned all-America honors for the first time with a sixth-place showing in the decathlon.

Schroeder Is New Softball Skipper
Effective Aug. 1, 1998, Kristy (Howard) Schroeder will serve as the new head coach for the Bulldog softball team. Schroeder played for two NCAA Division I national championship teams at the University of California-Los Angles in 1990 and 1992, and was on the runner-up squads in 1991 and 1993. She was a four-time all-PAC-10 shortstop and is the all-PAC-10 decade team shortstop. Schroeder was a top-60 finalist for the U.S. Olympic softball team and was on an American Softball Association national championship team, earning ASA all-America accolades. She was also a letterwinner for the UCLA women's soccer and tennis teams her senior year, the university's first female three-sport athlete.
The new coach has a plethora of coaching experience, working most recently as an assistant for the softball team at University of the Pacific in Stockton, Calif. She also served as an assistant at Stanford University and as a graduate assistant at UCLA.
Schroeder graduated from UCLA in 1994 with a degree in sociology and earned a master's in sport sciences from Pacific in December.
She is a native of Spring Valley, Calif., and was her high school conference's co-player of the year in 1989 and San Diego County Athlete of the year twice.
Schroeder was married this past June to Pete Schroeder ('96) who will also begin in August as a part-time instructor in the exercise science department at Truman.
She takes the reigns from nine-year head coach Dan Zimmer. Zimmer stepped down to devote full-time attention to his position as director of intramurals at Truman.