Smith’s athletic department was abuzz this weekend between 50th anniversary celebrations and the induction of eight athletes and one team into Smith’s Hall of Fame. The hall was established in 2012 to honor the contributions and accomplishments of Smith’s most exceptional athletes, coaches and teams.
The festivities began with the high-energy “Float Night.” Each of Smith’s 11 intercollegiate teams transformed the Paradise Pond canoes into floats representing the history of their sport at Smith. From old uniforms to handsewn Smith flags to photographs of the inductees, the boats were decked out and met with raucous applause when they hit the water.
The weekend continued with some exciting wins at home for Smith teams including a 3-1 win for Smith Soccer against Clark University and a 3-2 win against College of Our Lady of the Elms for Smith Volleyball, continuing their impressive 12-4 momentum this season.
On Saturday, Sep. 24, the main event commenced. The current student-athletes lined up in the center of the indoor track, patiently awaiting the arrival of the new inductees. When the inductees burst through the door, the space was filled with the deafening cheers of the athletes. The generations between them seemed to fade away as high-fives and smiles were exchanged. As the inductees made their way through the tunnel, they passed the torch to the new student-athletes, ready to continue Smith’s legacy.
Joining the 28 other athletes and three other championship teams already in the Hall of Fame are former Smith athletes from six different teams, their ages spanning over 60 years: the founder of the Track and Field program, Peter de Villiers, and Rita Benson, a former administrator of Athletics and the ESS (Exercise and Sports Studies) program and the first Rowing Coach.
Also joining the ranks is the 1982-83 Swim and Dive team which boasts several individual national champions and All-Americans (including Hall of Famers Barbara King Briggs ’83 and Monique Fischer ’86), a 6th place finish at the NCAA tournament and a 5th place finish at the regional championships.
Along with the 50th anniversary of Smith Athletics comes the 50th anniversary of Title IX,an ammendment prohibiting sex or gender-based discrimination in college sports. The celebration also included a brief reflection on the recent reality for female athletes. One of the inductees, Janice Lifson Berkley ’39 of Swim and Dive, went all the way to the Olympic trials, but didn’t even have a college team to compete on. Many of the inductees lived through the revolutionary changes sparked by Title IX and their legacies proved again and again that female athletes deserve to be given the same opportunities as their male counterparts.
The event showed how far we have come as athletes and how far we still have to go. Smith Basketball has gone from playing recreationally in bloomers on the lawns, using laundry baskets as nets, to last year’s Sweet Sixteen national tournament appearance and 9th place WBCA ranking. Smith Track and Field started as a brand new team in 1980 thanks to inductee Peter de Villiers and now boasts many All-Region athletes, regional and conference placements and even athletes competing and placing at the national level at the NCAA championships.
The Hall of Fame weekend was full of reflection and hope for the future of Smith Athletics as the current student-athletes strive to follow in the footsteps of the inductees and continue to grow the program for the next 50 years.
