Spring 2007

Women's Basketball Team Sets Record with 20-Win Season

The Rose-Hulman women’s basketball team created new chapters in its record book with the first 20-win season in the history of the program this winter.

The Fightin' Engineers placed second in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference with a 21-5 mark to record the most wins by a Rose-Hulman men's or women's basketball team in 30 years. The team also gained a new fan base that resulted in the largest basketball crowd in Hulbert Arena history for the team's Senior Day home game.

The historic season featured three key components that worked together to achieve a new level of success. Seniors Suzy Carlson and Rebekah Forsyth complete their careers as school record holders in multiple categories. First-year head coach Jon Prevo completed a successful transition from men’s assistant coach at Rose-Hulman for 12 years to the women’s bench.

Carlson and Forsyth started for four years in the Engineer backcourt and helped the program show overall improvement. The Engineers won 11 games during their freshman year and 13 as sophomores and juniors before the breakthrough senior season.

Carlson earned a pair of NCAA Division III statistical national championships for shooting accuracy. In 2004-05, she buried 55.8% of her three-point attempts for the best percentage in Division III in more than a decade. As a junior, Carlson hit 95.3% of her free throw attempts and again surpassed the 90% mark this season.

In addition, Carlson ranks third in school history in points scored and became the first Rose-Hulman women’s basketball player to record 300 assists in a career. Despite the accomplishments for four years, Carlson noted that the winning senior year will be her best college basketball memory. “It’s easier to become motivated to practice and play when you’re having success. Our team chemistry has always been good, but we’re having so much more fun this year. We’re hanging out on and off the court, and that’s made playing together much easier.”

The road to Rose-Hulman from State College, Pa., was unique for Carlson. Her father, Alfred, is a professor in the RoseHulman chemical engineering department. This enabled her to learn the atmosphere of the college before stepping foot on campus.

“I looked at other schools but nothing stood out. My dad encouraged me to apply here. I got in and started evaluating all the options and decided that RoseHulman was the best fit for me.”

Forsyth and the entire women’s basketball program are thankful that Carlson chose Rose-Hulman. “It’s amazing to play with Suzy. I love to set a screen for her, because I know something good will happen. Most of the time, I set the screen and turn my back to the basket to get in proper rebounding position, but sometimes it’s wasted effort because I know she’s going to make every shot.”

Forsyth’s road to Rose-Hulman was also unique. Her sister Christina ranks fourth in women’s basketball school history with 1,223 points and 614 rebounds. Although Christina enjoyed the Rose-Hulman experience, Rebekah was determined that she wanted to attend another college.

The deeply religious Forsyth said that even though she tried to avoid the signs, a voice from above told her to attend RoseHulman.

“I had no intentions to come to Rose, and sometimes I made fun of Christina for wanting to be an engineer. The more I prayed about it, the more I felt a strong pull to Rose-Hulman. It ended up the opposite of what I expected, but it’s been a wonderful experience.”

Forsyth became the first player in women’s basketball school history to score 1,500 points and grab 1,000 rebounds in her career. The accolades included four first-team all-conference awards, allregion honors, preseason AllAmerican awards, and the respect of her opponents and teammates like Carlson.

“I’ve never played with anyone like Rebekah. If I’m tired, I get the ball to her and know that she will find a way to score. She always makes plays and is so fun to have on the floor. I don’t know what we would do without her.”

The duo both gave credit to previous head coach Tony Hill for getting the program headed in the championship direction. They also agree that Prevo’s influence was a key factor in the team’s success.

“Coach Prevo stresses mental toughness and finding a way to finish games. We never panic, we know what to do in clutch situations, and we pulled out a number of close wins this year,” said Carlson.

“I really like how hard Coach Prevo works for us. He scouts relentlessly and reworks our offense to make us better. It’s great to know we have someone working that hard for us,” said Forsyth.

College athletes cannot achieve the success of Carlson and Forsyth without solid fundamentals and strong teaching of the game. Both players credit their fathers as the key influence to their success today.

“I had many coaches, but the greatest influence on my game was my dad,” said Carlson. “He’s a perfectionist and wants me to do all the little things right. His support and teaching make a huge difference in my game.”

“I remember that my dad created my first basketball court with dirt in our yard and a basket in concrete,” said Forsyth. “It was my fifth grade year, and he tried to teach me to shoot with my right and left hands. I wasn’t strong enough to score left handed, but I tried every day to get better. When I finally made that first shot, it was awesome. We always practiced together in my effort to improve,” said Forsyth.

Although the women’s program must replace two extremely talented seniors, the pieces are in place for the Engineers to enjoy success again next season. The team will return three starters in Jill Floyd, Brittany Moline and Katie Tharp, plus have a nucleus of youthful players ready to fill the void. The 2006-07 squad showed how to win, and the foundation is in place for the success to continue far into the future.