The Women of the 2000s: Softball Begins and a Flurry of All-Star Performers Headline the Beginning of the 21st Century
August 4, 2022 | General, Softball, Women's Basketball, Women's Golf, Women's Gymnastics, Soccer, Swimming & Diving, Women's Tennis, Volleyball, Women's Cross Country, Women's Track & Field, Title IX, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Feature
By Mike Pearson
FightingIllini.com
The much-awaited new millennium introduced an additional sport to the University of Illinois' varsity women's athletics lineup, but plenty of other prominent storylines occurred during the first 10 years of the 21st Century.
About one year after softball made its debut in March of 2000, Eichelberger Field became the home for a plethora of talented athletes.
Women's golf got a big boost in 2004 when construction of the Demirjian Indoor Golf Practice Facility was announced. A beautiful new tennis area, the Khan Outdoor Complex, followed three years later.
Individually, names like Felicien, Alcia, Hunt, Mensah and Bizzarri grabbed multiple headlines.
Here is a chronological look at several of the most memorable Illini women's moments from 2000-09.
Jan. 2, 2000: Women's basketball romped past No. 5 Georgia, 82-65, at the Assembly Hall.
Mar. 11, 2000: UI's softball team made its varsity debut, splitting a doubleheader at Coastal Carolina. Due to the lack of a home field, Coach Terri Sullivan's players were never seen by the majority of Illini faithful.
Mar. 17, 2000: Illini women's basketball defeated Utah in an opening-round game of the NCAA Tournament, 73-58.
Apr. 15, 2000: Groundbreaking ceremonies for Eichelberger Field.
June 13, 2000: Sophomore Jessica Aveyard, Illinois' first-ever swimming All-American, won the Dike Eddleman Award as UI's top female athlete.
Aug. 31, 2000: Karol Kahrs retired after 36 years of service.
Sept. 15-Oct. 1, 2000: At the Olympics, Illini swimmer Ilkay Dikman (Turkey) and Perdita Felicien (Canada) competed for their home countries.
Nov. 8, 2000: Illinois soccer played and won its first-ever NCAA Tournament game, defeating Xavier, 2-0.
Mar. 15, 2001: Illini women's swimming and diving made its very first appearance in the NCAA Championships, ultimately tying for 35th place.
Mar. 30, 2001: In its first-ever Big Ten games, Coach Terri Sullivan's Illini softball team swept Michigan State, 4-1 and 10-2. Illinois finished with a 12-8 conference record.
Apr. 27, 2001: UI's 4x100-meter shuttle hurdle relay quartet of Jenny Kallur, Camee Williams, Susanna Kallur and Perdita Felicien set a world record (52.85) at the Drake Relays.
Apr. 29, 2001: Illini women's tennis nipped Northwestern for the Big Ten title.
May 1, 2001: Volleyball's Betsy Spicer was named the female recipient of the Big Ten Conference Medal of Honor.
May 10-12, 2001: At Ann Arbor, Illini softball went 2-2 in its very first Big Ten Tournament.
May 12, 2001: Illini tennis beat Virginia Commonwealth, 4-2, to claim its first NCAA Tournament victory.
May 19, 2001: Perdita Felicien ran the world's fastest time in the 100-meter hurdles (12.75).
Nov. 26, 2001: Don Hardin named Big Ten volleyball's Coach of the Year; senior Shadia Haddad named conference's Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.
Dec. 28, 2001: Illini women's basketball topped No. 12 Michigan, 85-81, at Ann Arbor.
March 8, 2002: Sixty-meter hurdler Perdita Felicien captured UI track and field's first-ever NCAA indoor title with a collegiate-record time of 7.90.
May 6, 2002: Illinois' Jessica Aveyard named Swimmer of the Year by the Illinois Swimming Association.
May 10, 2002: Shortstop Lindsey Hamma and outfielder LeeAnn Butcher became Illini softball's initial first-team All-Big Ten selections.
June 1, 2002: Perdita Felicien wins the NCAA 100-meter hurdles title.
Oct. 12, 2002: Illini volleyball topped Coach Mike Hebert's sixth-ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers, 3-2.
Nov. 7, 2002: Illini soccer defeated No. 11 Penn State, and four days later beat No. 13 Purdue.
Jan. 10, 2003: UI's Allison Prather set the UI record in one-meter diving (270.85).
Jan. 26, 2003: Illini women's basketball defeated 10th-ranked Minnesota, 94-80, in Champaign.
Feb. 23, 2003: Illini women's tennis team shocked top-ranked Duke, 4-3.
May 15, 2003: The Illini softball team captured the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament victory, a 5-3 win over Georgia Tech.
June 14, 2003: Perdita Felicien won the NCAA 100-meter hurdles crown with a time of 12.74.
June 26, 2003: Illini athletes swept both the Big Ten's Jesse Owens Male and Suzy Favor Female Athletes of the Year awards. NCAA tennis champ Amer Delic and wrestling titlist Matt Lackey shared the prize for the men, while NCAA hurdles champ Perdita Felicien was the women's award winner. The trio was named UI Athletes of Year on June 4.
Aug. 28, 2003: Perdita Felicien registered victory in the 100-meter hurdles at the World Track & Field Championships.
Sept. 23, 2003: Former Illini great Tonja Buford-Bailey was hired as UI's assistant track coach.
Nov. 9, 2003: Illini soccer prevailed over Michigan, 2-0, to win the championship game of the Big Ten Soccer Tournament, its first-ever conference title.
Nov. 21-23, 2003: Illini women pioneers, including some from the 1930s, gathered on campus for the 3D Celebration reunion.
Dec. 12, 2003: Illini soccer goalkeeper Leisha Alcia named an All-American.
Feb. 20, 2004: Ilkay Dikmen broke Illinois swimming's 100 breaststroke record (1:02.11).
Apr. 3, 2004: Illini gymnast Cara Pomeroy posted the school's first-ever perfect score, a 10.0 on the parallel bars at the NCAA South Central Regional.
Apr. 17, 2004: Illini softball beat No. 9 Michigan, 3-2, to claim its first-ever victory over a Top Ten team.
Aug. 22, 2004: Illini track and field alumnae Susanna Kallur (Sweden) and Perdita Felicien (Canada) competed in the Olympics, advancing into the 100-meter hurdles semifinals.
Sept. 11, 2004: Coach Don Hardin's Illini volleyball team upset top-ranked Southern California in five sets at the Illini Classic.
Sept. 18, 2004: UI held groundbreaking ceremonies for its Demirjian Golf Practice Facility.
Oct. 30, 2004: Illinois' Cassie Hunt won Big Ten cross country's individual championship.
December 2004: In the month of December, Illini women's basketball traveled to Louisiana State and defeated the 21st-ranked Bulldogs, 71-65 and then followed up with a 78-63 win over No. 16 UCLA.
May 3, 2005: Tennis standout Cynthya Goulet won the Big Ten Conference Medal of Honor.
May 15, 2005: Illinois won the Big Ten Women's Track and Field Championships for the fifth time in its history. There were three individual championships and five second-place finishers.
Oct. 30, 2005: Women's cross country's Cassie Hunt won the 2005 Big Ten title with a time of 21:00. As a team, the Illini placed second.
Feb. 18, 2006: Illini swimmer Barbie Viney won UI's first individual Big Ten title in 24 years, posting a record time of 49.06 in the 100 freestyle.
Feb. 26, 2006: UI's Yvonne Mensah was named Athlete of the Meet at the Big Ten Indoor Track & Field Championships.
Apr. 6, 2006: Longtime Illini women's golf coach Paula Smith announced retirement. On June 8, former Illini Renee Heiken Slone was named as Smith's replacement.
May 2, 2006: Soccer star Christen Karniski named female winner of the Big Ten Conference Medal of Honor.
June 1, 2006: Softball star Jenna Hall became Illinois' first-ever All-American. She ended her record-breaking season with .481 batting average, a .651 on-base percentage and an .847 slugging percentage, all UI records.
Oct. 1, 2006: Two goals by Ella Masur rallied the Illini soccer to an upset win over No. 9 Penn State, 3-2.
Mar. 22, 2007: In Theresa Grentz's final game as Illini coach, host Kansas State beat Illinois, 66-51.
Apr. 20, 2007: Groundbreaking ceremony for UI's Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex.
May 11, 2007: Jolette Law, longtime assistant coach at Rutgers, was named head coach of the Illini women's basketball team.
May 13, 2007: Illinois tied for the Big Ten women's outdoor track and field title, 129-129 with Michigan. Yvonne Mensah captured four gold medals, winning the 100, 200 and triple jump, as well as anchoring UI's victorious 4x100 relay.
Feb. 16, 2008: Illini softball upset UCLA, 6-2, handing the Bruins one of only nine losses they'd incur that season.
Mar. 7, 2008: Clutch free throw shooting by Lori Bjork and Rebecca Harris clinched a 68-64 Illini women's basketball win over top-seeded Ohio State at the Big Ten Tournament, qualifying Illinois for the championship game.
Apr. 4, 2008: Longtime women's track and field coach Gary Winckler announced that he would step down. Tonja Buford-Bailey was designated as Winckler's replacement.
April 24, 2008: Allison Buckley became first Illini women's gymnastics' first All-American.
Apr. 25, 2008: Illini women's tennis stunned Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship quarterfinals.
Apr. 30, 2008: Illini shortstop Angelena Mexicano crushed her 24th home run of the season to break the Big Ten single-season record.
Nov. 16, 2008: Illini soccer beat Missouri in game two of the NCAA Tournament on penalty kicks.
Nov. 24, 2008: The Illini women's cross country team placed 10th at the NCAA Championships.
Dec. 1, 2008: Volleyball coach Don Hardin announced his retirement. Eleven days later (Dec. 12), his coaching era ended with a third-round NCAA Tournament loss to California.
Aug. 8-24, 2008: Susanna Kallur (Sweden) and Emily Zurrer (Canada), competed in track and field and soccer, respectively, at the Olympic Games.
Jan. 8, 2009: Illinois named Kevin Hambly head volleyball coach.
Apr. 16, 2009: Illini women's gymnastics made its first-ever appearance at the NCAA national championships, placing 12th. UI's Bob Starkell was named as the nation's Women's Coach of the Year.
June 11, 2009: Emily Zurrer, Illini soccer star, won the Big Ten Conference Medal of Honor.
June 13, 2009: Angela Bizzarri captured UI's first-ever NCAA title in a distance event (5,000 meters in time of 16:17.94).
Aug. 6, 2009: Former Illini coach Gary Winckler was named to the USTFCCCA Hall of Fame.
Oct. 16, 2009: A crowd of 7,632 watched rookie coach Kevin Hambly's 10th-ranked Illini sweep past former coach Mike Hebert's No. 6 Minnesota Golden Gophers in Big Ten action at Assembly Hall.
Nov. 23, 2009: Angela Bizzarri won the NCAA individual national championship, earning her National Cross Country Athlete of the Year honors (Nov. 25) and the Honda Award (Dec. 9).
Dec. 16, 2009: Volleyball's Laura DeBruler was named a first-team All-America.
