60 Years of Anteater Athletics: Celebrating Women's Athletics

As Women's History Month comes to a close, we wanted to take a look back at the success that UC Irvine women's student-athletes have had over the years. From dominating the Big West to NCAA competition, UCI has achieved greatness in every sport it has sponsored over the years.

Intramural sports and physical education instruction for women at UC Irvine started with the opening of the university in 1965 under the direction of eventual Athletic Director Linda Dempsay. By 1967-68, nearly 200 women were competing in UCI’s organized intramural sports which included volleyball, badminton, basketball, bowling, softball, swimming and tennis.

In the spring of 1968, the Anteater women also entered competitive tennis for the first time as they faced USC, UCLA and Cal State Fullerton while also taking part in the Ojai Tournament, where Patti Hogan was the singles champion. The following year, swimming and volleyball were added to the women’s intercollegiate schedule.

1972: On June 23, 1972, Title IX was enacted into law, protecting people from discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance, including athletics. The passage of Title IX opened many doors for girls and women in sports. The volleyball and tennis teams competed in the Southern California Women’s Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The national governing body at the time was the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW). 

Shar Wallander was hired as the first full-time women's volleyball coach and immediately led them to the 1972 Division 2 League B Champions.

1974: UC Irvine started its first season of women’s basketball under head coach Dorene Cowart. 

JEAN NACHAND
Women's tennis player Jean Nachand was the first recipient of a women's athletic scholarship at UC Irvine and became the first UCI women’s student-athlete to earn All-America honors, garnering the distinction in 1974 and 1977. She was a 1974 doubles finalist at AIAW National Championships before winning the 1977 doubles consolation championship at AIAW National Championships as well as being a 1977 singles quarterfinalist. Nachand would also participate in the 1977 World University Games.

LINDA DEMPSAY
Linda Dempsay joined the UCI athletics staff in 1965, helping with the recreation and physical education of women's sports. She served as vice chair of physical education and assistant director of athletics prior to becoming UCI's Director of Athletics in 1977, a position she would hold until 1983. A pioneer for women in sports, she is recognized as the first female athletic director in NCAA Division I and was also the first woman appointed to the NCAA Committee on Infractions. Dempsay was also instrumental in initial funding plans for construction of the Bren Events Center.

Listen to her conversation with Cara Capuano on the UCI Podcast

1978: UC Irvine added women's outdoor track & field.

1979: Three divers - Wanda Boda, Beth Gerard and Jane Ward - became the women’s swimming & diving program’s first All-Americans. 

1980: Jennifer Chandler (Diving), who was the 1976 Olympic Gold Medalist in the 3-meter springboard and transferred to UC Irvine in 1978, qualified for the 1980 Olympic Games that were boycotted by the United States. The 1-meter (11 dives) school-record holder also earned All-America honors.

1982: Michelle Kelley scored at the inaugural NCAA Women's Outdoor Track & Field Championships, finishing 11th in the long jump at 19-8.75.

1983: UC Irvine won the inaugural Pacific Coast Athletic Association Women’s Cross Country Championship. Not only was it the first women’s competition sponsored by the PCAA (which was renamed the Big West in 1988), but it was the start of an Anteater dynasty as UCI won nine of the first 10 conference championships.

1984: UC Irvine started its first season of women’s soccer. Cheri Graham earned UCI women’s basketball’s first All-America honor.

1988: UC Irvine women’s volleyball earned the program’s first NCAA Tournament berth. 

1989: Beth McGrann, a two-time All-American, was the women's track & field team's first double qualifier at the NCAA Championships, advancing to the national meet in the 5,000m and 10,000m. 

1990: UC Irvine women’s cross country won the seventh of their league-leading 12 Big West Championships, finished second at the West Regional and fourth at the NCAA Championships. That stands as the highest NCAA finish by a women’s team in UCI history. 

E. JOCLYN “BUFFY” RABBITT
E. Joclyn “Buffy” Rabbitt is the most decorated women's student-athlete in UC Irvine history. She was an NCAA All-American in cross country in 1987, 1989 and 1990 as well as an NCAA All-American in track and field in 1988-91. She was the Big West Cross Country Champion and "Athlete of the Year” in 1987 and 1990. On the outdoor track, she was the Big West Champion at 1,500 meters in 1989 and 3,000 meters in 1988, 1990 and 1991. Rabbitt led the Anteaters at the 1990 NCAA Cross Country Championships with a fourth place finish and capped her career with  a top-10 finish in the 3000m at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. She excelled in the classroom as well, earning 1990 GTE Academic All-America honors and NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship recipient. She was the UCI/Big West Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

1992: UC Irvine sailing alums Lanee Butler-Beashel and Pamela Poletti-Healy competed at the Olympic Games in Barcelona. Poletti-Healy won bronze in the 470 class. All-American Traci Goodrich had UCI’s best individual finish at the NCAA Women's Outdoor Track & Field Championships, placing fifth overall in the 10,000-meter run.

1995: Women’s basketball won the program’s first Big West Tournament title as they defeated Long Beach State, Cal State Fullerton and Pacific as the No. 3 seed. 

1996: Allah-mi Basheer became the second All-American in UCI women’s basketball history.

1997: Women’s soccer claimed its first Big West Tournament title. 

2000: Lanee Butler-Beashel finished fourth in the windsurfing event at the Sydney Olympic Games. She was the first female sailor to represent the United States in three consecutive Olympics as she was also 11th in 1996 and fifth in 1992.

2001: UC Irvine added women's golf and women's water polo. Women’s golf has had three female head coaches in program history - Kelly Crawford (2001-06), Julie Brooks (2006-22) and Margo Dionisio, who was hired in August 2022.

2002: In their inaugural spring season, women’s golf won the first of their five Big West Championships. Stella Lee claimed the individual title and Walailak Satarak was named the conference’s golfer of the year, the National Golf Coaches Association Division I Freshman of the Year as well as an honorable mention All-American. Melissa Fernandez earned UCI women's water polo's first All-America honor. UC Irvine kicked off its first season of women's indoor track & field with a meet at Northern Arizona on Feb. 2.

2003: Women’s volleyball made their first NCAA appearance in 15 years and won their first postseason match with a five-set victory over Missouri in the opening round at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion. The Anteaters finished with a single-season school-record 24 wins, which was later matched in 2017.

2004: Lanee Butler-Beashel qualified for her fourth consecutive Olympic Games in windsurfing. She is UC Irvine's only female four-time Olympian. As a junior on the Anteater swim team, Lara Bjargardottir represented her native Iceland in the 200-meter individual medley at the Athens Games. It was her second Olympic appearance as she also competed in the 100 free and 200 free at the 2000 Sydney Games. Women’s volleyball made it back to the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive year. Kelly Wing was named the Big West Player of the Year and earned her second-straight All-America honor.

2005: UC Irvine swimming & diving claimed its first Big West team title. Women’s golf won their second Big West Championship, starting a stretch of four-straight conference titles (2005-08). The Anteaters also made their first NCAA Championship appearance after tying for sixth at the West Regional.

2006: Chelsea Nagata became UCI’s first swimmer to win three individual events at the Big West Championships. She claimed the title in the 50 free, 100 fly and 100 backstroke, while she was also part of the Anteaters’ Big West champion 200 medley relay team. Nagata, who was named the Big West Athlete of the Year, went on to earn the first of her two All-America honors.

TANYA TAYLOR
Women's soccer player Tanya Taylor was part of the first All-American duo from the program with CoCo Goodson in 2010 helping guide the Anteaters to an unbeaten Big West season and Big West title, the program's first trip to the NCAA Tournament, and made a run all the way to the Sweet Sixteen going through Arizona State and Wake Forest. She earned the program's first Big West Offensive Player of the Year honor after the program's first season with double-digit goals and assists scoring 11 times, setting a program record with 12 assists, and her 34 points stand as second-most in program history. She was the first Anteater drafted going in the fourth round of the 2011 WPSL draft and has since become a general litigator and passed the bar in both New York and California.

2007: The Big West Champion women's golf team tied for fifth at the West Regional in Utah to earn their second trip to the NCAA Championships.

2009: Women’s golf earned an NCAA at-large bid and tied for fourth at the West Regional to advance to the NCAA Championships for the third time in program history. Jane Chin, who was tabbed the Big West Golfer of the Year, tied for third at regionals and went on to place among the top-20 at the NCAA Championships. Women’s water polo won the first of their eight Big West Tournament titles. 

2010: Women’s soccer became the first and only Big West team to date to win the regular-season championship with a perfect conference record (8-0-0). The Anteaters, who finished with a program-best 19 wins, earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament where they advanced to the Sweet 16 by defeating Arizona State and Wake Forest. CoCo Goodson and Tanya Taylor garnered the first All-America honors in program history. Women’s tennis won their first Big West Tournament title, defeating Long Beach State, 4-1, in the final to dethrone the six-time defending champions.

2011: Women’s soccer won the Big West regular-season championship and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row. CoCo Goodson also received her second career All-America award. 

2012: Women’s water polo won their NCAA first-round game and placed fourth overall at the national championships. That matched the 1990 cross country squad as the highest NCAA finish by a UCI women’s team.

2013: Women’s tennis went unbeaten in Big West matches, winning the regular-season title at 9-0. They earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament where they advanced to the second round with a 4-2 victory over San Jose State. 

2016: As a rising junior at UCI, Persis William-Mensah (Track & Field) was selected as a member of Ghana's 4x100 relay team for the 2016 Olympic Games. William-Mensah, who broke five school records in indoor and outdoor track as an Anteater, was one of Ghana's 16 Olympians to travel to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

2017: Under the direction of head coach Ashlie Hain, women's volleyball made their first postseason appearance since 2004, advancing to the quarterfinals of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship. The Anteaters notched their first postseason victory since 2003 when Hain was a junior on the UCI squad. Hain's 2017 and 2003 teams both finished with 24 wins, tying for the most victories in program history.

2018: After securing their second-straight Big West Tournament title, women’s water polo won their NCAA opening-round match over Pomona-Pitzer, 16-2. The Anteaters then fell to second-seeded Stanford in the quarterfinals.

2019: Paula Smith was named UC Irvine’s Director of Intercollegiate Athletics. She was one of 40 female Division I athletic directors in the nation and second at UCI, following Linda Dempsay (1977-1983). 

TARA PRENTICE
Tara Prentice graduated in 2022 as the all-time leading scorer in UC Irvine and Big West women's water polo history with 242 career goals. She was a four-time All-American, earning first-team honors in 2020 and 2022. She was also a four-time first-team All-Big West selection. Prentice led the Anteaters to two conference titles and NCAA appearances, and was named the Big West Player of the Year as a senior. She became the first ‘Eater to bring home a World Championship medal, winning gold with Team USA in 2022. She was also a member of the national team that defended their World Championship title in 2024. Later that year, Prentice was named to her first U.S. Olympic Team. She scored five goals at the 2024 Paris Games.

2021: Women's soccer claimed their fourth Big West regular-season championship and second Big West tournament title. The Anteaters went on to advance to the NCAA Second Round with a 1-0 upset win over third-ranked and second-seeded UCLA snapping the Bruins' 26-match unbeaten streak.

In the spring, women's golfer Megan Yang fired a school record round of 65 on the first day of the Big West Championship, bettering the 66 posted by Jane Chin in 2008 and Patty Chawalitmetha in 2007. She was even after the first nine holes of the day then went crazy on the back nine with seven birdies, including five in a row from holes 10 to 14 for a score of 30. Yang would go on to finish second overall at the championship with a career-best score of 215 (65-73-77).

2022: UC Irvine women’s athletics had two more teams make the postseason during the 2021-22 campaign. Women’s water polo claimed their eighth Big West Championship and made their seventh NCAA appearance. Tara Prentice was named the Big West Women's Water Polo Player of the Year. Women’s basketball, which went 21-12, also earned the program’s first WNIT bid. In the fall, women's soccer again produced an NCAA First Round upset, taking down 4-seed and top-20-ranked USC, 2-0, posting an opening-round upset for a second straight season. In the second round, the 'Eaters advanced on a penalty shootout over Brown to reach the Sweet Sixteen for a second time in program history to take on third-ranked Alabama.

2023: UC Irvine women’s basketball won their first Big West regular-season title, finishing with a league-best 16-2 conference record. The Anteaters earned their second-straight automatic bid to the WNIT and took down San Diego State in the opening round for their first postseason victory. UC Irvine women's soccer took home a third consecutive Big West Championship, done just twice before in Big West history, and doing so without allowing a goal in three straight games. In the NCAA Tournament, UCI was again giant-killers defeating top-seeded defending champions, UCLA, 1-0. In the second round, the ‘Eaters topped Gonzaga, 2-1, to reach the Sweet Sixteen for a second straight season and third trip all-time. UCI women’s soccer attained a feat never before done in NCAA women's soccer history defeating a No. 1-seed and reaching the NCAA Third Round in the same postseason.

2024: UC Irvine women’s basketball defeated Long Beach State and UC Davis to win the program's second Big West Championship, and first since 1995. The Anteaters earned a No. 13 seed in the NCAA tournament and traveled to Spokane, Washington, where they took on fourth-seeded Gonzaga in the first round. Deja Lee made history as UCI's first Big West Women's Basketball Player of the Year. Diaba Konate was tabbed the conference's Best Defensive Player, while Moulayna Johnson Sidi Baba garnered Big West Newcomer of the Year honors.

The UC Irvine women's golf team set a new school record for the lowest 54-hole total with an 11-under 853 at the Wolverine Invitational, the program's 18th tournament win in program history. UC Irvine topped the 10-team field with a score of 11-under 853 (283-286-284), the lowest 54-hole total in program history. The Anteaters were six strokes in front of second place UC Riverside (859) and led by three freshman in the top 10 individually. Freshman Alona Avery finished in second place finish, carding a three-round total of 207 (69-68-70), the third lowest in UCI history.

2025: UC Irvine women’s track & field won their first Big West Championship in program history. Jazzmine Davis was voted the Big West Women’s Track Athlete of the Meet after scoring 20 individual points and contributing to 11 points in the relays. She had three podium finishes, including an individual victory in the 400m hurdles. Davis was also one of a school-record 10 student-athletes (13 entries) who qualified for the NCAA West First Round. Zharia Taylor led the group as she placed among the top-12 in the high jump to advance to the NCAA Championships where she earned second-team All-America honors. 

2026: UC Irvine women's track & field won the first MPSF Indoor Championship in program history. UCI held a 36.5-point lead after the first day and continued to roll, taking home the team title with a school-record 132.5 points. Joy Anderson was the pentathlon champion as a true freshman, while Jazzmine Davis won the 60m hurdles. UC Irvine women’s basketball recorded their fifth-straight 20-win season and won their second Big West regular-season title in four years. The Anteaters also made their fourth postseason appearance since 2022 with an automatic berth into the WBIT. UCI set single-season school records in overall wins (26), conference wins (17), total points (2,340), free throws made (566), free throw percentage (80.6%), and 3-pointers made (284). They also had a program-best 16-game win streak that ended on Jan. 24. Hunter Hernandez was named the Big West Player of the Year, while Tamara Inoue earned her second career Big West Coach of the Year award.

HUNTER HERNANDEZ
Hunter Hernandez cemented her legacy as one of the most prolific scorers in UC Irvine women's basketball history. In 2025-26, Hernandez became UCI's single-season scoring leader with 655 points (19.8 ppg). She is the first Anteater to reach the 600-point benchmark as she broke Cheri Graham's previous record of 593 that stood since 1983-84. Hernandez also tied the single-game school record with a career-high 41 points at Cal Poly on March 5. In addition, Hernandez ranks first in program history in career free throws made (402), and second in career points (1,477). Hernandez was named the 2025-26 Big West Women's Basketball Player of the Year and earned her third career first-team all-conference nod.

UC Irvine Student-Athletes That Were Olympians
Lara Bjargardottir / Iceland /Women’s Swimming / 2000, 2004
Lanee Butler-Beashel / United States / Sailing / 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004
Jennifer Chandler / United States / Diving / 1976, 1980 / Gold – 1976
Pamela Poletti-Healy / United States / Sailing / 1992 / Bronze 
Tara Prentice / United States / Water Polo / 2024
Cathy Thaxton / United States / Rowing / 1984
Persis William-Mensah / Ghana / Track & Field / 2016

ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME MEMBERS

Lindsay Morse-Bennett (1983), Tennis

Darlene Bailey (1985), Volleyball

Katherine Hamilton (1989), Basketball

Linda Dempsay (1997), Athletic Director

Buffy Rabbitt (1998), Cross Country/Track & Field

Jill Harrington (1999), Cross Country/Track & Field

Jean Nachand (2000), Tennis

Beth McGrann-Alsen (2002), Cross Country/Track & Field

Allah-mi Basheer (2003), Basketball

Popi Edwards (2005), Volleyball and Track & Field

Leticia Oseguera (2005), Basketball

Nicole Bucciarelli (2006), Soccer

Cheri Graham (2007), Basketball

Jane Chin (2020), Golf

Kris Roberts (2020), Volleyball

CoCo Goodson (2020), Soccer

Chelsea Nagata (2021), Swimming

Tanya Taylor (2021), Soccer

Kelly Wing (2021), Volleyball

Jessy Cardey (2023), Water Polo

Skye Green (2023), Track & Field)

Selanne Henderson (2023), Women's Golf

Lauren Collins (2024) Women's Track & Field

Danielle de Seriere (2024) Women's Soccer

Danielle Warde (2024) Water Polo

Maria Myers (2025) Tennis

Kristina Smith (2025) Tennis

Kari Pestolesi (2025) Volleyball

Simone Ferrara (2026), Soccer

Shar Wallander (2026), Coach

*UCI did not have any Hall of Fame inductees from 2008-19