By Nadia Pearl
The legacy of Fresno State female athletes was commemorated Saturday as young and old alike gathered to celebrate the National Girls and Women in Sports Day. The special day involved a free sports clinic for children and an awards ceremony honoring former female student-athletes. The ceremony was held at the Save Mart Center at halftime during the Fresno State women’s basketball against San Diego State.
Running in its fifth consecutive year, Christina Roybal, Department of Athletics Representative, emphasized the main aim of the day was to recognize the past, present and future generations of Fresno State athletics.
“We get the youngsters involved in sports. We acknowledge our current student-athletes, and we thank former female student-athletes for paving the way,” Roybal said.
Volunteer female athletes gathered outside the North Gym midmorning, setting up drills in preparation for the 140 children registered from local Fresno and Clovis Unified schools. A variety of sports were integrated into the clinic, including volleyball, soccer, golf, equestrian and lacrosse.
The kids, aged eighth grade and younger, moved between seven different stations before receiving free lunch, T-shirts and official autograph cards.
For 9-year-old Alexcia Montes, a swimmer and soccer player from Lincoln Elementary, the highlight of the day was meeting the student-athletes, describing the best part as “how they respected us.”
Betsy Mosher, deputy director of athletics and senior woman administrator, stressed the importance of the athletics program to connect with the community and for athletes to set an example for those still in school.
“You want these young people to become fans for your sports,” she said. “They come and they support, and it gives them good role models.”.
Mosher also believed showing appreciation for the older generation was meaningful, describing the evening’s award ceremony as an opportunity to “remember where we came from and whom we’re representing.”
“The past is important because without them, we couldn’t have developed to where we are,” she said.
Twenty-two former athletes and coaches from the 1960s, ‘70s, and ‘80s, were honored at the ceremony. Following a reception held for the alumni, current student-athletes presented the recipients with plaques during halftime at the basketball game.
With Saturday’s night game being a ‘Pack the House’ event, the center court ceremony was presented in front of a large crowd of 3,601, the highest attendance for the Bulldogs this season.
Judy Lea, organizer of the ceremony, explained the evening was also an occasion of remembrance for the honorees by “bringing them back to campus and reuniting them with their teammates.”
