TWU Home > Student
Life > Athletics > Hall
of Fame > Class of 2004
Inducted
April 16, 2004
Cheryl
Benoit, TWU ‘75
Benoit was a three-sport athlete for the Pioneers, competing in volleyball, track
and badminton. During her sophomore and junior seasons, TWU compiled a combined
92-16 volleyball record and qualified for the AIAW National Tournament both
years. The team was runner-up in the 1973 championship with Benoit as the setter
and team co-captain. A tremendous advocate for the sport, she and her teammates
conducted volleyball clinics throughout the Denton area to help promote volleyball
for TWU.
In
the off-season, Benoit ran the 880-yard and mile events for
track coach Dr. Bert Lyle and played badminton
for Dr. Virginia Hicks.
A
true all-around athlete, Benoit continued her athletic career
after finishing at TWU by competing in numerous
10K and mini-marathons across the country.
She competed in soccer in the Dallas/Fort Worth area for seven years and
was the
team’s leading scorer for three straight years, leading her squad
to the first Women’s National Cup Competition in Miami, Fla. She
was also the president of the West Texas Women’s Soccer Association
in Lubbock for two years. She is an avid golfer, water skier, and still
enjoys running.
Benoit
came to TWU after a successful career in volleyball, tennis
and track at Bridge City (Tex.) High School.
Many of her track records still
stand
today. She earned her bachelor of science in physical education in 1975.
She later
earned a master’s in sports health from Texas Tech in 1986. For
the past decade, she has been the Director of HealthSource/Preventive
Medicine at University
Medical
Center in Lubbock. Benoit is also the co-owner of two businesses, PFORYM
Business Solutions, Inc. and e1 Connected Homes. Rochelle
Barker Davis, TWU ‘74
Barker Davis spent four seasons with Dr. Bert Lyle as a member of the Pioneer
track team, which won National Championships in 1971 and 1973. She was team
captain of the 1973 and 1974 teams.
In 1973,
she won AIAW National Championships in the 100 yard dash and 440
relay as a junior. That same year, Barker Davis was selected
to the United
States
Track & Field Federation (USTFF) All-American Track & Field
Team. She was also chosen to be a member of the U.S. National Team
and was a medalist
at the World University Games in Moscow and Pacific International
Games in Canada in the 100, 200 and 440 relay.
The following
year, TWU’s 440 and 880 relay teams made a clean sweep,
winning all three National Championships: AIAW, USTFF and Amateur Athletic
Union (AAU). Both of those relay times held the national collegiate records
throughout the rest of the 70’s.
In addition
to her success on the track, she excelled in the classroom and was
recognized for outstanding merit and accomplishment by
Who’s
Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges.
Following
graduation, Barker Davis trained for the 1975 Pan American Games
and the 1976 Montreal Olympics. She retired from competitive
running shortly
after, however, when she discovered she was pregnant with her
first child.
She had
a successful high school career as a three-time state champion in
the 60 and 100 meters, as well as the long jump
and triple jump.
Davis
currently resides in Carrollton and teaches U.S. History at Plano
Senior High School, where she coached track & field
from 1975-83. During her tenure, she coached two 5A state
champions and record holders
in the 800
meters and
1600 meters.
Judy Murphey Hatch, TWU ‘73
She was TWU’s first great sprinter who paved the way for other Pioneers,
including fellow inductee Rochelle Barker Davis. As a freshman, she won the
100-yard dash at the National Intercollegiate Division of Girls & Women’s
Sports with a record-setting time of 10.4 seconds. That same year
she was selected to represent the U.S. in the 1970 World Student
Games
in Torino,
Italy.
In 1971,
she played a major role in TWU’s AIAW National Championship
victory. Individually, she won the 100-yard dash at the
National Indoor Federation Championships, which were held in the
Houston
Astrodome.
Murphey Hatch was
also a member of the U.S. National Team and set a 100-meter
track record of 11.3 seconds in Mexico City.
She too,
was an odds on favorite for the Olympic games, but was injured in
the same race as Rochelle Barker
Davis and
could not
go to the
trials. She
was forced to retire in the Fall of 1973 due to genetic
hypertension.
Murphey Hatch is a posthumous inductee into the TWU
Athletics Hall of Fame. She passed away on September
20, 1982 at
the age of 31.
A four-year
standout at Tuloso-Midway Rand Morgan High School in Corpus Christi,
Texas, she actually
started
the girls
track program
as the
only female participant.
She won two Texas State Girls Track & Field
titles apiece in the 100-yard dash and 220-yard
dash. She
was also a member of the
1967
mile relay champions
and 1969 880 relay team. The school dedicated the
Judy Murphey Hatch Memorial Track in July 1985.
She is
survived by her brother and sister-in-law, Jerry and Ruth Murphey,
and her daughter, Jennifer
Hatch.
Dr.
Ann Uhlir, TWU Faculty (1983-96)
Uhlir has been an integral part of the entire TWU community for more than 20
years. She spent her career in education and emphasized the promotion of
opportunities for women, especially in sport. She came to Denton via Washington,
D.C., where she spent one year as a private consultant following a three-year
stint as executive director of the AIAW - Association for Intercollegiate
Athletics for Women (1979-82).
She was
appointed Dean of TWU’s College of Health, Physical Education,
Recreation and Dance in 1983, overseeing
all those departments as well as the Athletics and Wellness programs.
In 1989,
she became the founding Dean of the College of Health Sciences as
TWU
added studies in communication sciences and disorders,
dental hygiene,
health care administration, nutrition and
food sciences, and kinesiology. She continued
to oversee Athletics and Wellness, and
served as the NCAA Faculty
Athletics Representative.
Dr. Uhlir was behind the approval of funding
for Pioneer Hall and she sought, and obtained
membership for TWU in the Lone Star Conference.
She even served
as President of the LSC between 1993-95.
“The TWU Athletics program exemplifies the best of women’s athletics
with quality young women whose academic and athletic achievements are a credit
to themselves and the University,” Uhlir said. “The
unblemished reputation of the program over
the 13 years I had oversight of Athletics
and
served as the
NCAA Faculty Athletics Representative is
a source of great pride in my administrative
career."
A graduate
of Ball State University in Muncie, Ind., Dr. Uhlir passed away in November 2007.
|
