Rochester’s Women in Sports
(WinS) Initiative
Support, develop, and grow opportunities for our women athletes to excel.
Rochester’s Women in Sports
(WinS) Initiative
Support, develop, and grow opportunities for our women athletes to excel.
JOIN OUR TEAM.
For more than 50 years, the University of Rochester has provided distinctive opportunities for women to excel competitively and be strong leaders and teammates. Our new Women in Sports—WinS—initiative honors this and celebrates Rochester’s educationally purposeful athletics programs. Please join us. Your support will help us reach new goals and create a sustainable future for our programs.
JOIN OUR TEAM.
For more than 50 years, the University of Rochester has provided distinctive opportunities for women to excel competitively and be strong leaders and teammates. Our new Women in Sports—WinS—initiative honors this and celebrates Rochester’s educationally purposeful athletics programs. Please join us. Your support will help us reach new goals and create a sustainable future for our programs.
DID YOU KNOW?
-
-
- 1889 – 1958: When Rochester established its 11 varsity men’s teams.
-
- 1967 – 2009: When Rochester established its 12 varsity women’s teams.
- 1972: Title IX of the Civil Rights Act was signed into law, prohibiting institutions that receive any federal funding from excluding students from participating in educational and athletic programs on the basis of sex.
-
I am who I am because of sports—they’ve given me my best friends and a strong sense of self and taught me a lot about the value of discipline, teamwork, and time management. My experience at Rochester has amplified all of this. The coaches are exceptional and bring out the best in us. My teammates and I have the same kind of drive and work hard to meet our goals in and out of the classroom. We support, respect, and inspire each other, too, which makes us all better in everything we do. I’m confident I’ll carry all the benefits of athletics with me throughout my life.
— SUSAN BANSBACH ’23 | International relations and Russian studies double major with a 3.51 GPA, field hockey player (first three years), Track & Field sprinter (all four years), and 2023 Division III national champion for the 4-by-400-meter relay
MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Your generosity will help boost our national recruiting efforts; enhance our strength and conditioning technology and available training equipment; grow our nutrition, performance, and fitness science programs; cover team travel and training opportunities, and offset post-season, unbudgeted expenses. Please consider supporting our women athletes, coaches, and programs by:
- Establishing an endowed fund in your name or to honor someone else—these funds last in perpetuity and will enrich the experiences of our women athletes for years to come
- Supporting an existing fund such as:
The Jane Possee Endowment for Women’s Athletics: Jane Possee is a longtime Rochester Athletics administrator and former women’s basketball coach
The Terry Gurnett Endowment for Women’s Soccer: Terry Gurnett ’77 is the associate director of Rochester Athletics and a former Yellowjacket soccer player who coached women’s soccer for 33 years
- Making an outright gift in any amount to provide immediate support for your preferred women’s varsity team
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Mary Kate Tierney, Associate Director of Advancement for Athletics and the College
(585) 273-1280 | m.tierney@rochester.edu
Terry Gurnett, Associate Director of Athletics
(585) 275-6698 | tgurnett@sports.rochester.edu
Fast Facts
11
National Champions*
National Champions*
45
Academic All-American Women
Academic All-American Women
1,202
All-Conference Selections
All-Conference Selections
319
All-American Women
All-American Women
401
1st Team All-Conference
1st Team All-Conference
3 Top majors
among women Yellowjackets: finance, neuroscience, and biomedical engineering
among women Yellowjackets: finance, neuroscience, and biomedical engineering
44
Conference Players of the Year
Conference Players of the Year
*Two teams and nine individuals or relays
Amy Oksa and Leslie Ross, the first donors to the WinS initiative; Amy Oksa during college
I am extremely grateful for the academic, athletic, and extracurricular opportunities I had at Rochester. My experience helped define my purpose in life and develop the skills necessary to succeed. It also gave me the confidence to pursue lofty goals and taught me the importance of lifelong learning and personal well-being. Being a college athlete gave me additional opportunities to hone skills related to leadership, teamwork, discipline, critical thinking, resilience, humility, and acceptance. Leslie and I support the WinS initiative because of all this and to show our love and respect for Terry Gurnett, the women’s soccer program, and the University overall. We want to help ensure the women’s soccer program will be successful for years to come.
— AMY OKSA ’84, ’88M (MD) | Four-year member of the women’s soccer team
Fast Facts
11
National Champions*
National Champions*
45
Academic All-American Women
Academic All-American Women
1,202
All-Conference Selections
All-Conference Selections
319
All-American Women
All-American Women
401
1st Team All-Conference
1st Team All-Conference
3 Top majors
among women Yellowjackets: finance, neuroscience, and biomedical engineering
among women Yellowjackets: finance, neuroscience, and biomedical engineering
44
Conference Players of the Year
Conference Players of the Year
*Two teams and nine individuals or relays
Amy Oksa and Leslie Ross, the first donors to the WinS initiative; Amy Oksa during college
I am extremely grateful for the academic, athletic, and extracurricular opportunities I had at Rochester. My experience helped define my purpose in life and develop the skills necessary to succeed. It also gave me the confidence to pursue lofty goals and taught me the importance of lifelong learning and personal well-being. Being a college athlete gave me additional opportunities to hone skills related to leadership, teamwork, discipline, critical thinking, resilience, humility, and acceptance. Leslie and I support the WinS initiative because of all this and to show our love and respect for Terry Gurnett, the women’s soccer program, and the University overall. We want to help ensure the women’s soccer program will be successful for years to come.
— AMY OKSA ’84, ’88M (MD) | Four-year member of the women’s soccer team
MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Your generosity will help boost our national recruiting efforts; enhance our strength and conditioning technology and available training equipment; grow our nutrition, performance, and fitness science programs; cover team travel and training opportunities, and offset post-season, unbudgeted expenses. Please consider supporting our women athletes, coaches, and programs by:
- Establishing an endowed fund in your name or to honor someone else—these funds last in perpetuity and will enrich the experiences of our women athletes for years to come
- Supporting an existing fund such as:
The Jane Possee Endowment for Women’s Athletics: Jane Possee is a longtime Rochester Athletics administrator and former women’s basketball coach
The Terry Gurnett Endowment for Women’s Soccer: Terry Gurnett ’77 is the associate director of Rochester Athletics and a former Yellowjacket soccer player who coached women’s soccer for 33 years
- Making an outright gift in any amount to provide immediate support for your preferred women’s varsity team
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Victoria Bothner, Associate Director of Advancement for Athletics and the College
(585) 273-1280 | victoria.bothner@rochester.edu
Terry Gurnett, Associate Director of Athletics
(585) 275-6698 | tgurnett@sports.rochester.edu