Stay current on the latest in Women’s Sports News – including athlete accomplishments, events, Title IX news and news about the Women’s Sports Foundation.
Leslie attends BET Awards; Serena Williams in honored
Published: Wednesday, July 01, 2009
On Sunday, June 28, Lisa Leslie, one of the nation’s top female basketball players, attended the 2009 BET Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. The awards ceremony, celebrating African-Americans and other minorities in music, acting, sports and other fields of entertainment, included the category of Best Female Athlete, for which Leslie was nominated. WNBA stars Candace Parker and Tamika Catchings and tennis standout Venus Williams joined Leslie on the ballot for the award, which Serena Williams ultimately won.
Team USA reclaims lacrosse world cup
Published: Tuesday, June 30, 2009
In a tight game against its international rivals, the United States defeated Australia, 8-7, in the gold-medal game of the 2009 Federation of International Lacrosse Women's World Cup in Prague. The teams have met in the championship games six times since the World Cup's 1982 inception, and the U.S. win Saturday ended Australia’s four-year reign. Team USA gathered up its sixth World Cup title and its fourth over Australia. Devon Wills, the U.S. goalie, earned the Player of the Match honors with seven saves and three ground balls, while Caroline Cryer dominated on offense with a hat trick.
Capriati abused by immature shock jock
Published: Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Last week when Jennifer Capriati was invited to the WFAN’s “Boomer and Carton” radio show in New York, she was probably expecting to be interviewed about any number of interests—her illustrious tennis career, the current Wimbledon tournament or the recent event in New York City that she headlined with Jim Courier. However, the 33-year-old retired tennis prodigy who won three Grand Slam titles was barraged with questions from Craig Carton about her body, whether she'd have sex with a woman and whether she'd engage in a threesome with him and another woman. Carton has expressed disappointment that the interview has been condemned by local TV and newspaper columnists. This morning sports radio show is aimed only at adult males and is not recommended for kids, teens and women.
Hurdles set too high, steeplechase ends with injuries
Published: Monday, June 29, 2009
A barrier in the steeplechase event this year at the USA Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Ore., was set too high, leaving one runner with a bad break. It is not certain how high the barrier was before the water pit was set—some believe it was set at the men’s height of 36 inches, while others think that it was 33 inches high. Either way the barrier was higher than the women’s standard of 30 inches on Friday evening’s preliminary heat of the women’s 3,000 meters at Hayward Field. Nicole Bush came down hard during the third lap into the water pit, landing on all fours. She hobbled up and finished the remaining 2,000 meters of the race, placing sixth and qualifying for the final. In the medical tent after the race, an X-ray showed a fracture in her right foot, sidelining her for at least six weeks. Given this diagnosis, Bush’s finish was astonishing and a testament to what an athlete can do to overcome pain.
Korean walks away with fifth LPGA win in 11 months
Published: Monday, June 29, 2009
Jiyai Shin, from Seoul, won her fifth LPGA tournament in 11 months at the Wegmans LPGA, picking up a $300,000 prize that vaulted her to the top of the money list above Cristie Kerr, In-Kyung Kim and Lorena Ochoa. This win, like all others, was dedicated to her mom, who died in a car crash while Shin was in high school. With these wins stacking up, Shin has her eyes on the rookie of the year title and has lengthened her lead over Michelle Wie in the rookie standings to 405 points. Even more impressive, she has moved from the fourth spot to first in the Rolex Player of the Year rankings.
17-year-old Oudin surprises Wimbledon crowd continuing to fourth-round play
Published: Monday, June 29, 2009
Melanie Oudin pulled one of the biggest upsets Saturday in the Wimbledon tournament, beating the former No. 1 Jelena Jankovic, 6-7 (8), 7-5, 6-2. Ranked 124 in the world, the 17-year-old had never won a Grand Slam match and had to fight through three qualifying matches to enter tournament play. She and her Zimbabwe-born coach, Brian Devilliers, canceled their 3 p.m. Saturday plane tickets back to Atlanta as she kept advancing. Oudin lost to No.11 seed Agnieszka Radwanska Monday, 6-4, 7-5 in the fourth round. However, her incredible run has a lot of people asking just who Melanie Oudin is.
Larcher de Brito won’t stop grunting
Published: Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Michele Larcher de Brito, a 16-year-old from Portugal, made headlines at the French Open when her opponent complained to the umpire about her loud wails. For her first-round match at Wimbeldon Monday, Court 17 was packed with media and fans who were hoping to see a firestorm, but Larcher de Brito silently defeated Klara Zakopalova 6-2, 7-5. After the match, she made no promises to stop grunting if her matches get harder.
Kupets wins 33rd annual Honda-Broderick Cup
Published: Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Georgia gymnast Courtney Kupets was awarded the 33rd annual Honda-Broderick Cup, which establishes her as the 2009 Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year. The Collegiate Women Sports Awards Program in the Low Library Rotunda at Columbia University made the announcement Monday after Kupets was selected by nearly 1,000 NCAA member schools and the Board of Directors of the Collegiate Women Sports Awards Program. Kupets is the first athlete from Georgia to be honored and the second gymnast to receive the Honda-Broderick Cup in the 33-year history of the Collegiate Women Sports Awards Program.
Penny Palfrey attempts to be the first woman to swim around island of Manhattan against the current
Published: Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Penny Palfrey, 46, of North Queensland, Australia, attempted Monday to become the first woman to swim clockwise around the island of Manhattan—against the tide. However, strong currents and water conditions forced Palfrey out of the water after seven hours. Only one other person is thought to have completed this arduous journey—it took him 18 hours. Palfrey hoped to complete the 28.5 mile swim in 12 hours. In March, Palfrey, who is at home in the open water, was the first woman to swim from Hawaii’s Big Island to Maui, and last September she was the first person to successfully swim the Santa Barbara Channel in California.
Role of cheerleading in women’s sports
Published: Wednesday, June 24, 2009
In this economic downturn, the role of collegiate cheerleading has become a controversial issue in the debate of cheerleading’s status as a sport. The debate has been brought to the courts, because some colleges have seen cheerleading as a way to both cut costs and comply with Title IX, a federal law that requires equal opportunities for men and women in athletics. Many contend that competitive cheer is a sport—similar to cheerleading—while those who wish to expand collegiate women’s sports argue that cheerleading is a support activity—similar to the marching band—and that calling it a sport gives colleges the ability to cut established sports.
When Quinnipiac University in Connecticut proposed to replace the cut of a women’s volleyball team with a cheerleading team, a campus controversy was launched, and Robin Sparks, the Quinnipiac volleyball coach, filed a federal lawsuit, which argued that replacing volleyball with cheerleading violated the spirit of Title IX. While no definitive answer has come from the courts about whether cheerleading is a sport, Judge Stefan Underhill has granted an injunction that will keep the volleyball team alive.
ABC’s “The Superstars” premieres Tuesday night
Published: Wednesday, June 24, 2009
“The Superstars,” a reality show that first aired in the mid-1970s, got new life when it premiered Tuesday night on ABC. The show, which is based on a “Wide World of Sports” series of the same name, pits eight two-person teams—an athlete and celebrity—against each other in a series of random athletic competitions. The eight athletes include tennis star Jennifer Capriati, soccer legend Brandi Chastain, freeskier Kristi Leskinen and basketball great Lisa Leslie.
All-woman team sails past record time
Published: Wednesday, June 24, 2009
A team of yachtswomen sailed across a finish line off the Isle of Wight on Monday in record-breaking time after its six-day journey around Britain and Ireland. The crew beat the overall May 2004 record of seven days and four hours by 17 hours and 16 minutes. Their counter-clockwise, 2,500-nautical-mile journey took the crew along a British coastline that is well-known for demanding water conditions. The ever-changing weather, strong tidal flows and adverse land effects—not to mention shipping and other obstructions in the North Sea—presented a journey that was fraught with dangers and challenges, but in the end the women onboard the Aviva sailed into the record books.
Teva Mountain Games 2009 showcase women’s bouldering
Published: Thursday, June 18, 2009
The Teva Mountain Games, held early this month in Vail, Colo., attracted a global crowd of climbers and spectators. Watch the best women climbers in the world battle this unthinkable route.
Six inducted to the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame
Published: Thursday, June 18, 2009
An exhibit honoring Sonja Hogg, Jennifer Azzi, Cynthia Cooper-Dyke, Jennifer Gillom, Jill Hutchison and Ora Washington was unveiled Friday. The class was to be celebrated at a ceremony Saturday night.
Hogg coached Louisiana Tech to the inaugural NCAA championship title in 1982 after winning the AIAW Championship the previous season. Azzi, Naismith Player of the Year and All-American, is one of three Olympic gold medalists in the new induction class. Cooper-Dyke won a gold medal in the 1988 Olympic Games, was a national champion at Southern California in 1983 and 1984, and a four-time WNBA champion with the Houston Comets. Gillom won gold with the 1988 Olympic team and went on to play with the Phoenix Mercury for six years and the Los Angeles Sparks for one. Hutchison served as the first president of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association, testifying at the U.S. congressional hearings on Title IX. Washington was a legendary African-American basketball and tennis player. She starred as the center for the Philadelphia Tribunes for 18 years, losing only six games—all to men’s teams.
WNBA loses one of its top coaches
Published: Thursday, June 18, 2009
Coach Bill Laimbeer announced Monday that he has opted to step away from his Detroit Shock. Laimbeer’s former Pistons teammate Rick Mahorn will take over as head coach. After the Shock won its third title last season, Laimbeer had told a group of reporters that someday soon he really wanted to see assistants Mahorn and Cheryl Reeve get the chance to be head coaches in the WNBA. Now, that will happen for Mahorn, while Reeve will remain in her assistant role but also take on the job of general manager. If Laimbeer’s departure at this particular time—one week into the season—was in part to ensure Mahorn and Reeve would move up as he wanted them to on the totem poll, it wouldn’t be a surprise.
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