March 2022: History of TWU

The gymnastics team won its first USA Gymnastics
Collegiate National Championship in 1993. In 1997, the
softball team returned as a sport at TWU with Dianne Baker
as the head coach. Additionally, Pioneer Hall with the Kitty
Magee Arena was completed the same year.
Tennis was removed as a sport at the end of the 2000 season,
and soccer was added in 2002.
by Maddie Ray
Throughout the history of Texas Woman’s University
athletics, Olympians, national champions and proud Pioneers
have represented the university. Now, as they continue on as
alumnae, we look back on how they made history balancing
academics and athletics.
In the beginning, TWU offered athletics through the
Women’s Recreation Association until the Commission on
Intercollegiate Athletics for Women was established in 1969.
At this time, TWU sponsored basketball, volleyball, field
hockey, tennis, badminton, swimming and track.
In 1970, the then Tessies won the inaugural CIAW National
Intercollegiate Track and Field Championship, resulting in
TWU’s first national title.
In the 1978-1979 season, softball went on to defeat UCLA
1-0, winning the AIAW Women’s College World Series. This
same year, the longtime sponsor of the WRA at TWU, Dr.
Mary Evelyn Blagg-Huey, announced that the Tessies would
now be called the Pioneers.
Image Courtesy of the TWU Libraries Woman’s Collection,
Texas Woman’s University, Denton, TX.
The 80s also brought moments of great success for TWU,
with the university joining the NCAA in 1982. Former TWU
track star Louise Ritter won the gold medal in the high jump
at the 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul.
In 2011, the basketball team was the first TWU team to ever
win a Lone Star Conference Championship, with softball
following suit in 2013. The softball team was the first TWU
team to win an NCAA Regional Championship, advancing to
the national championship.
TWU Gymnastics has won 11 team championships since
1993, with the most recent occurring in 2018.
TWU Athletics has continued to make strides, with STUNT
and artistic swimming being added as sports, competing their
first season in the spring semester. STUNT recorded their
first win in TWU history and of the season Feb. 27 when they
defeated Connors State College 15-1.
The artistic swimming team competed in the first-ever
Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships at
Stanford University, where the Pioneers posted career highs
in every event and Ashley Latchford was named to the first
All-MPSF Team. In the South Regional Championships,
TWU’s Regina Ramirez took first place in the B element
event for the first collegiate win in artistic swimming’s
history.
The Gymnastics team scored their highest team score since
the 2018 USAG Championships Feb. 19, and then topped
that score Feb. 25. The 1,237 fans in attendance broke the
former TWU attendance record of 1,229 set on Jan. 21, 2012.
On Mar. 18, the Pioneers claimed the Midwest Independent
Conference championship for the third time in program
history, winning the championship for the first time since
2012.
Basketball was picked to finish No. 11 on the LSC preseason
poll, but rose to the No. 2 seed by the end of the regular
season. On Feb. 22, TWU had their first win over a No. 1
ranked team in program history when they beat Texas A&M-
Commerce on the road. The basketball team also had their
highest regional seed in program history and the first NCAA
Tournament win this year.
The Lasso |
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