C ONNE CTION
Photos by Deborah Latta
“Andover family” on hand to congratulate Becky Dowling Calder ’94 ( fourth from right) in Annapolis, Md., included, from left, Calder’s sister Mollie Dowling ’97, former coach Karen Kennedy, former basketball teammates Heather Brown Lewis ’93 and Laurie Coffey ’95, sister Jennifer Dowling Champlin ’93, former basketball teammate Tammy Sanchez ’91, and former assistant coach Lisa Joel ’88.
Another First for Becky Dowling Calder ’94 She made history in 1998 by becoming the first female pilot to graduate from the U.S. Navy’s elite “Top Gun” Fighter Weapons School and then went on to fly F/A-18 Hornet jets with distinction. On January 11, Becky Dowling Calder ’94 achieved a first of a different sort when she became the first player in Navy women’s basketball history to have her jersey retired. Calder was a key player in the first era of successful Navy women’s basketball teams in the Patriot League and a member of the graduating class of 1998 that established a Navy record with 80 career wins. Also an outstanding athlete at PA, she was inducted into the inaugural Andover Athletics Hall of Honor in 2008. Calder opened her speech at the U.S. Naval Academy ceremony
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Andover | Spring 2014
by expressing gratitude to, among others, her “Andover family”: coaches Karen Kennedy and Lisa Joel ’88, athletic trainer Kathy Birecki, and Andover teammates Tammy Sanchez ’91, Heather Brown Lewis ’93, Laurie Coffey ’95, and Abby Harris ’96. “Awards are not necessarily for you,” Calder said, “but for all those around you who supported you and who helped you become the best version of yourself. “My basketball career started at Andover, and to have my coaches and teammates and friends come to Annapolis to share this event with me was truly overwhelming,” Calder wrote in a recent e-mail. “I wouldn’t have received this honor if Karen [Kennedy], my soccer and basketball coach, didn’t push me to strive to
play basketball for a Division I school. She encouraged me and helped me through four years of sports and, more importantly, life. She was a true mentor and friend.” Both humbled and proud to have her number retired, Calder said that knowing she won’t be the last makes her the happiest. “There are so many women who are just as deserving,” she said, “and it makes me feel good that what happened today will lead to others receiving the same honor.” “Becky led by example, inspiring teammates, opponents, officials, sportswriters, and many others,” says Kennedy. “Still to this day, officials and local sportswriters recall her as one of the best female basketball players to ever
graduate from a Massachusetts high school. “Her combination of humility and humor is still evident. During her address at the event, she asked, ‘Are they sure? Did they actually check the record books?’—to a roar of laughter. This is just another one of her great successes, raising the ceiling for girls and women. It was a privilege to share a portion of her journey, to acknowledge her accomplishments while at Andover, and to revel as she gives forward to the next generation of girls.” —Jill Clerkin