SEWANEE, Tenn. - The University of the South announced the third of three Hall of Fame Classes for 2020, 2021 and 2022 after a two-year hiatus.
As announced in a letter to the alumni on Friday, June 24, the 2022 class will be celebrated as a part of the University of the South's celebration of 50 Years of Women's Athletics at Sewanee.
2022 marks the 50th anniversary of the passage of Title IX, which transformed the landscape of athletic opportunities for young women across the country. Therefore, we will honor the 50th year of Title IX and the 50th year of women's athletics on the Mountain with a remarkable Hall of Fame induction class of only women for 2022.
We will also acknowledge those Trailblazers who helped paved the way for our women's teams of today. The Trailblazers have incredible stories and for the first time will be eligible for Hall of Fame induction.
The Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place at 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 2 at the Centennial House.
On Thursday, the Department of Athletics released the 2022 class: Kate Belknap C'83, Michelle Chambers C'02, Suzanne Dansby C'81, Mokie George C'00, Jane Johnson C'08, Meg Welton C'12 and Katharine Wilkinson C'05. In addition, the 1993 women's tennis team and the 2000 and 2001 women's basketball teams will also be enshrined.
Also, the Hall of Fame will debut a wing dedicated to the trailblazers who helped support women's athletics at the University of the South. They will also be recognized during the weekend. The list is below.
Trailblazers:
Nora Frances Stone McRae, C'77 (Synchronized Swimming, Gymnastics)
Jeanne Dortch Rast, C'78 (Basketball, Softball)
Lynn Jones Civitts, C'79 (Tennis)
Bambi Downs, C'78 (Cross Country)
Augusta Salem Dowd, C'78 (Volleyball, Basketball)
Amy St John Hamilton, C'78 (Tennis)
Cathy Ellis, C'76 (Gymnastics)
Gene Mechling, C'75 (Gymnastics)
Below are the Class of 2022 inductees.
Kate Belknap C'83, Field Hockey/Women's Soccer
Playing field hockey for four seasons, Belknap was a two-time captain of the field hockey team. In her last two seasons, the team posted a 25-7-1 mark.
Her senior season saw her earn a spot on the Regional All-Star Team.
Belknap came to Sewanee when the program was in its early stages of varsity status. Arriving on campus in 1979, field hockey was in its fifth season. She was one of the successes of building the program from its early beginnings to the status nearly 50 years later.
She returned to the Domain in 1988 as head coach of the field hockey team.
Belknap also played women's soccer for the college during the spring semester as well.
Michelle Chambers C'02, Women's Basketball
Named the Sewanee Female Athlete of the Year, Michelle Chambers was a two-time All-American and a three-time All-Conference selection on the hardwood.
During her 2000 campaign, Chambers led the SCAC in scoring with 17.8 points per game and posted a 40% mark from the floor.
192 of her total points came beyond the arc, as she posted a 35.8% mark from downtown. Against Trinity on Feb. 26, Chambers matched the SCAC record for made 3-pointers in a game with eight. That night, she dropped 35 points as Sewanee picked up its 20th win of the year en route to a 100-86 win inside Juhan Gymnasium.
Ranked 44th in the nation in scoring that season, Chambers earning First Team status in the conference that season, she was named the third All-American in the program's history as a sophomore by Women's D-III News.
The next year, Chambers improved on her sophomore campaign with her connections beyond the arc. She led the SCAC and finished fourth in the nation in 3-point field goals made for game (3.1). Her 77 triples that season was the third-most nationally that season. She matched her career-best with eight made 3-pointers at DePauw on Feb. 23.
Finishing fourth in the league in scoring (16.6 per game), she was named a First Team All-SCAC for the second time in as many seasons. Additionally, Women's D-III News, as well as the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) named her All-America Honorable Mention.
At the end of her career, she finished seventh in scoring (1,152) and second in assists (254).
Suzanne Dansby C'81, Equestrian
Attending Sewanee from 1978-81, Dansby is an olympic-level dressage competitor and has been on the short-list for the U.S. Olympic Team in 2008, as well as the 2005 and 2007 World Cups. Additionally, she was an alternate for the 2008 World Equestrian Games.
Mokie George C'00, Field Hockey
George lettered four seasons with the Sewanee field hockey team in the late 1990s. Finishing her career with 67 points and setting a school record with 41 assists, she was a three-time Regional All-America recipient and was a national All-America member in 1999.
After finishing her freshman campaign with 14 points (3 goals, 8 assists), she secured her first Regional All-America selection with 19 points on five goals and nine assists as a sophomore.
Her junior year saw her set the school record with 16 assists and finished with 20 points en route to her second Regional All-America nod. However, she posted 14 points (8 assists, 3 goals) to earn not only her third straight Regional nod, but she was also named a Third Team All-America honoree.
Additionally, George was named to the All-Tournament Team by the Kentucky-Indiana-Tennessee (KIT) Conference.
Jane Johnson C'08, Women's Track & Field
Johnson was a four-time All-Conference selection in the javelin and made two NCAA Championships in that event. At the time of her induction, she still holds the top-two throws at the SCAC Championships.
Named to the SCAC's 30th Anniversary Team in 2021, she also claimed one All-Conference mark each in the shot put and discus.
During her freshman year in 2005, Johnson set the SCAC record with a throw of 134' 7" to earn gold at the SCAC Championships. Additionally, she qualified for the NCAA Championships that season.
The next year, Johnson followed up her stellar freshman campaign and improved her conference record with a 136' 7" throw at the SCAC Championships to win gold for the second straight year. Making it to nationals for the second straight year, she qualified for the final round flight and posted a ninth-place finish with a 139' 6" throw.
After finishing second in the javelin at the 2007 Championships (116' 8"), Johnson came back to win her third gold medal in her career with a throw of 119' 3" throw in 2008.
Johnson also posted two All-SCAC selections in the shotput (37' 6") in 2006 and the discus (109' 7") in 2008.
She still holds the school records in javelin (145' 8') and shot put (37' 6").
In the classroom, she was a four-time SCAC Academic Honor Roll recipient, and was a Academic All-District member by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Meg Welton C'12, Women's Lacrosse
Welton was a part of the early beginnings of the women's lacrosse program, and she is the first-ever inductee for the team in its history. She was a two-time All-SCAC selection and Sewanee's first four-time All-Region recipient.
Sewanee played as an independent for the first two seasons of Welton's career, but for her sophomore year in 2010, she scored 54 goals and added 27 assists.
In the Tigers' first season in the SCAC in 2011, she claimed First Team laurels with 68 goals, 26 from free position, and totaled 85 points. Welton finished third in the league in goals scored.
For her senior campaign, she captured 85 points again with 64 goals scored and 21 assists and earned All-Conference honors for the second straight year.
She finishes her career with 307 points and 227 goals, both school records, and add 243 draw controls and 80 assists.
Katharine Wilkinson C'05, Equestrian
Wilkinson posted three top-10 finishes at the Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association (IHSA) National Championships. Additionally, she was a four-time Region Champion.
In 2002, she qualified for the national championships as a freshman with a second place finish at the Zone Championships in the Novice Flat. At nationals, she was named the Reserve National Champion in the event.
The next year, she claimed the region championship in the intermediate flat class, and she finished second at Zones. She was a part of a team that were the Region Champions and were named Zone Reserve Champions. Earning a national championship appearance as a team, the Tigers finished in seventh place.
During her junior campaign in 2004, she took the top spot in the Open Flat and finished as the Zone Champion during the team competition in the event. Making it back to nationals as an individual, she posted a sixth place at the event. Helping Sewanee to a second straight region championship and Zone Reserve championship, the Tigers made it back to nationals.
For her senior year, she clinched two championships at regionals in Open Fences and Open Flat, and she won both the team and individual Open Flat classes at Zones. At nationals, she finished in eighth place. Sewanee returned to nationals as a team for a third straight year thanks to back-to-back-to-back region championships and clinching second place at Zones.
Wilkinson was the class Valedictorian of the 2005 senior class, and she was named a Rhodes Scholar.
1993 Women's Tennis Team
The 1993 women's tennis team, under head coach
Conchie Shackelford, posted an 18-7 overall record and finished sixth in the nation. Over the course of the season, the Tigers captured wins over Emory, Tennessee Tech, North Alabama and Rhodes.
Finishing as a runner-up at the SCAC Tournament, Sewanee captured an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships, earning its fourth appearance to the national tournament at the time. It was also the second year in a stretch of 13 consecutive years from 1992 to 2004 that the program achieved a bid to the event.
After defeating Smith College (Mass.) in the Round of 16, Sewanee also picked up a 5-4 win over Emory en route to a sixth place finish at the event.
The sixth place finish matched the second-best finish in the team's history at the end of the 1993 season, and it is the third-best finish in program history, joining the 1989, 2006 and 2021 teams that also finished sixth nationally.
2000 and 2001 Women's Basketball Teams
Under head coach Richard Barron, the Tigers posted a 38-12 record between the two seasons: 20-5 in 2000 and 18-7 in 2001.
The 2000 team not only led the SCAC in scoring that year, but they also led all of NCAA Division III. Averaging 86 points per game, the Tigers scored 90 or more points in 12 games and 100 or more four times. Sewanee's 118-point explosion of Emory on Nov. 23 is the third-most in a game in Division III that season, and they also dropped 110 on Rose-Hulman.
Additionally, Sewanee posted 192 triples on the year, and the 7.7 average was the best mark in Division III. It also set a new SCAC record.
In addition, the Tigers led the league in assists (18.4) and steals (14.4).
Sewanee Athletics Hall of Famer Jennifer Bulkeley C'00 was named the league's Player of the Year and was named an All-American. The Class of 2010 inductee led SCAC in scoring, field goals made, field goal percentage and free throws made. Additionally, she shot a league-best 66.7% (160-of-240), which earned her the NCAA Statistical Champion in the category, and it was the fourth-highest in NCAA history at the end of the 2000 season.
Bulkeley was also Sewanee's first female student-athlete to win the NCAA postgraduate scholarship.
Michelle Chambers C'02 was also a First Team All-Conference member that season. Against Trinity on Feb. 26, Chambers matched the SCAC record for made 3-pointers in a game with eight. That night, she dropped 35 points as Sewanee picked up its 20th win of the year en route to a 100-86 win inside Juhan Gymnasium.
Ranked 44th in the nation in scoring that season (17.8) and shot 40% from the floor, Chambers earned First Team status in the conference that season, she was named the third All-American in the program's history as a sophomore by Women's D-III News.
Suzanne Smith, who led the SCAC in 3-point field goals made with 73, finished fourth nationally per game (3.0), and she earned Honorable Mention status with the SCAC.
The 2001 campaign for Sewanee saw more success, as the program finished 14-4 in conference play. Entering the month of February with a 7-3 record in league play, Sewanee went 7-1 in the last eight conference games, including winning four straight to end the season. Sewanee used a 74-65 victory at DePauw to help the Tigers claim their first conference title in program history.
Sewanee repeated as the league's best offense with a 77.2 scoring average, and they finished 11th nationally.
The Tigers led the nation with 209 three-point field goals, averaging a little over eight a game. Additionally, the 35.6% the team had from downtown was 16th-best in Division III. Chambers led the team with 77 triples, good for eighth-best in the SCAC's history.
Chambers repeated for Sewanee on the First Team All-Conference listing, averaging 16.6 points per game and 3.4 rebounds. In addition, she added a second straight All-America Honorable Mention to her career.
Jennifer Dick and Kayla Goodwin were Honorable Mention members, and Heather Davidson was named to the All-First Year Team by the SCAC.
For the latest news on the Sewanee Tigers, follow @SewaneeTigers on
Twitter and
Instagram, and like us on
Facebook.
