Alumni Rising: Phoenix earns victory in alumni turnout, too

One of the most successful programs in the country also has an Alumni Day turnout that can compete with any program. The UW-Green Bay women’s basketball alumni gathered on Saturday, Feb. 11 to celebrate more than 35 years of excellence. About 45 former players and their families returned for the day’s activities which included an Alumni Game, halftime introductions with the Special Olympians on campus for the day, an immediate post-game meet and greet with current players, and a post-game reception. The Phoenix women’s basketball program hasn’t had a losing season since 1977 and has been ranked as high as No. 9 in the nation this year with just one loss heading into late February. It’s a tradition worth celebrating!

Among the game highlights: the white team — Amanda (Leonhard) Perry, Melanie (Tilque) Hendricks, Chari (Nordgaard) Knueppel, Sue (Geiser) Steeno, Lori (Hansen) Frerk and Nellie Schafer — edged the yellow team — Elizabeth (Dudley) Heidenberg, Sara (Boyer) Rohde, Morgan Faase, Amy (Strohmeyer) Olson, Kathy Mertz, Heather Golden and Jessie Stangel — 55-52. Knueppel led all scorers with 19 points, followed by Hendricks’ 15, Rohde’s 14 and Heather Golden’s 11.

At the post-game reception, alumni paid tribute to friend, colleague and mentor, Marilyn McCarey, who recently retired after serving for 40 years for the University, mostly in the role of ticket director for Phoenix athletics.

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