Donna Lopiano, ’68, was a multi-sport star playing for Southern’s basketball, volleyball and field hockey teams as well as playing 10 seasons with the ASA's renowned Raybestos Brakettes. She earned nine All-America awards and was a three-time national tournament MVP. Lopiano held a pitching record of 183-18, with 1,633 strikeouts. She was inducted into the Amateur Softball Association Hall of Fame in 1983. She was the director of women’s athletics for the University of Texas and executive director of the Women’s Sports Foundation.
Mary Anne O’Connor, ’75, was a member of the 1976 Olympic women’s basketball team which won a silver medal at Montreal. At Southern, she helped lead the Owls to third-place finishes in the AIAW Division I basketball championships in 1973 and 1974 and to fourth place in 1975. She was a preseason All-American pick in 1974-75 and earned Southern’s Outstanding Scholar Athlete Award in 1975. She went on to play basketball in France, leading her team to eight French Cup championships in nine seasons. She was named France’s Sportswoman of the Year in 1985.
Susan Rojcewicz, ’75, was selected to the first women’s basketball All-America Team in 1974-75. She played for the United States in the 1975 World Championship and on the gold-medal-winning Pan American team in 1975. She was a member of the 1976 Olympic women's basketball team which won a silver medal at Montreal. Rojcewicz helped lead the Owls to third place finishes in 1973 and 1974, and fourth place in 1975 at the AIAW Division I tournaments. She also starred in field hockey and softball.
Barbara Abernathy was the Owls’ first director of women’s athletics. She coached basketball, field hockey and softball at Southern Connecticut, and also formed the Women’s Recreation Association. In addition, Abernathy was an outstanding pitcher for the Raybestos Brakettes from 1948 to 1963, during which she played on numerous world championship teams.
Christie Clark Deary, ’83, was unbeaten in every event in dual meet competition from 1980 to 1983. A four-season All-American in gymnastics, she won AIAW National all-around and uneven bars titles in 1981 and the NCAA vaulting championship in 1983. She was also an alternate member of the U.S. World University Games Team.
Donna Hebert Devlin, ’68, was pitcher and first baseman for the nationally-renowned Raybestos Brakettes and a basketball star for the Owls’ women’s team. She went on to coach basketball and softball at Worcester State College and Brandeis University. She was a council member of USA Basketball and a committee member of the Honda-Broderick Cup.
Cathy Inglese, ’80, was a star player on the Owls’ women’s basketball team for four seasons, playing in three national postseason tournaments, and was given a scholar-athlete award. She was also an outstanding softball player and was inducted into the Connecticut Softball Hall of Fame. She went on to a successful coaching career at the University of Vermont and Boston College. She was named Conference Coach of the Year in 1990, 1991 and 1992 with Vermont.
Jody Rajcula, ’79, was among the Owls’ all-time scoring leaders with 1,321 points and 763 rebounds. She won numerous player awards and helped bring her team to four national championship tournaments. Rajcula went on to be a highly-successful women's basketball coach at Western Connecticut State University, and was named New England Coach of the Year in 1985 and 1990.
Cathy Neary McGuirk, A stand-out goalkeeper for Southern Connecticut, McGuirk was also a member of the women's basketball team before her graduation in 1967. In four years as the Owls' goalkeeper, McGuirk was never scored upon.
Following her graduation from Southern with a degree in physical education and a masters in elementary education, McGuirk went on to become the head coach at Branford (Conn.) High School, which she developed into one of the top scholastic programs in the country.
McGuirk ended her career with an overall record of 558-129-66-12 – the most of all CIAC field hockey coaches in career wins. McGuirk guided Branford to 17 regular-season titles and the SCC Tournament Championship in 2016. McGuirk also led Branford to 40-consecutive state tournaments and won 10 of the 14 state championship appearances.
In addition to the NFHCA Hall of Fame, McGuirk is enshrined in the Branford Education Hall of Fame, Branford Sports Hall of Fame, CHSCA Hall of Fame, New Agenda Northeast Sports Hall of Fame and Connecticut Field Hockey Hall of Fame. She also received a Gold Key from the Connecticut Sports Writers Alliance in 2014.
Marnie S. Dacko, ’78, was an outstanding basketball center and softball pitcher for the Owls. She led the basketball team in scoring and rebounding, and appeared with the Owls in four-straight AIAW national championships and scored more than 1,000 career points. Dacko went on to serve as an assistant coach at the University of Wisconsin, St. John’s University and Northwestern University. She was named head coach at Cornell University in 1996 and won Ivy League Coach of the Year honors in her first season. She was inducted into the Connecticut Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 1990.
Carolyn Court, ’76, was an outstanding cross country and track and field performer. She ran with Southern’s men’s cross country team and was co-captain of the Owls’ women’s track team in 1976. She earned All-America honors in the 800-meter run. Court went on to teach and coach at Bates College. She was honored as the New England Division III Cross Country Coach of the Year in 1996 and received the Lewiston-Auburn Sports Hall of Fame President’s Award the same year.
Edna Fraser, ’59, was a pioneer in girls’ and women’s athletics in the New Haven area. She was a member of four national championship softball teams with the renowned Raybestos Brakettes from 1953 to 1965. She coached volleyball, softball and basketball in the Milford school system for many years, and became the director of athletics at Milford’s Joseph A. Foran High School. Fraser helped initiate numerous sports programs for girls and women in Milford and throughout the region, acting as a role model and mentor. She served as an assistant softball coach for the Owls and was instrumental in the development of the Connecticut Scholastic and Collegiate Softball Hall of Fame.
Linda Massey Wilson, ’74, was team captain and scored more than 1,000 points for the women’s basketball team, helping the Owls to four appearances in the AIAW national championship tournaments. She was inducted into the Connecticut Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995. Also a standout on the volleyball and track and field teams, Massey Wilson went on to become a physical education teacher in the Norwalk school system.
Judith A. Christensen, ’61, established the first women’s cross country team and competitive synchronized swim team. As head coach of women’s track and field from 1964 to 1979, she led the Owls to a phenomenal record of 123 wins and just 12 losses. In 31 years as a faculty member at Southern, Christensen also coached junior varsity basketball and served as an adviser to the women’s intramural soccer program. She organized the New England Synchronized Swimming League and served as co-director of the Olympic Track and Field Development Program for children with special needs.
Joan Van Ness, ’80, ranks among Southern’s all-time women’s basketball scorers with 1,272 points and holds the Owls’ record for assists in a season with 197 in 1976-77. A Wade Trophy finalist, Van Ness received the Jack Lackman Trophy for her achievements as a scholar-athlete and was a finalist in the Olympic trials. Van Ness also excelled at softball and helped the Raybestos Brakettes capture Amateur Softball Association national titles in 1976, 1977 and 1979. She was a member of the USA National team, which won a gold medal at the Pan American Games.
Louise O’Neal brought national prominence to Southern as the head coach of the Owls’ women’s basketball team. Beginning in 1970, O’Neal guided Southern to a record of 110 wins and 27 losses and was the only coach to lead her team to all six national collegiate championships in the AIAW. The Owls placed third in the nation among all divisions in 1971, 1973 and 1974. Two of O’Neal’s players played on the U.S. Women’s Olympic Team. She is a nationally-recognized athletics administrator, having served at Yale University, Dartmouth College and Wellesley College.
Louise Albrecht was a pioneer in women’s athletics at Southern and beyond, having played with the famed Raybestos Brakettes fast-pitch softball team. At Southern, she was a teacher and administrator, as well as coach of the softball and volleyball teams between 1970 and 1992. Albrecht is a member of the Amateur Softball Association Hall of Fame, the Connecticut Scholastic and Collegiate Softball Hall of Fame, the Connecticut Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, and the Northeast Women in Sports Hall of Fame. She served on the NCAA women’s basketball rules committee and the NCAA Council. And she received the 1993 District Administrator of the Year Award from the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators.
Kathleen Ann Kochiss, ’84, was a standout basketball player at Milford High School before coming to Southern, where she was team captain for the Owls from 1981 to 1983. She helped bring the team to the NCAA Final Four, and amassed 1,158 career points while averaging 15.8 points per game, 9.1 rebounds per game and a 92 percent free throw average. Kochiss was named Scholar-Athlete, with her 3.8 GPA, and was inducted into the Connecticut Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. She went on to teach special education in Milford and to coach at the local and high school levels.
Theresa Uliano-Krusewski, ’01, was named New England Collegiate Conference First Team and Rookie of the Year in 1997. As captain in her sophomore, junior and senior years, she was named to the Northeast-10 Conference First Team in 1998, 1999 and 2000. She was named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America All-New England Second Team as a sophomore and All-New England First Team in her junior and senior years. She was named the Connecticut Junior Soccer Association Female Athlete of the Year in 2000. In total, Uliano-Krusewski scored 75 career goals, with 36 assists, for Southern. She went on to become a physical education and health teacher, as well as soccer coach, at Tyrrell Middle School in Wolcott.
Paula J. Brunetto, ’87, was a four-time All-American runner. She became Southern’s first women’s National Track Champion, winning the 1500-meter in the 1987 NCAA Indoor Track championship with a time of 4:28.3, one second off the meet record. In 1986, she placed sixth in the NCAA Indoor Track championship. On the outdoor track, Brunetto set four Southern records, took fifth place in the 1986 NCAA championship and sixth place in the 1987 NCAA championship. She set 15 Southern cross country records. After graduation, she finished 12th in the 1988 United States Outdoor Track championship, and finished within thousandths of a second of the 1988 Olympic Trials qualifying time.
Loretta Di Pietro was one of the Owls’ stalwarts on a dominant field hockey squad during the 1970’s. She was a four-year starter for Southern Connecticut (1975-78) and served as team captain as a senior. Di Pietro was also a part of the 1976 squad that finished in sixth place at the USFHA/AIAW National Tournament.
Following her collegiate career, Di Pietro remained active as a player, coach and official within the sport. She has served as an assistant field hockey coach at the collegiate level with both Southern Connecticut and Yale and at the high school level with Hamden High as an assistant girls’ lacrosse coach and Hopkins School as head field hockey and girls’ lacrosse coach.
One of the most recognizable figures within the United States gymnastics community, Sandra Thielz '68 began the journey towards a legendary career while a student-athlete at Southern Connecticut State.
She was a four-year member of the women’s gymnastics squad (1965-68) who also served as a team captain for the Owls. She was a two-time Eastern Intercollegiate champion on the bars and a key member of the 1968 team that placed third at the National Collegiate Women’s Gymnastics Championships.
Thielz was the head women’s gymnastics coach at West Chester University from 1973-94. Over that stretch, she led the Golden Rams to five NCAA National Championships appearances, one NCAA Regional championship and an overall mark of 180-82-1. A two-time NCAA Regional Coach of the Year, Thielz was the head coach for the United States at the 1981 World University Games in Bucharest, Romania. She is also an internationally-renowned gymnastics judge who has filled that role at multiple Olympic Games. Thielz, also an assistant professor in kinesiology at West Chester from 1973-2004, holds a master’s degree in physical education from WCU.
One of the pioneers of the women’s swimming and diving program at Southern Connecticut, Sandy (Hittleman) Myerson '69 was a member of the first formal Owls’ program under the legendary Kay Fromer. However, her participation and strong performances at the New England and National Women’s Swimming competitions as a freshman and sophomore played a pivotal role in the creation of the varsity program at Southern.
During her time at Southern, the Owls finished third on two occasions at the New England Championship. Myerson was a school record holder in four separate events (50 yard freestyle and the 100 yard individual medley, 200 yard medley relay and 200 yard freestyle relay) at the conclusion of her collegiate career. She was also a member of the women’s tennis team as an undergraduate and went on to serve as a coach for the women’s swimming team at the University of Michigan. Myerson is an expert in the field of elder care assistance and a published author on the topic.
Kateema Riettie was a two-time NCAA national champion (2001 and 2002) in the javelin for the Owls and finished as the runner-up in that event in 2003. Riettie is one of 10 female student-athletes in the school's history to win a NCAA individual national championship.
She was also a two-time Northeast-10 Conference and New England champion in the javelin, and still holds the school record for the javelin throw at 166 feet, one inch. Riettie was a United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-Academic Team selection and also represented the Jamaican National Team in international competition. She was also a multiple All-American and school record holder in the shot put.
A seven-time Jamaican national champion in the javelin, she was also previously inducted into the Northeast 10 Conference Hall of Fame in 2011.
The finest season in the history of the Southern Connecticut State University women’s basketball program came in 2006-07 and was capped by the Owls’ first-ever NCAA Division II title.
The squad set a single-season record for victories (34-2) and claimed the Northeast-10 Conference regular season and tournament titles before heading into NCAA Tournament action. The Owls hosted the NCAA Regional at Moore Field House and dispatched of New Haven, Holy Family and Bentley to advance to the Elite Eight in Kearney, Neb. SCSU defeated Drury by 20 points and followed with a 14-point win over UC-San Diego to earn a spot in the national title game against an undefeated Florida Gulf Coast squad.
In that final game, four Owls – including current head coach Kate Lynch – scored in double figures and the SCSU defense held FGCU to just 31-percent shooting en route to a 61-45 win and the national championship. The team was also previously selected for induction into the Northeast-10 Conference Hall of Fame, Class of 2016.
The all-time leading scorer in the history of the Southern Connecticut State women’s basketball program, Kate Lynch ‘08 played a pivotal role during the most successful run in school history, capped by the Owls’ 2007 NCAA Championship. A two-time All-American, she finished her career with 1,779 points and also ranked fifth all-time in rebounds (650). In total, Lynch set eight new SCSU single-season or career records as a student-athlete.
Lynch shined during the run to the 2007 NCAA title and was selected as the tournament’s Most Outstanding Performer. She was previously inducted into the Connecticut Women's Basketball Hall of Fame (Class of 2014) and the Northeast-10 Conference Hall of Fame (2014).
Following graduation, Lynch has embarked on a successful path in coaching. After stints as a head coach at Community College of Rhode Island, where she was named the National Coach of the Year, and Molloy College, Lynch returned back to her alma mater as the seventh coach of the Owls’ women’s basketball program in July, 2015.
Dr. Dora Metrelis served as the Owls’ head field hockey coach from 1961-76 and was a professor at the university from 1961-88. During her time on the sidelines, she guided the Owls to their most successful era in program history and closed her career with a record of 81-31-30. Her teams posted three-consecutive undefeated campaigns from 1963-65, with the 1965 team not allow a goal throughout the entire season.
Dr. Metrelis also served as a faculty member at SCSU and was a decorated official and instructor. During her career, she also coached softball, basketball and badminton. She has been recognized by numerous organizations for her contributions to athletics including: Connecticut AHPERD Certification of Appreciation and Professional Honor Awards, recognition from the Connecticut Field Hockey Coaches Association, honorary membership in the EAPECW and induction into the Connecticut Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame for her work as an official.
Dawn Stanton ‘90/MS ‘97 was a four-time All-American as a member of the women’s indoor and outdoor track and field squads at Southern Connecticut State University.
A standout in multiple events, Stanton was a NCAA runner-up in the triple jump and held school records in the triple jump, long jump, 100 and 200 meters at the conclusion of her career. Stanton collected All-America honors during both her junior and senior seasons for the Owls.
Stanton was also a college division triple jump champion at the prestigious Penn Relays and a multiple champion at the ECAC Championships. She also was an ECAC record holder for the Owls.
Lauren Anderson was a five-sport stand-out at Southern Connecticut, competing on the field hockey, women’s basketball, women’s volleyball, softball and track & field teams during her four years at Southern Connecticut. Anderson graduated from SCSU in 1967 with a bachelor’s degree in Health, Physical Education and Recreation and was awarded with the “Outstanding Senior Physical Education Major” honor upon her graduation. She earned her Master of Science degree from Southern in 1971.
Anderson went on to become the first female scholastic athletic director in the State of Connecticut at North Haven High School where she founded the girl’s track and field program that won four-straight state championships from 1972-1975. She also served as North Haven’s girl’s basketball and field hockey coach. In that time, she was honored as the 1972 Connecticut Interscholastic Track Coaches Association Coach of the Year, the 1975 Connecticut High School Coaches Association Coach of the Year and the 1976 National High School Athletic Coaches Association Coach of the Year.
Anderson also launched the women’s cross country program at the University of Rhode Island in 1977 and the women’s track & field program in 1978. In 1987, she was named the New England Division I Cross Country Coach of the Year and in 1990 was named the New England Division I Track & Field Coach of the Year. She went on to serve as the Associate Director of Athletics and Senior Woman Administrator from 1992 to 2003 before being elevated to Senior Associate Director of Athletics in 2003. She held that position until her retirement in 2008.
Anderson has been honored with the Award for Outstanding Leadership in Women’s Athletics by the Southern Connecticut Multiple Sclerosis Society, the Professional Service Award from the Connecticut Association of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, the Woman of the Year by the URI Association for Professional and Academic Women, the A. Lenore Cranston Award by the Rhode Island Association for Girls & Women in Sports, the Division I-AA Administrator of the Year by the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Rhode Island Association for Girls & Women in Sports, the Katherine Ley Life Achievement Award by the ECAC, the Bill Cawley Lifetime Achievement Award by the Rhode Island Association of Sportswriters, Sportscasters and Sports Publicists and the James Lynah Distinguished Achievement Award by the ECAC.
She was previously inducted into the New Agenda-Northeast Women’s Hall of Fame, North Haven High School Sports Hall of Fame, Connecticut High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame, Connecticut Field Hockey Hall of Fame, Connecticut Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, Eastford Elementary School Athletic Hall of Fame, Inaugural Woodstock Academy Athletic Hall of Fame, ECAC Hall of Fame and the University of Rhode Island Athletics Hall of Fame.
Tanya Sutton was a four-year stand-out for the Southern Connecticut Women’s Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field teams from 1986 through 1989. During her career she won multiple championships including the ECAC Division II and Collegiate Track Conference.
Sutton was a two-time All-American in the Indoor Shot Put event. She also held program records in the Shot Put, 20 Pound Weight Throw, Discus and Hammer Throw. At the two-day Dartmouth College Relays, she won the collegiate division Shot Put Championship, and then won the Championship Division event on the following day.
In 1987, she set the program record in the discus with a throw of 143’10”, which stood for 19 years until 2006. In 1988, she was at one point, the American record holder in the 20 Pound Weight Throw with a throw of 56’10’’.
Sutton joined the coaching staff in 1991 and served as the program’s academic success coordinator until 2007.
Diane Wright competed for the Southern Connecticut State University women’s track & field team in the javelin, before advancing to a manager position for Owls Hall of Fame coaches Jim Barber and Wilton Wright. She was instrumental in the day-to-day operation of the program as an undergraduate and also helped facilitate the New Haven Age Group Track and Adult Fitness Club as a Youth Athletics Coach.
Wright graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Physical Education, a master’s degree in Urban Studies and certification in Early Childhood Education. She went on to become a physical education instructor at Richard C. Lee High School, Prince/Welch Annex Elementary and John C. Daniels Schools in New Haven, Conn.
In 1978, she was named the first female coach for a male sport in the State of Connecticut when she led the R.C. Lee Boy’s Track and Field team. In 1984, she became the cross country head coach at Sacred Heart Academy, where she also started the track and field program in 1986. Her most notable contributions to the sport came in 1983 when she became a USA Track & Field official.
Her experience at the youth, high school and collegiate levels led to national and international officiating opportunities that included the 1996 Olympic Games, the USA Olympic Track and Field Trials, Special Olympic World Games, multiple NCAA Championships as well as the Junior Olympics National Championship, Masters National Championship, Senior National Championships and the World Cerebral Palsy Games.
Wright has also held positions with the State of Connecticut Physical Education Curriculum Committee, the Connecticut High Schools Girls Cross Country Committee and the New Haven Public Schools Elementary Physical Education Curriculum Committee. She was previously honored as the CTAHPERD Elementary Teacher of the Year, the CTAHPERD Outstanding Program Award, the CTAHPERD Service Award and the New Alliance Bank’s Teacher Excellence Award.
