The University of Denver skiing and gymnastics programs are featured in today's update of the north mural on the main concourse of the Daniel L. Ritchie Center for Sports and Wellness. A total of four former men's skiers, three women's skiers, 10 women's gymnasts, one men's gymnast and a former coach are included in the mural, which celebrates and highlights Pioneer athletic team and individual successes, and what it means to be a Pioneer.
Odd Hammernes, Men's Skiing, 1969-72 - Hammernes helped lead the Pioneers to three NCAA Championships (1969-71) during his tenure on the University of Denver Ski team. The two-time individual NCAA ski jumping champion (1969, '72) was also a three-time All-American. Hammernes earned seven letters at DU: four in skiing and three in soccer, earning All-Skyline Conference honors in 1968. In 1972 he was named the University's Athlete of the Year, and he was inducted into the University of Denver's Athletics Hall of Fame in 2001. After leaving DU, Hammernes competed at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck.
Rene Reisshauer, Men's Skiing, 2005-08 - Reisshauer was a key member the men's Nordic team. Reisshauer won three individual NCAA Championships in the Nordic events, including a sweep in classical and freestyle as a freshman. He nearly repeated the feat as a junior, when he won freestyle and was edged by just 2.1 seconds in classical. In his four-year career, Reisshauer earned six All-America honors and helped the Pioneers to their 18th and 19th NCAA Championships in 2005 and 2008. Reisshauer is currently the product and supply chain manager at Lauscha Fiber International Corporation.
Otto Tschudi, Men's Skiing, 1970-72 - A member of the inaugural class of University of Denver Hall of Fame inductees in 1996. Tschudi earned All-American honors in all three years he competed at DU. In that span, Tschudi won an incredible five individual NCAA Championships, including three in 1971 (slalom, alpine and downhill). His five individual NCAA Championships are the second most in NCAA history and his three in 1971 are tied for first in NCAA history. He added two more downhill titles in 1970 and 1972. Tschudi left the University with the school record for most national championships won in a career, while leading the Pioneers to a pair of NCAA team titles during Tschudi's tenure in 1970 and 1971. Tschudi represented his native Norway at the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble and the 1972 Games in Sapporo. Tschudi currently serves on the University of Denver's Board of Trustees.
Leif Kristian Haugen, Men's Skiing, 2008-11 - Haugen skied for two seasons with the University of Denver, leading the Pioneers in the second and third legs of back-to-back-to-back NCAA titles in 2009 and 2010. In his two-year career Haugen recorded three All-America honors, closing out his DU career as the 2010 NCAA giant slalom champion. Haugen took time out of the collegiate season to represent his native Norway at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, where he placed 28th in giant slalom. Although the Olympics limited him to just six college races in 2010, Haugen finished first three times and second twice. Upon arrival at DU, Haugen rose to the top of the skiing ranks, being named the team's Most Valuable Freshman, team MVP and the Pioneer Sportsman of the Year award in 2009. Haugen bypassed his senior season in 2011 to ski on the World Cup circuit. Haugen, who graduated from DU with degrees in international business and finance in 2012, continues to ski professionally.
Barbara Kidder, Women's Skiing, 1943-46 - Kidder became the first University of Denver skier, male or female, to win an individual national championship in 1946. Kidder, a member of the 1977 National Ski Hall of Fame inductee class, was also a member of Denver's inaugural Hall of Fame class in 1996. In a time before Title IX and prior to women's skiing becoming an official NCAA sport, Kidder's accomplishments on the ski slopes went a long way to further women's athletics.
Narcisa Sehovic, Women's Skiing, 1993-96 - Sehovic, a member of the 2007 University of Denver Hall of Fame induction class, won the first female NCAA skiing champion for the Pioneers when she finished first in the slalom in 1995. She was a six-time All-American, earning two each from 1994-96. Sehovic was Denver's first female All-American in the combined (alpine and Nordic) NCAA Championships and was selected as the DU Female Athlete of the Year in 1995. The honors continued in 1995 for Sehovic, as she was selected as the Colorado Sportswomen of the year for skiing. After graduating from DU, Sehovic earned an MBA from the Harvard Business School and currently works in the private equity industry in London.
Antje Maempel, Women's Skiing, 2008-10 - Maempel became just the second woman in NCAA history to win individual national titles in both the classical and freestyle Nordic events in consecutive years after sweeping the events in 2009 and 2010. She led Denver to three-straight NCAA team championships. The four-time NCAA champion is also a six-time All-American. The St?tzerbach, Germany native, left DU as one of the school's most decorated skiers of all-time. She was selected as the 2010 Collegiate Skier of the Year by Ski Racing Magazine and earned the 2010 Collegiate Skier of the Year award from Faster Skier for the second-straight season, making her the first repeat winner of the award. Also in 2010, she was named the DU Female Athlete of the Year and for the second-consecutive season she was named the Colorado Sportswoman of the Year in skiing. As a sophomore, Maempel was named the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association Women's Nordic Skier of the Year, an award she won again in her final year of eligibility in 2010.
Emily Bankhead (Carmody), Women's Gymnastics, 2001-04 - Bankhead continues to hold a share of the school record for top all-around score in a meet, inking a 39.725 on February 14, 2004. The 2004 DU alumna also holds the second-highest beam score in program history, a 9.975 that she also scored on February 14, 2004. The Houston native finished her junior year ranked No. 14 in the nation on floor with an RQS of 9.940, and won nine floor meet titles that season. Bankhead was ranked as high as fifth in the NCAA in 2003. Bankhead was selected to represent DU at the seventh annual NCAA Leadership Conference. She was also an Outstanding Senior Woman Award Winner, and a two-time recipient of the Denver Pioneer Award. A two-time Pioneer captain, Bankhead was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America Third Team in 2004, and was a four-time NACGC/W Individual Academic Award winner. Bankhead currently lives in Boston and works as a manager of redevelopment and asset management for AvalonBay Communities.
Melissa Barton, Women's Gymnastics, 1977-81
Melissa Barton had a stellar career as a member of the University of Denver women's gymnastics team. During her time on the team from 1977-81, Barton was a nine-time All-American. Twice, in 1978 and 1979, she was honored as a First Team All-American at the AIAW Gymnastics Championships. Her highest finish was in 1978 when she placed second on vault. That same season she placed third on beam and was sixth on bars, floor and in the all-around competition, and captured the Region 7 title in the all-around. In 1979 she finished no lower than fifth in any event and helped the team to an AIAW runner-up finish at the championships. As a sophomore at the end of the 1978 season, she was recognized for her outstanding achievements when she was named DU's Female Athlete of the Year. She also received the Pioneer Sportswoman of the Year award.
Karen Beer (Cannon), Women's Gymnastics, 1981-84
Karen Beer transferred to the University of Denver after her freshman year at the University of Tulsa. Beer was an instant hit for the Pioneers, helping the team win the NCAA Division II championship in her first year at DU by claiming the all-around competition and top honors in three of the four individual events. Beer followed up her first year success in the 1982 and 1983 seasons, winning national titles in the balance beam, the all-around competition, the floor exercise and the uneven bars, earning All-American honors in each event. Because of her outstanding achievements as a gymnast, Beer was named DU's Female Athlete of the Year for four-consecutive years. Beer, a four-time All-American selection, was named Colorado Sports Women of the Year in 1984. A former tax accountant who has chosen to stay at home with her two daughters, Beer also has taken up mountain biking.
Lene? Berumen, Women's Gymnastics, 1993-96
Berumen is one of two gymnasts to score a perfect 10.0 on two different events in the same meet, but was the first to do it after DU turned NCAA Division I in 1984. On March 30, 1996, Berumen tallied perfection on both bars and floor. Prior to her senior year, Berumen's highest mark was a 9.80 on bars in her freshman season. A two-time captain, Berumen qualified for the NCAA Regionals in 1994 and 1995 before leading squad to its first team-qualification to the NCAA Division I Regionals in 1996.
Sachi Ena, Women's Gymnastics, 1997-00
Ena finished third at the 2000 NCAA Minneapolis Regional to book her spot in the NCAA Championships in her final season with the Crimson and Gold. The Hacienda Heights, Calif., native went on to finish 11th in the first semifinal, led by a 16th-place finish on beam (9.750). Prior to competing in the all-around in 2000, Ena was a three-event gymnast for the Pioneers (bars, beam and floor).? Ena is currently the director of marketing and promotions at the Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute in Albany, N.Y.
Heather Huffaker, Women's Gymnastics, 2004-07
Huffaker is one of two gymnasts to score a perfect 10.0 on vault, a tally that she inked in the record books on January 31, 2004. The De Soto, Texas, native was ranked as high as No. 5 in the nation in all-around RQS (Feb. 2006), one of nine Pioneers to be ranked in the top five in any event since Gym Info began ranking individuals in 1996. She went on to win nine event titles in 2006. The 2005 Colorado Sportswoman Gymnast of the Year was a two-time NCAA Championships qualifier and competed with the entire squad at the 2007 NCAA Championships. Huffaker was also an NACGC/W Individual Academic Award winner in 2004. Huffaker currently works in human resources for Newfield Exploration, an oil and gas company in Woodlands, Texas.
Michelle Kasuga, Women's Gymnastics, 2000-03
The 2003 NCAA Woman of the Year holds a share of the school record for top all-around score in a meet, scoring a 39.725 on March 1, 2003. The Defiance, Ohio, native is also tied for the third-highest all-around score, a 39.625 that she tallied on January 18, 2003. Kasuga is one of two gymnasts in program history to score a perfect 10.0 on bars, a feat she also accomplished on January 18, 2003. She was a four-time NACGC/W Individual Academic Award winner. Kasuga currently lives in Denver and is employed as a commercial real estate appraiser for Integra Realty Resources.
Diana Perkins, Women's Gymnastics, 1979-82
Perkins was a member of the 1981-82 DU women's gymnastics squad that was inducted into the DU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1999. She was one of four Pioneers to earn All-America honors that season and also earned them in 1979 and 1980. During her time with the Crimson and Gold, the Pioneers earned three second-place finishes at the AIAW Division II National Championships, and won the National Championship in 1982.
Ashley Shible, Women's Gymnastics, 2001-04
Shible currently holds a share of the third-best all-around score in a meet, tallying a 39.625 on both March 22, 2001 and March 15, 2004. Shible is also one of two gymnasts in program history to score a perfect 10.0 on vault, an achievement she accomplished three times in her career. The 2002 DU Female Athlete of the Year was also an NACGC/W Individual Academic Award winner in 2004. Shible is currently a zookeeper at the Denver Zoo where she works mainly with seals and sea lions.
Sasha Sullivan, Women's Gymnastics, 2005-08
Sullivan competed in the all-around 22 times, including the Pioneers' last two trips to the NCAA Championships. The Glen Allen, Va., native finished fourth on floor at the 2007 NCAA Regionals with a 9.875. In her junior campaign, Sullivan was the only DU gymnast to have her scores count 100 percent of the time. ?She was also a four-time NACGC/W Individual Academic Award winner. Sullivan currently lives in the Washington D.C., area and is employed with Accenture, a management consulting company.
Doug DeWitt, Men's Gymnastics, 1958-70
In 1958, Dewitt took over as the men's gymnastics coach, eight years after the University of Denver recognized men's gymnastics as a varsity sport. Dewitt led the men's gymnastics program to a ninth-place finish in the NCAA team standings in 1962, a seventh-place finish in 1964 and another seventh-place finish in 1969. During his tenure, he coached John Quintana, DU's first men's gymnastics All-American.
John Quintana, Men's Gymnastics, 1961-64
Quintana was the first DU men's gymnast to receive All-American honors for the Pioneers, an award he garnished five times in his career. His first two All-American honors came in 1962 on tumbling and trampoline. He scored an 8.47 on tumbling at the NCAA Championships and an 8.80 on trampoline. In 1964, Quintana scored a 52.02 to finish fourth in the all-around at the NCAA Championships. Quintana would go on to earn All-American honors in the all-around, on vault and again on trampoline at the 1964 championships.?
The University of Denver Division of Athletics and Recreation announced the mural of Pioneer student-athlete action photos, athletic logos and mascots on May 18. The mural marks the second step of a multi-part series that celebrates and highlights Pioneer athletic team and individual successes, and what it means to be a Denver Pioneer. An effort was made to include individuals who have helped establish the University of Denver as a thriving NCAA Division I institution. The mural also includes official DU athletic logos and mascots, including Pioneer Pete, Denver Boone and Ruckus. Images of select student-athletes include DU Hall of Fame inductees, national champions, All-Americans, Olympians and Academic All-Americans.
If you have a name of a former DU student-athlete for future inclusion of the next mural, please submit the name and a high resolution color action photo to Assistant Vice Chancellor Bob Willis atRobert.Willis@du.edu.?
Source: http://www.denverpioneers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=18600&ATCLID=205677908
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