Cavalier Corner is the publication just for UVa sports fans!
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24 CAVALIER CORNER YEARS OF WOMEN AT UVA • 1977 — Margaret Groos, one of the first women to receive an athletic grant-in-aid at UVA, won the national cross country cham- pionship in 1979 and set a world indoor best for 5,000 meters in 1981. • 1977 — Future Hall of Fame coach Debbie Ryan claims her first victory at the helm of the UVA program with a 54-48 win over Virginia Union at Univer- sity Hall. Ryan went on to win 739 games, 11 regu- lar-season ACC titles and three ACC Tournament championships. • 1978 — Women's cross country becomes a varsity sport. • 1979 — The UVA vo l l ey b a l l p r o g r a m starts competition. • 1980 — The UVA softball program starts competition. • 1981 — The wom- en's cross country team wins UVA's first wom- en's NCAA champion- ship. • 1982 — The wom- en's cross country team became the first UVA program overall to win back-to-back NCAA titles. • 1983 — Women's outdoor track becomes a varsity sport. • 1985 — Women's soccer becomes a varsity sport. • 1985-89 — Susie Williams earned seven varsity letters between field hockey (four) and women's lacrosse (three). She was a field hockey captain and a two-time (1989, 1991) member of the women's U.S. national lacrosse team. • 1990 — The UVA women's basketball team makes its first of three straight Final Fours. • 1991 — Women's lacrosse wins the program's first NCAA title and UVA's sixth overall. • 1991 — Women's basketball head coach Debbie Ryan is named N a i s m i t h N a t i o n a l Coach of the Year. • 1991-92 — Dawn Staley is named back- to-back Naismith Col- lege Player of the Year, WBCA and USBWA Player of the Year in women's basketball. • 1993 — Women's lacrosse wins the pro- gram's second NCAA title and UVA's ninth overall. • 1995 — Row- ing becomes a var- sity sport. • 1 9 9 6 — UVA alum Val A c k e r m a n , w o m e n ' s b a s k e t - ball's first-ever 1,000-point scorer, was named the founding president of the WNBA. She held the po- sition until 2005. • 2003 — Former Virginia hoops standout Val Ackerman was named the president of the WNBA in 1996. PHOTO COURTESY UVA Debbie Ryan guided the UVA women's basketball program from 1977-2011. PHOTO COURTESY UVA Heather and Hedi Burge helped UVA basket- ball to three straight Final Fours (1990-92). PHOTO COURTESY UVA Dawn Staley's three gold medals make her UVA's most decorated alum in Olympic competition. PHOTO COURTESY UVA