AUSTIN – It began as a nice thought. A fun idea. A somewhat impromptu reunion.
When University of Texas officials sent invitations to all women who had played on Longhorn national championship teams to attend the women’s basketball team’s March 5 regular-season home finale, they weren’t sure what to expect.
The fact that 130 former athletes came, representing at least six sports spanning four decades, resonated with many who were in the Frank Erwin Center that afternoon.
‘It was way more emotional than I thought it would end up being,’ said Jill Sterkel, who helped lead the swimming and diving team to national championships in 1981 and 1982 and was the first American woman to make four Olympic teams.