Women forceful this fall

Having only started women’s sports a little more than a decade ago, Rose-Hulman women’s athletics have come a long way. With most programs starting in 1995, many have gained a reputation of excellence with exceptional seasons and exceptional athletes.

Something still in recent memory of students would be from last winter when the women’s basketball team set the bar for the squads in the years to come. They showed a great amount of development since the season two years prior where their record was almost the opposite of the 21-5 record the Engineers earned in their 2006-07 campaign.

This fall, more women’s sports have made their mark outside of the conference. Senior Rachel Krasich qualified for the Division III Cross Country National Championships. Krasich earned the first national championship appearance of any female in the history of athletics at Rose-Hulman. She finished the six kilometer race with a time of 23:15, ending the race among the top half of the contenders to place 138 out of 280.

Also this fall, sophomore Sam Danesis earned regional recognition along with freshman Megan Chann with Danesis receiving the number 10 spot in the central region and the pair earning the nine spot for doubles from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. Danesis finished this season 16-3 to boost her career so far here at Rose-Hulman to 36-6. This year and last she was named the HCAC Player of the Year.

Last, but certainly not least, would be this fall’s women’s soccer team who earned the first HCAC conference championship for Rose as we enter the second year in the conference. The women’s soccer team was also the first Rose-Hulman athletic team to qualify for the NCAA Division III National Tournament since the men’s basketball team qualified for the tournament eight years prior in 1999. The team broke numerous school records including most wins in a season as they completed their season at 19-3 with a 1-0 loss to Denison in the first round of the national tournament.

With all of these women’s teams having consecutive winning seasons and regional and national recognition, it only sets the bar higher for female athletes in the future and improves Rose-Hulman’s reputation for women’s athletics.