FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                           Contact: Jeff Bowerman
February 12, 2008                                            (940) 898-2373
                                                                        jbowerman@twu.edu

 HALL OF FAME COMMITTEE SELECTS FIVE FOR 2008 CLASS

 DENTON, Texas (February 12) – Three former Texas Woman’s University student-athletes, one former coach, and one former athletic trainer make up the 2008 Class of the TWU Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame.  The eighth class to be inducted includes: Dolores Copeland (1969-1976), eight years as the volleyball coach and one year as the basketball coach; Cathy Jacobson (1996 - 2000), softball; Kim (Koenig) Darling (1996-99), gymnastics; Ken Locker (1974-76), athletic trainer; and Nikki (Engelbrecht) Williams (1997-2001), softball.         

The Hall’s inaugural class of six was inducted in 1994. Currently, the Hall of Fame boasts 29 members.          

The 2008 TWU Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame Banquet and Induction Ceremony will be held Friday, April 25, 2008, as part of Homecoming weekend.  The festivities will begin at 5:30 p.m. in Hubbard Hall.  Ticket information will be announced in March.

 Dolores Copeland

Copeland is one of the finest coaches in the history of the TWU Athletics program.

 From 1969-76, she served as the bench boss for the TWU Volleyball team. Under her direction, the Pioneers placed second for four straight years at the TIAW state volleyball tournament and qualified for the AIAW National Tournament on five occasions. The Pioneers’ best showing at the national tournament came in 1973 when they defeated BYU, Kansas, the College of Wooster, and UCLA to advance to the championship match where they eventually lost to Long Beach State.

 In 1974, Copeland pulled double duty for the Pioneers. In addition to coaching the volleyball team, she also was in charge of the TWU basketball team. Her one-year stint proved to be successful as she guided TWU to an 18-11 record, the District II title and a berth in the state tournament where they finished fourth. 

Copeland coached Hall of Fame member Cheryl Benoit, who was the volleyball team’s setter and co-captain.  Benoit was inducted in April 2004.  

“Dolores Copeland is definitely a Hall of Fame caliber coach,” said Benoit. “One of the main reasons for her success is because she genuinely cared about us as individuals as well as athletes. She truly got to know and understand each one of us, and she knew our limits perhaps better than we knew our own. DC, as we sometimes called her, was a master at getting the most out of each of us while also building team spirit and camaraderie.”  

In addition to coaching at TWU, Copeland also taught numerous physical education and sports activity classes in the University’s physical education department. 

Copeland is a resident of Denton. 

Cathy Jacobson 

Cathy Jacobson played an instrumental role in the success of the TWU softball team after the program’s rebirth in 1997.  

The Fridley, Minnesota, native started in centerfield and served as the team captain for the Pioneers from 1997-2000. She holds numerous TWU career records, including at bats (630), runs scored (157), stolen bases (154), games played (199), games started (199), fewest errors (2), and fielding percentage (.995). 

After a 1999 season that saw her hit a career-high .431 and steal an NCAA Division II-leading 71 bases, Jacobson was chosen as the Lone Star Conference South Division Most Valuable Player and became the first-ever TWU player to be named to the NFCA/Louisville Slugger All-America team. 

She was a four-time All-LSC First Team selection (1996-2000) and a three-time choice to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-South Central Region team in 1998, 1999 and 2000. On two occasions, 1999 and 2000, she was picked to the LSC All-Tournament team. In 1996-97 and again in 1999-00, she was honored as TWU’s Outstanding Athlete for Softball. She won the 1999-00 President’s Award, the highest accolade given to a current TWU student-athlete. In 1998-99 and 1999-00, she was awarded the Jo Kuhn Award for outstanding leadership.  

Known by her nickname, Jake also excelled academically during her college career. She consistently made both the TWU Dean’s List and the National Dean’s List. From 1997-2000, she was an NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete and a part of the LSC Academic All-Conference squad. In 1999 and 2000, she was selected to the GTE Academic All-America District VI first team and the GTE Academic All-America team. She graduated from TWU in December 2000 with her bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology and then earned her master’s degree in Parks, Recreation and Tourism from North Carolina State University after being awarded the prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.  

“I was speechless,” Jacobson said about her reaction to her Hall of Fame selection. “And for people who know me, that’s not something that happens very often. I am truly honored to be joining the TWU Athletics Hall of Fame and have my name alongside women such as Jo Kuhn, Kitty Magee and Dianne Baker. The induction ceremony is going to be very special and I’m looking forward to coming back to Denton in April and seeing my TWU family.”

 Jacobson resides in Raleigh, North Carolina.       

Kim (Koenig) Darling

 Darling was a member of the Pioneers’ gymnastics team for four seasons, 1996-1999, all of which TWU qualified for the USA Gymnastics Collegiate National Championship (USAGCNC). The Pioneers won the USAGCNC team title in 1996 and 1998 during that span.

 Darling became the only TWU gymnast to ever tally a 10.0 when she recorded two perfect scores on the balance beam at the 1999 USAGCNC held in New Haven, Conn.

 Individually, Darling won seven individual USAG national titles - vault in 1999; bars in 1999; beam in 1996, 1998, and 1999; and all-around in 1996 and 1999. She was also named a USAG All-America selection 17 times.

 At one point during her college career, she held the school record on all four events and all-around. Her scores on beam (10.0) and in all-around (39.475) are still the best marks for those events in TWU history.

 “I actually went to a TWU Athletics Hall of Fame induction ceremony during my freshman year of school,” said Darling. “I remember thinking at the time that it would be very exciting to become a Hall of Fame member one day. This is a tremendous honor because I will be joining a group of student-athletes and administrators who have contributed so much to TWU. I also feel very fortunate to be able to represent the TWU gymnastics program and all that Coach Kudlac has done over the years.”

 Darling received the award as TWU’s Outstanding Athlete for Gymnastics in 1996-97 and 1998-99. She was also a nominee for the prestigious Honda Award, an annual award that honors the most outstanding female collegiate athletes.

 Darling excelled academically as well, and in the spring of 1999, she was picked for the NACGC/W Scholastic All-America team. In December 2000, she graduated from TWU with her bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology.

 Darling joined the Pioneers’ gymnastics staff as a student assistant from 1999-2001.  From 2001-03, she served as the assistant coach while also working on her master’s degree at the University of North Texas.  She graduated with her Master’s in Kinesiology in December 2003.  

Darling, a native of Alvin, Texas, lives in Fort Worth with her husband, Scott, and their two children, three-year-old son, Cody and seven-month-old daughter, Caydence.  

Ken Locker

The TWU Athletic Training program can trace it roots back to one man, Ken Locker.

 Locker was a student athletic trainer at North Texas State University (now University of North Texas) in the early 1970s when he began helping out with the Pioneer student-athletes.  Upon graduation, he enrolled at TWU in January 1974 to pursue his master’s degree in Physical Education.  He quickly realized the Pioneers’ increased need for medical care of the student-athletes and essentially started the athletic training program from scratch.  

One of the first things he did was construct a training room in the basement of the old HPER building. He painted, tiled, hung drapes and turned what was once a dingy storage area into a suitable treatment facility for collegiate student-athletes. Locker then recruited a handful of volunteer student trainers in the fall of 1974 and, using supplies provided by Kitty Magee, he and his crew started to treat the Pioneer student-athletes in their own on-campus training room.

 Locker did all of this work for the Pioneers despite devoting the majority of his time to his full-time job as the Assistant Trainer for the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys (for whom he would work from 1973-1990).

 Locker completed his master’s degree at TWU in June 1976. Despite taking on more responsibility with the Cowboys at that time, he remained committed to caring for the Pioneers. In fact, on numerous occasions, Locker would care for injured TWU student-athletes at the Cowboys’ facilities when his schedule allowed.

His efforts sparked the administration to recognize the importance of athletic training, and consequently the University supported a fully-funded and fully-staffed (with certified and licensed trainers) Athletic Training program that has now grown into the one of the best in the entire Lone Star Conference.

 “What I did at TWU was all about the athletes,” said Locker. “I wanted to give them what they needed in order to succeed. I’m excited to be entering the Hall of Fame, but its even more rewarding to me personally to see what the University’s Athletic Training program has grown into.”

 Locker, the first athletic trainer and only the second male to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, lives in Dallas and has two children, Baylee (25) and Berkley (23).   

The other male honoree is Dr. Bert Lyle, former track and field coach and director of athletics, who was inducted with the 1994 inaugural class.         

Nickie (Engelbrecht) Williams      

Shortstop Nickie Williams is one of the most highly decorated softball players in TWU history.

 Williams, a native of Alberton, South Africa, came to TWU in the fall of 1996 after an outstanding career on the South African National Team.

 Over the course of her four seasons from 1998-01 in a Pioneer uniform, Williams earned countless athletics and academic awards and honors. She was a two-time NFCA/Louisville Slugger All-America third team selection in 1999 and 2001, and a three-time member of the NFCA/Division II All-South Central Region Team in 1998, 2000 and 2001. She was picked for All-Lone Star Conference South Division honors all four seasons. In 2000, she played her way onto the LSC All-Tournament Team. In 2001, she was selected as the LSC South Division Most Valuable Player.

 She holds the TWU career record for doubles with 59. She also holds the Pioneer career mark for the most assists, 405.

 In 1999, 2000 and 2001, Williams was recognized as an LSC South Division All-Academic selection as well as placed on the CoSIDA Academic All-District VI team. In 2001, she grabbed a spot on the CoSIDA Academic All-America second team. In 1998 and 1999, the NFCA tabbed her as an All-America Scholar Athlete.

 Williams also took home two honors presented by TWU Athletics - the 1999-00 Kitty Magee Award for dedication and the 2000-01 President’s Award, the highest recognition given by the department to a current student-athlete.   

 She graduated from TWU in May 2001 with her bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology. She then received an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship which she used to continue her academic pursuits at the University of Oklahoma.

 “I’m so very happy to be going into the TWU Athletics Hall of Fame,” said Williams. “I was shocked - in a good way - when I received the call notifying me of my selection. I’m also very excited to be in the same Hall of Fame class as Cathy Jacobson. We’ve been through so much together, on and off the softball field, that it is only fitting that we get to share a Hall of Fame induction.”

 Williams lives in Oklahoma City with her husband, Justin Williams. The couple is expecting their first child in July 2008.  

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