2009 TENNESSEE LADY VOLUNTEER HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES ANNOUNCED

The ninth group of inductees for inclusion in the Lady Volunteer Hall of Fame was announced today by University of Tennessee Women’s Athletics Director Joan Cronan.
“We are excited to welcome four outstanding former Lady Vols and a program pioneer to the Lady Vol Hall of Fame Class of 2009,” said Cronan. “Each of these exceptional individuals contributed significant achievements and performances which will forever be woven into the fabric of the Tennessee Lady Vol program.
The five inductees in the Class of 2009 represent former student-athletes from three Lady Vol teams and one administrator. The athlete honorees include: Jane Anthony Wobser (Diving), Rosemarie Hauch and Tonya Lee (Track & Field), Kellie Jolly Harper (Basketball) and the late Dr. Nancy Lay, who is being inducted as an administrator. Athletes are eligible for inclusion 10 years after they have graduated from the University, while administrators may be admitted to the Lady Volunteer Hall of Fame five years following their last service to UT. Each of these outstanding individuals exemplifies the true spirit of the Tennessee Lady Volunteers.
Enshrinement activities are scheduled for Friday evening, October 2 at the Downtown Hilton, where a private induction ceremony will be held at 6 p.m. A full day follows on Sat., Oct. 3, when the Hall of Famers will meet with the current athletes and staff of their respective former Lady Vol teams. That evening, the celebration moves to Neyland Stadium, where the honorees will be saluted during the Tennessee versus Auburn football game.
Throughout the 33 year history of Lady Vol student-athletes, 1,680 women have donned the Orange and White Tennessee uniform. With the addition of the five individuals to the 2009 Class of the Lady Vol Hall of Fame, membership has now reached 47 in this very elite Hall.
About the honorees: The late Dr. Nancy Lay was a member of the UT faculty in the Department of Physical Education for 37 years and coached volleyball, basketball and tennis from 1960-68. She was the first “Coordinator of Women’s Intercollegiate Athletics”; the precursor to today’s director of athletics. In 1988, she authored The Summitt Season. As a Lady Vol, Jane Anthony Wobser was the first All-America diver in program history and started a tradition of diving excellence which is continued today at Tennessee. She finished in the top 15 on five occasions at the NCAA Championships – 11th in the 3 Meter in 1985, 12th in the 1 Meter in 1985, and 15th in the 3 Meter in 1987 and 7th in the 1 Meter in 1987. When her Tennessee career came to a close, she had earned All-America status a total of four times. Today, she still holds four top 10 slots on the Tennessee Top Performers List on both the one and three meter boards. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Human Ecology, majoring in textiles and apparel with a concentration in merchandising in 1988. She currently resides in Findlay, Ohio, and is the diving coach at the University of Findlay.
The third inductee is track and field standout thrower Rosemarie Hauch, who traveled from her home in Chesterville, Ontario, Canada, to attend college at the University of Tennessee from 1978-82. Hauch earned All-America status on six occasions in the shot put and has the unique distinction of earning both AIAW and NCAA accolades. In 1981, she was one of the 10 women from the Lady Vol Track & Field team to capture the first national title in program history at the AIAW Outdoor Track and Field Championship. Additionally, she was a five time SEC Champion – winning the outdoor shot put title in 1981 and 1982, the discus title in 1981, and along with her teammates, the outdoor team titles in both 1981 and 1982. In 1982, she earned the individual distinction as a National Champion when she won the shot put competition at the AIAW Indoor Championship. She was a member of the Canadian National Team in 1982, 1983, and 1986 and was a bronze medalist at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in the shot put. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Education, majoring in physical education in 1982. Today she is a resident of Calgary, Canada, where she is a medical transcriber.
Another heralded track and field inductee is Tonya Lee. Lee was a multi-event athlete for the Lady Vols from 1988-92. She is a four time All-America; the owner of six SEC Championships (Pentathlon 1990 and 1991, Heptathlon 1990, 400mH 1991 and 1992 and as a member of the 4x400m Relay indoors); set three SEC records in the pentathlon, heptathlon and 400M hurdles; two Lady Vol school records, and was the second Lady Vol Track student-athlete to set an American Record (pentathlon 1991). In addition, she was a member of the U.S. National team in 1991, 1994, and 1995. Almost two decades later, her name still appears 18 times in the top ten on the all-time Lady Vol top performers list. Lee earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology in 1993. She currently is an assistant track and field coach at the University of Georgia where she coaches women’s sprints, hurdles, heptathlon and jumps.
The final inductee is Kellie Jolly Harper, the point guard on the Lady Vol basketball team from 1995-99. Behind her direction as the Lady Vol quarterback, she helped to lead her team to an unprecedented three consecutive NCAA titles in 1996, 1997 and 1998. The 1997-98 team finished the season with a perfect record with 39 wins and no losses. Her spectacular play earned her nods to the NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team in 1997 and 1998. She holds the record of the most assists in the NCAA title game with 11, set in 1997; and in the Final Four with 20. To go along with those titles she helped to tack on two SEC regular season Championships, 1998 and 1999 and three SEC Tournament Championships, 1996, 1998, and 1999. She holds the SEC Tournament record for the most minutes played in a game with 43 minutes in the semifinal, overtime, game against LSU in 1997. She, along with the other Lady Vol hoopsters of the 1990’s won an ESPY award for co-team of the Decade for that era. In the Tennessee record book, you can find her name listed in four top 10 spots on the Tennessee Top Performers List: ninth in three-point field goal percentage; eighth in assist average; sixth in total assists; and tied for third in assists for her sophomore campaign. Jolly received a Bachelor of Science in Education in 1999, majoring in mathematics. She earned Academic All-SEC honors in 1997, 1998, and 1999 and was a member of the SEC Good Works Team in 1999. She currently resides in Raleigh, North Carolina, where she is in her first season as the head women’s basketball coach at North Carolina State
The inaugural class selected for the Lady Volunteer Hall of Fame was inducted on Oct. 26, 2001. The 10 original members were former UT President Edward J. Boling, first-ever Lady Vol Athletics Director Gloria Ray and athletes Daedra Charles (basketball), Joetta Clark (track & field), Benita Fitzgerald (track & field), Bridgette Gordon (basketball), Tracy Ignatosky (swimming), Peta and Paula Kelly (tennis) and Beverly Robinson (volleyball).