FEBURARY 2021
IN THIS ISSUE
From the Athletic Director’s Desk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 The Right Chemistry: UW Softball . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 12 Questions with Beach Volleyball's Natalie Robinson . . . 13 Track Star: Hannah Rusnak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Balancing Act: UW Gymnastics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 UW Academic Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 The Shot: Indelible images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
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GOHUSKIES VOLUME 14 / ISSUE 4 / FEBRUARY 2021
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FROM THE ATHLETIC DIRECTOR’S DESK
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usky Nation, I hope 2021 is off to a great start for each of you. Things certainly have picked up around here as most of our student-athletes are back on campus for training and competition. It’s so great to have them here! With the turn of the calendar came an end to our autumn quarter on campus. Our students continue to excel in the classroom, as our overall department GPA was 3.42. It truly is amazing to see how our coaches, with the support of our academic services team, have built a culture of academic excellence here at the UW. We are so proud of this tradition and recognize the commitment it takes from every student, coach and staff member. For the first time in the history of our department, we will have 21 of our 22 programs competing over the course of the next several weeks this spring. Due to the pandemic causing an abrupt end to the spring sport calendars last March and the Pac-12’s decision to push traditional fall sports to this spring, it will be an extremely busy stretch on Montlake until the end of the academic year. This is exciting as we know this allows for our students, coaches and staff to build community and gives our programs a chance to compete. We are so appreciative of each of you and
Jennifer Cohen
the opportunities you provide to our students and programs with your generosity. This is such a special place and we are so grateful to do this with you alongside us each step of the way. We continue to miss each of you around our athletics village attending games and cheering on our beloved Huskies. Those days are getting closer and closer and we can’t wait to be reunited again. We know it will be that much sweeter to be back on campus, together. Go Dawgs!
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WITH A RARE MIX OF
TALENT, TEAMWORK, AND DRIVE, UW EYES THE WOMEN’S COLLEGE WORLD SERIES TITLE.
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BY MIKE KORD FOR GOHUSKIES MAGAZINE
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he 2021 UW softball season begins as so many have previously. The Huskies again are ranked nationally (No. 2 in the NFCA/USA Today preseason poll), a crew of outstanding players returns, and winning the Women’s College World Series is an attainable objective. And yet, this year is like no other. In 2020, the No. 2 Huskies were charging into Pacific-12 Conference play with a 23-2 record when the season was abruptly canceled, the morning of our game against Team USA. The residual effect was a 15-day delay to fall practice and a 2021 schedule that was still being sorted out as of late January. If anything, the unpredictability of 2020 has prepared the Huskies for the uncertainty of 2021. No one knows this better than two-time All-American pitcher Gabbie Plain from Harrington Park, Australia, who went back home after the season was canceled. “I got lucky,” said Plain, a senior. “I made it back before Australia shut down the borders to people outside the country.” With UW facilities closed, players had to get creative in their sudden offseason training. “Everybody went home and had their own systems and methods,” said junior leftfielder Sami Reynolds. Two of Reynolds’ cousins play at Western Washington University, so the three would train together.“We would go to random parks when we could, and take all of our old softballs from like 12U. It was ragtag,” she said, “but it was awesome. We made it work.” So why are the Huskies ranked No. 2 heading into 2021? Every player who saw the field last season returns. That includes shortstop Sis Bates, who was voted to ESPN’s greatest all-time college softball team last year. For context, Bates joined icons such as Jennie Finch, Jessica Mendoza, and Dot Richardson on the team. She is the reigning two-time Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and a two-time All-American.
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Bates leads a quartet of decorated teammates who recently were named to the USA Softball Preseason Player of the Year Watchlist. Joining her is Plain, catcher Morganne Flores, and infielder Baylee Klingler. “I always credit my teammates when I get those awards because my teammates allow me to be who I am and they always push me to be the best that I can be,” Flores said. Fans who like offense will want to make each game required viewing. The Huskies batted .365 last year, third in the nation. They scored 7.68 runs per game, fourth in the nation. Bates hit .529 in 2020. That would have put her at No. 6 nationally if not for missing 10 games because of a concussion and falling short of the required minimum at bats. In 2019, Flores went on a monumental tear, belting 23 homers (tied for 4th in the NCAA), driving in 61 runs, and earning second-team AllAmerican honors. Those numbers dipped in 2020, but almost certainly would have risen had conference play not been canceled. Klingler, a junior, made her mark with a .481 average that ranked 21st in the nation. She went yard twice in a 12-2 victory over No. 3 Oklahoma. As a sophomore last season, Reynolds became that hitter pitchers just hate to face. Bring the heat inside, and the left-handed slugger will pull it into the right-field corner. Pitch her away and she’ll line a shot over the third baseman. “Just throw me a strike and I’ll be happy,” Reynolds said. Her .424 average — up nearly 100 points from her freshman year — certainly made 17th-year head coach Heather Tarr happy. The team’s run production isn’t limited to a handful of bashers. This lineup is deep. Fourth-year second baseman Taryn Atlee has seen her batting average rise from .220 as a freshman to .441 last year. Junior infielder SilentRain Espinoza hit .391 with four homers and four doubles last year, which gave her a .661 slugging percentage. She also tallied 19 RBIs in 21 games played. Sophomore Kelley Lynch, the 2019 Gatorade High School National Player of the Year, pitches and plays first base, and is one of the more versatile – and critical – players on the team. Never was that more apparent than early last season, when Lynch hit a towering three-run homer and pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings in a 7-0 thrashing of No. 5 Florida State. That was the same Seminoles team that topped the Huskies in the 2018 Women’s College World Series final. Lynch had a team-leading eight homers when the 2020 season ended. Defensively, the Huskies are clinicians in the field. Washington had a .982 fielding percentage last season, good for No. 4 in the nation. Bates is credited for her glove, but her footwork—the envy of just about any Major League Baseball prospect—allows her to get in front of balls hit to her left or right and deliver quick-release strikes to first base with legendary consistency and fluidity. She commits errors less frequently than other shortstops catch colds (her last boot occurred in May 2019). “She’s literally the best shortstop any of us has ever played with,” Flores said. “But what I think makes her so awesome is she brings energy every day to the field and just brings a positive vibe to whatever the situation is.” Atlee has 140 starts as a Husky and earned All-Pac-12 third team honors in 2019. Flores also was stellar behind the plate and won the Johnny Bench Award, which is given annually to the nation’s best catcher. She has committed just two errors in 187 games started, both occurring in 2017.
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The team’s run production isn’t limited to a handful of bashers. This lineup is deep.
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Espinoza, Ari Quiñones (.400), and Megan Vandegrift (.200) provide infield experience around the horn. Brook Nelson will spend time at pitcher and first base. Raigan Barrett and Stormy Kotzelnick are freshman newcomers. Junior Emma Helm and freshman Jennifer Cummings back up Flores behind the plate, and senior Noelle Hee is a notable pinch-hitter. Sophomore centerfielder Jadelyn Allchin started all 25 games last year and hit .294. She’s one of the rangiest players in the nation, demoralizing hitters who think they’ve just knocked a base hit only to see Allchin chase the ball down in the alley. “There are plays that she makes that you think ‘Oh, that’s going to drop in for a single,’ and then out of nowhere, she just comes in and dives and makes the play,” Flores said. Senior Livy Schiele started 14 games in right field and hit .359. Senior Kaija Gibson (.292) and junior Madison Huskey (.222) also saw time in right field. Junior Francesca Torraca and freshman Lilly Agan round out the outfield. The Huskies possess a talented pitching staff led by Plain, a two-time All-American who has gone 56-9 with a 1.39 ERA and 521 strikeouts in 418.1 innings pitched in two-plus seasons. Opponents are hitting a meager .165 against the composed Aussie. “Sometimes, I’ll just walk out to the mound and talk to her and say, ‘Hey, what’s up? Are you good?’ And she says, ‘Yep, I’m good,’ ” Flores said. “It doesn’t matter what situation we’re in. She’s like, ‘Let’s go.’ So I think it’s awesome to have that attitude on the mound. She just knows she’s going to win, and it rubs off on all of us.”' It’s a long way from Harrington Park, a small suburb of Sydney, to Montlake. Seattle’s reputation for unfriendly weather had Plain looking mostly at southern schools until a UW alum convinced her dad to consider Washington. So Plain and her father visited Seattle, saw the beauty of the city and the school’s unique academic and athletic qualities. Plain put UW at the top of her list. “We just essentially spammed all the coaches with e-mails and videos,” Plain said. “Luckily, one of the coaches opened it and got it touch. There was a bit of chance and luck. But in the end, I felt really comfortable with the coaches and their values, and family, and supporting each other and helping everyone grow, not just as softball players but as individuals. I really clicked with that.” When everyone in the stadium knows a heater is coming, Plain can saw off a hitter with a throw that touches 70 miles per hour. But she also delights in throwing an array of pitches that keeps hitters off balance. “I’ve always found it fun learning new pitches, and when I was able to do different things with them,” Plain said. “So I just enjoy challenging myself in different situations to throw pitches that I wouldn’t normally throw. I kind of like throwing everything.” She credits pitching coach Lance Glasoe for her progress. “He likes to make sure we understand not only who we’re throwing to but why we throw to them the way we do. His philosophy is, ‘You’re big girls now. You should know how to throw. If you need help, I’ll be here.’ Mostly it’s about getting smarter at this stage.” On Plain’s off days, the Huskies will look to senior Pat Moore to continue the success she experienced in 2020. Moore went 6-0 with a 2.05 ERA. Nelson went 3-0 with 2.65 ERA, and freshman Sarah Willis might see time on the mound and in the outfield. The staff’s WHIP was 1.22, and opponents hit just .215.
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“We don’t care who’s on the other side of the dugout. If we just bring Husky Softball to whomever we’re playing, we’re going to win. And we’ve always had that mindset.”
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The Huskies have 14 appearances in the Women’s College World Series, won the title in 2009, and the bitterness of 2018 is still a fresh taste. Before getting back to Oklahoma City, where the WCWS is played, Washington faces a gauntlet of talented teams in Pac-12 action. Top-ranked UCLA, the 12-time champion, won it all in 2019. Eight-time champion Arizona is ranked No. 3. Oregon, who has yet to win it all, is ranked 10th, and two-time champ Arizona State is ranked 16th. Stanford and Utah are just outside the top 25. “We always say we’re playing nine girls named Sally,” Flores said. “We don’t care who’s on the other side of the dugout. If we just bring Husky softball to whomever we’re playing, we’re going to win. And we’ve always had that mindset.” UW players talk a lot about having the right mentality. It’s part of the philosophy Coach Tarr delivers. Don’t dwell on the past or forecast the future. Be in the moment. Success will grow from there. “I think that this year, we have all the right pieces. We have all the right chemistry,” Flores said. “And there’s really no reason why we shouldn’t win it all this year. And it would literally mean everything to me and my teammates.”
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Keeping Youth Safe Playing The Sports They Love
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TOGETHER. WHEREVER WE ARE. From the university campus to your couch at home, the Boeing Apple Cup Series brings people across Washington together. We’re a proud sponsor of this great college tradition, and it’s part of our commitment to supporting the communities, across Washington, that our employees call home.
boeing.com/washington GoHUSKIES
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12 QUESTIONS WITH... BEACH VOLLEYBALL’S
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ife is busy for the redshirt sophomore standout — on and off the sand. Not only is the Seattle native a double major in Political Science and Communications, but she is also the Pac-12’s representative to the national Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
So, what are you advocating for on behalf of the conference’s student-athletes? “This past summer we saw a lot of issues related to social justice, and the Pac-12 schools were very involved with making their voices heard both at their campuses and at the national level. So, when I have conversations with other national SAAC members and administrators, I definitely try to reflect the changes that Pac-12 schools and athletes bring up on their own campuses.”
What’s the most eye-opening thing you’ve learned in this role? “Just how many different interests there are in our country and how sometimes those interests can be competing. But sports are something that can really bring people together. So, I think that’s been cool to watch. ” How about in your studies? “I’ve actually decided to go to law school based on the combination of Political Science and Communications classes I’ve taken. Looking into the Constitution and local government structures, I’ve just realized how law can create change within a society. I think it’s interesting how different people use the law to do that. And now I’m heading to law school next year.” And during the pandemic? “To appreciate the little things more. For me that was family, different connections with my friends, all the knowledge of being healthy and working out and eating right. It made me appreciate all the little things more. I live with my nine roommates …” Wait, how many roommates? “Nine. I definitely appreciate that a lot more now. It’s great. They’re all in my bubble and we can hang out safely together.” Why did you switch from indoor to beach? “That had always been my plan. I was recruited to play two years of indoor and then switch to fulltime beach. And that was partially based on roles they needed to fill my first two years. And then I loved beach volleyball and just wanted to try to improve in one rather than going back and forth.” What do you love most about beach? “How dynamic it is. You’re touching the ball every play. And there are endless scenarios for how you can score points. It’s really challenging but you can constantly be improving and I really enjoy that process.”
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What is your goal for this season? “No. 1, stay healthy. And then just really enjoy playing and to get better every practice and between every competition. If I can do that, I’ll be happy.” What inspires you? “I’m really inspired by the people around me. Washington athletics is a really special place, and there’s a lot of really talented and ambitious people around—other athletes, staff—and I’m just really inspired just to be a Washington athlete and what that means. And on top of that I really like improving in all areas of my life, and when you see little changes happen, that inspires me to keep making improvements.” If you had a day off, what would you do? “I had a lot of days off last summer, due to the pandemic, and I really got into hiking and backpacking. So, backpacking to a lake and then swimming and camping on my day off. ” So, law school next. What do you see yourself doing after that? “That is what I don’t know. I’d like to work in public-interest law or I have a newfound interest in sports law, so I think with the new changes coming to the NCAA, potentially sports law.” If there’s one thing you could change about the current political climate in America, it would be … ? “That is a big question. I think the divisiveness in politics isn’t helping anyone right now. I think that people need to be able to understand other peoples’ perspectives, and then be willing to accept that big, institutional changes are needed to achieve equality. And even though things have been the way they are for a long time, that’s not good enough for a lot of people, and there’s going to need to be big changes, and it’s going to affect people’s lives, but it’s going to make the nation better.”
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BY MARK MOSCHETTI FOR GOHUSKIES MAGAZINE
he always dreamed of competing in a big-time college track and field program. But competing in five events on the same day? Or seven over two days? Hannah Rusnak hadn’t dreamed of that at all. “When my coach (former Husky assistant Pat Licari) was recruiting me, he said, ‘You’re a sprinter and jumper, and that’s what we look for. I think you’d be a really good athlete in the heptathlon,’ ” the University of Washington junior recalled. “I said, ‘Oh, cool — I’m fine with that.’ “I’d never even heard of it.” She has heard of it now. And the college track world — whether it’s within the confines of Husky Nation, or around the Pacific-12 Conference, or even throughout the country — has heard of her. “I had no clue what to expect,” Rusnak said of her first foray into multi-event competition, an indoor pentathlon at the UW Invitational on Jan. 26, 2018. “It was hard in the sense that it was an all-day thing. But I really kind of fell in love with it immediately from that.” Rusnak wound up 14th among 28 competitors on that January evening at the Dempsey Indoor facility. She has been going nowhere but up ever since, setting school records for both the indoor pentathlon and the outdoor heptathlon, winning the Pac-12 hep as a sophomore in 2019 and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation pent last winter as a junior.
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Hannah Rusnak is the gold standard in heptathlon
“Some athletes come into the university system as single- or double-event athletes — and all of a sudden find out that they’re really talented in a lot of areas, said UW associate head coach Toby Stevenson, who joined the staff prior to Rusnak’s sophomore year. “She’s just super-competitive, really driven to be good,” he added. “I just know that from Day One, everything she did she wanted to get better at. Every day she comes to practice not just to come to practice, but wanting to get better.”
An Early-Comer To Track
Growing up in the northwest Washington town of Lynden, just 12 miles away from the nearest border crossing between the United States and Canada, Rusnak often would watch older brother Nathan at track practice. Nathan was in 7th grade at the time; Hannah was in 5th, and sometimes, “I would do hurdles with him.” GoHUSKIES
Suffice to say, the sport got a grip on her. By the time she finished her acclaim-filled career at Lynden Christian High School in 2017, she had six Washington Class 1A (small school) state championships, with three of those in the 100-meter hurdles, two in the long jump, and one as the anchor runner on the title-winning 4-by-100-meters relay. In fact, she ran the 100 hurdles 62 times for the Lyncs, and won 58 of those races. She long jumped 44 times, winning 36. Even with her affinity for the pentathlon and heptathlon, Rusnak’s preference for those two events hasn’t changed. “If I’m not in a multi, I’ll do hurdles and long jump pretty much every time,” she said. Rusnak also was an outstanding volleyball player at Lynden Christian, and was an All-Northwest Conference first-team selection as an outside hitter. But when it was time to choose which sport to pursue — and at which level to pursue it — she knew what she wanted Continued on page 17 PAGE 15
Born and raised in Seattle’s Central District, Anthony Washington is a true Husky who wants to make a difference in his community. Washington, who played Husky basketball as an undergraduate, discovered a passion for teaching and returned to the UW for his master’s degree in special education. He strives to empower and engage his students during class and advocate for them beyond the classroom.
“With track, I really like how it was a team sport, but also very individual,” she said. “I wanted to go to a big school — I wanted to break out of the small town. I knew D1 was where I wanted to go, and I could see myself excelling there.”
to do. “With track, I really like how it was a team sport, but also very individual,” she said. “I wanted to go to a big school — I wanted to break out of the small town. I knew D1 was where I wanted to go, and I could see myself excelling there.”
Changing Everything – For The Better Rusnak started excelling almost immediately. In 2018, she set the UW freshman record in the heptathlon, scoring 4,934 points at the Pac12 Multi-Events — also the fifth-highest score in school history. Earlier that year, she moved into the No. 10 spot on the UW pentathlon list with 3,550 points at the MPSF meet. It was between her freshman and sophomore seasons when Maurica and Andy Powell took the UW reins, Maurica as program director and Andy as head coach. Less than a month later, Toby Stevenson came aboard as the associate head coach, focusing on multis and jumps. Rusnak might not have known it right at that moment, but her transition into being a national-caliber performer was about to begin. “When he came along, he kind of changed absolutely everything I knew — but obviously for the better,” she said. “My form in the
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hurdles and long jump and high jump, and even just running. He said we were going to start from Square One with me. We were able to work together to make me the athlete that I am today and get my full potential out of me.” That was readily apparent from the start of her sophomore season in 2019. Rusnak was runner-up in the MPSF pentathlon with 3,848 points, No. 3 all-time for the Huskies. Just a few months later, she became the best heptathlete in school history, scoring 5,762 points to win the Pac-12 championship. Rusnak went on to the NCAAs, tallying 5,779 to place ninth — just 14 points shy of a top-8 spot on the awards podium. “The (Pac-12 hep) was just a lot of fun because I was hitting my events and doing what I needed to do,” she said. “At the end and just all the way through, it worked out.” Rusnak was hoping for even more last year, and qualified for the NCAA indoor pentathlon. She was one of 13 Huskies in Albuquerque, New Mexico, for the nationals, and had just checked in implements when she got word that the meet had been canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. Continued on page 18
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“In the back of my head, we kind of knew that could happen,” she said. “Literally 30 seconds (after checking in her implement), I walked past my coach, he was on the phone, and said, ‘Go pick it up. We’re done.’”
Back To Practice —Finally
“It’s (back in) the groove, but it’s a new groove,” she said. “It’s different than what it has been. But you just have to roll with the punches.”
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She and the rest of the Huskies were done for the next several months. No practice, no team activities, no meets. Rusnak went home to Lynden and trained on her own until finally being able to return in October. “I didn’t have a high jump pit; I didn’t have implements to throw the shot put or javelin. What I did focus on was a lot of form work and running,” she said. “Obviously, I could work on cardio and strength. It was just (trying to) stay with the motion of everything. Muscle memory is a big part of the event.” Returning to practice — even in sociallydistanced pods — offered at least some sense of normalcy. “It’s (back in) the groove, but it’s a new groove,” she said. “It’s different than what it has been. But you just have to roll with the punches.” The 22-year-old Rusnak, sociology major focusing on the law-society-justice side of that field, still has plenty of upside to put on display whenever competition resumes. ”We’re not through yet,” associate coach Stevenson said. “The beauty of it now is we’re not building her up — we’re fine-tuning. You build the engine and get it running — that’s the baseline. We’ve been there and done that. Now we’re tuning it up.” “That’s what’s going to be really fun to see.”
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Balancing Act Coach Rosso brings perspective, experience and vision to UW Gymnastics BY MARK MOSCHETTI FOR GOHUSKIES MAGAZINE
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here to from here? So many college students everywhere ask themselves that question as they come close to completing their studies. Where to from here? Back in 2009, Ralph Rosso didn’t really know. A gymnast while earning a degree in general studies at the University of Michigan, he was staring at a future that essentially was still a blank piece of paper, Rosso didn’t even see a place for himself in gymnastics with his days in a team uniform now behind him. “When I was a competitor at Michigan, coaching was the last thing on my mind,” Rosso said. “I honestly didn’t know what I wanted to do, even to the point when I graduated. I stayed in Ann Arbor for another two years and volunteered with the men’s team, and I really enjoyed working with the athletes and coaching staff. I really found a passion for it. I worked at a few club gyms to help pay PAGE 20
for rent, and my passion grew for it more. “I always looked up to my coaches as role models,” he added. “Now, I’m on the other side of that fence and I can help (others) in their quest for their gymnastics goals.” Since June of 2017, Rosso has been offering that help from his side of the fence in the University of Washington’s gym – first as an assistant coach and now as the interim head coach, taking over in late October when Elise Ray-Statz announced her departure after nine years, leaving the area to move closer to her family. “I always knew how much she valued her family, as well as being a mother to her two young sons,” the 33-year-old Rosso said. “While I was not surprised, the timing threw me off guard a little bit. But I certainly support her in her endeavor in how she wants to take care of her family first.” Continued on page 23 GoHUSKIES
Balancing Act So Much Is Different Now
It already had been a most unusual time for Rosso when he was elevated to take over for Ray-Statz. The Huskies were just getting back to work after their program, along with college sports programs everywhere, was shut down in March because of the coronavirus pandemic. When everyone did get back into the gym, things certainly weren’t the same as they had been last March. Now, there were numerous health protocols that had to be followed just in order to practice. And, the roster looked markedly different from the squad that finished No. 11 in the final 2020 national rankings. Among those departing via graduation were All-American performers Madison Copiak, Kristyn Hoffa, Evanni Roberson, and Maya Washington. The current group of 13 includes three experienced returners, including All Pacific-12 Conference vaulter Geneva Thompson. Nearly half of Rosso’s team – six, to be precise – are freshmen. “This year, we’re going to be gaining in experience,” he said. “We want to build on previous successes, and we don’t want to take a step backward. We want to take a step forward.”
Following His Dream Wherever It Led
In his three years as an assistant to Ray-Statz, Rosso has been instrumental to keeping the Huskies in the national picture. In 2018, they won the regional title and made it to NCAAs. Last winter, the team finished 12th in the country on the uneven parallel bars, its best spot on that event since 2004. But aside from enjoying the success on the scoresheet, Rosso was simply enjoying the opportunity to coach here. “I always thought from afar that Seattle and the UW had a unique overlay of the college and the city,” he said. “Seeing it on TV, even as an East Coast person (Rosso grew up in New Jersey), I thought it would be a unique place to be part of this team.” By the time Rosso arrived at Washington, he had seen a good part of the country through various coaching opportunities. After two years of volunteering at Michigan, he spent two seasons at Arkansas, where he served as a team manager while working on his master’s degree in recreation and sports management. Then it was on to Western Michigan as an assistant in 2014. Rosso followed that with his first foray into the Pac-12. In two years at Arizona State, he was an assistant coach and an interim head coach. He then was an assistant coach in 2017 at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., before heading to Seattle. “I had really great mentors,” he said. “I feel like I’ve learned from everyone along the way. But I’ve come into my own as a coach – more experience, more good or bad moments, having better experiences – I’ve learned from all of them.” In developing his own style, Rosso is adamant about knowing each
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one of his gymnasts as well as he can so as to offer exactly the right kind of coaching at exactly the right time. “When they’re in a nervous, pressure situation, I need to give them advice this is only good for them,” he said. “It’s important for me to understand every one of them and know what’s happening on each event.” His particular approach certainly has resonated with junior Amara Cunningham, a veteran junior. “He definitely understands what being a woman gymnast is like – he’s super,” Cunningham said. “When we found out Elise was leaving, we were concerned because we had always had a woman head coach. She understood what we go through every day, and what it’s like to be a woman in sports. Ralph tries to connect with us and understand. He knows some days, we’re going to be emotional, and he gets that.”
Just The Right Fit For Him
Where to from here? Ralph Rosso is a long way from that graduation day at Michigan in 2009, when he still wasn’t sure in which direction life was going to take him. Now a family man with wife Andrea, who played golf for Michigan (she’s a nurse at the UW Medical Center) and two young sons, Rosso knows his direction. “I found I’ve been doing what I love,” he said. “You think of so many different things when you’re growing up. I always thought I would be a good Coast Guard officer. I wanted to jump out of a helicopter and be a rescue swimmer. Then you find your true passion and you can’t envision anything else. “This sport has given me and my family so much,” he added. “I can’t envision not giving back to it.”
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Somehow, someway Despite the disruptions of a tumultuous year, UW’s academic services team kept student-athletes focused
F
BY MIKE KORD FOR GOHUSKIES MAGAZINE
or many people, 2020 was the most jarring year in recent memory. Anxiety reached new heights as an unpredictable virus spread globally, police clashed with Black Lives Matter protesters in the streets, and a contentious presidential election hovered just ahead. For Kim Durand, the Senior Associate Athletic Director for Student Development at Washington, 2020 was all that and more. More because there were student-athletes who needed academic support in the form of sound advice, good tutoring, and the mass dispersal of laptops and textbooks to those who didn’t have access to them. And let’s not forget about the perpetuity of Zoom conferences. Tutoring, study sessions, advising, team meetings, and staff meetings all went virtual, with athletes scattered around the world. The simplicity of face-to-face contact was replaced by the intricacies of exhausting conference calls. It took determination, selflessness, and creative thinking in the face of an uncharted journey with no compass. How do you support student-athletes in a pandemic, anyway? Durand and the rest of the Student Athlete Academic Services staff figured it out. During the spring quarter, every UW team achieved a GPA of 3.0 or higher. During the 2020 fall quarter, the overall athletic department GPA was 3.42. This was no small achievement. “I can’t think of anything that’s been this extended and unknown, and comprehensive,” Durand said. Counterintuitively, the unknown can be a blessing. Remember March 2020? Had anyone known then the extent to which the virus would upend daily routines, the psychological impact almost certainly would have struck more fiercely. “At the time, it was new and different,” Durand said. “And I think we had a short-term view of it.” Continued on page 28
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Somehow, someway
Some student-athletes were on spring break and thought they would be back on campus in a week. The baseball team was at Sea-Tac Airport, ready to board a plane for its Pacific-12 Conference opener at USC. “I had to call them and say, ‘I know you’re checked in for that flight, but you’re not going,’ ” Durand said. Athletes were pulled off the track during practice at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico. A lifetime of dedication led up to that event, only to have a dream snuffed out in an instant. “There were definitely those devastating moments,” Durand said. The moments continued. For athletes and staff, the rhythm of daily life was displaced by a new, vaguely familiar reality—as if each day were a bizarre recurring dream. Without the collaboration of athletes, staff members, coaches, and administrators, staying focused was more challenging than ever. That’s what makes Durand grateful: To the staff members who often put their personal concerns aside to assist their student-athletes; the coaches who would cover a study hall so staff members could take a break; the administrators who made the decision to ship textbooks and laptops across the country; and the student-athletes themselves. One would get an A on a paper. Another would start showing more independence. Not only did each of these small milestones lead to the department’s academic success, but they also gave a weary staff the right dose of positive reinforcement. “It just seemed that somehow, some way,” Durand said, “the right student-athlete that inspires you and keeps you going would miraculously appear when we needed it most.” The team’s efforts were not lost on UW’s student-athletes. “They literally give their time and space to us athletes to get better and just be there when we need them,” said Sami Reynolds, an outfielder on the Husky softball team. “I know that I have the resources if I ever need help in something. They’re awesome. I love them.” PAGE 28
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Photographs by RED BOX PICTURES
GOLDEN PERFORMANCE
Sophomore Marcus Tsohonis (right) is joined in celebration by Quade Green during the Huskies’ 84-80 win over Colorado inside Alaska Airlines Arena on Jan. 20. Tsohonis poured in a career-high 27 points in the victory. To purchase Husky Athletics photography, visit www.HUSKIESPHOTOSTORE.com
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CHEERING FOR YOU FROM THE SKY LINES.
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