Sports
The Book of Kirchberg
If there's one thing you can say about senior Andrea Kirchberg, it's that she's willing to swing at whatever life throws at her.
"She's risen above a lot of incredible situations," says UW women's softball head coach Karen Gallagher of Kirchberg, who this summer wraps up one of the most successful careers in Badger softball history. "In fact, I'd say she's rewritten the survival guide to the road of life."
Kirchberg began writing that book early on. Born to parents who were drug abusers and vagrants, she and two younger sisters were abandoned in Baytown, Texas, in 1985. Leaving the girls in a garage with no heat or running water, her parents took off with an infant son and never returned.
After three days in the garage, five-year-old Andrea put her youngest sister, Ashley, in a stroller, took the hand of her other sister, April, and ventured out. They traveled about three miles before a highway patrolman happened by and delivered them to a local child-service agency.
Eventually, the three girls and their baby brother, Curtis, whom the parents had taken with them, were sent to live with separate foster families. Andrea wound up in the home of Pete Kirchberg, and as it worked out, she couldn't have started a happier second chapter in the story of her survival.
"She's risen above a lot of incredible situations," says UW women's softball head coach Karen Gallagher of Kirchberg, who this summer wraps up one of the most successful careers in Badger softball history. "In fact, I'd say she's rewritten the survival guide to the road of life."
Kirchberg began writing that book early on. Born to parents who were drug abusers and vagrants, she and two younger sisters were abandoned in Baytown, Texas, in 1985. Leaving the girls in a garage with no heat or running water, her parents took off with an infant son and never returned.
After three days in the garage, five-year-old Andrea put her youngest sister, Ashley, in a stroller, took the hand of her other sister, April, and ventured out. They traveled about three miles before a highway patrolman happened by and delivered them to a local child-service agency.
Eventually, the three girls and their baby brother, Curtis, whom the parents had taken with them, were sent to live with separate foster families. Andrea wound up in the home of Pete Kirchberg, and as it worked out, she couldn't have started a happier second chapter in the story of her survival.
As Pete learned about Andrea's past, he grew determined to become her legal father. When he was asked almost a year later to take in two-year-old Ashley, Pete embarked on a three-year quest to adopt all four children. In 1991, he finally realized the goal and reunited the children under one roof.
Andrea says that Pete is "the only dad I ever knew." Her biological mother was killed in 1987 while picking up cans along a highway, and she last heard from her biological father when she was ten. He called her from a hospital, after being shot in a drug raid.
"I don't remember anything before age five," says Andrea. "But one of the first things I do remember is my dad, Pete, pitching balls."
Recognizing talent when he saw it, Pete got Andrea involved in softball when she was in elementary school. Later, as a freshman in high school in Houston, she batted against future Olympian Krista Williams. Andrea was the only batter to put a ball in play against the star pitcher that day.
A native of Minnesota, Pete encouraged his daughter to check out colleges in the north, which is how Andrea became acquainted with the softball program at UW-Madison, then only in its fifth year.
Andrea says that Pete is "the only dad I ever knew." Her biological mother was killed in 1987 while picking up cans along a highway, and she last heard from her biological father when she was ten. He called her from a hospital, after being shot in a drug raid.
"I don't remember anything before age five," says Andrea. "But one of the first things I do remember is my dad, Pete, pitching balls."
Recognizing talent when he saw it, Pete got Andrea involved in softball when she was in elementary school. Later, as a freshman in high school in Houston, she batted against future Olympian Krista Williams. Andrea was the only batter to put a ball in play against the star pitcher that day.
A native of Minnesota, Pete encouraged his daughter to check out colleges in the north, which is how Andrea became acquainted with the softball program at UW-Madison, then only in its fifth year.
Once she arrived in Madison, Kirchberg quickly became a cornerstone of the young program. "She's been pitching since her freshman year and is the most talented and winning pitcher at the UW ever," says Gallagher. "She's not afraid of anything and loves a challenge on the field. She particularly loves intense moments when she's in control."
Kirchberg's string of awards began in her freshman year, when she became the first Badger to be honored as a Mideast All-Region pick. She led the Big Ten in wins with twenty-eight, and in strikeouts with 299. As a sophomore, she pitched the first complete-game no-hitter in the Badger team's history and ended the year by going to the NCAA tournament.
Last year, she broke her season record by striking out three hundred batters and was first-team All-Big Ten. She has set every UW career pitching record, and this year, she's broken her own record twice for strikeouts in a game.
"I admire Andrea a lot," says Gallagher. "She's risen above a lot of incredible situations. She's chosen not to be a victim of the world. She's a presence. She makes an impact, and I wish I had five more like her."
A sociology major, Andrea says she has "no idea" where the next chapter in her life will take her. According to Gallagher, however, it could be titled, "Coaching."
— Candice Gaukel Andrews '77
Kirchberg's string of awards began in her freshman year, when she became the first Badger to be honored as a Mideast All-Region pick. She led the Big Ten in wins with twenty-eight, and in strikeouts with 299. As a sophomore, she pitched the first complete-game no-hitter in the Badger team's history and ended the year by going to the NCAA tournament.
Last year, she broke her season record by striking out three hundred batters and was first-team All-Big Ten. She has set every UW career pitching record, and this year, she's broken her own record twice for strikeouts in a game.
"I admire Andrea a lot," says Gallagher. "She's risen above a lot of incredible situations. She's chosen not to be a victim of the world. She's a presence. She makes an impact, and I wish I had five more like her."
A sociology major, Andrea says she has "no idea" where the next chapter in her life will take her. According to Gallagher, however, it could be titled, "Coaching."
— Candice Gaukel Andrews '77
Team Player — David Shore
Five things to know about senior men's crew member David Shore: Like most coxswains - who steer the boats and pace the rowers - Shore is small in stature, but not spirit. "I have a coxswain's body, but I'm a rower in my heart," says the former three-sport high school athlete.
Although coxswains don't have to do the same brutal training as rowers, Shore does, anyway. It's up to coxswains to motivate and lead rowers during a race, and he says he needs to earn their respect.
A biochemistry major, he did not compete during his junior year to focus on applying to medical school. This year has been doubly rewarding, because not only did he rejoin the team, but he got into Northwestern University medical school, his top choice.
Although coxswains don't have to do the same brutal training as rowers, Shore does, anyway. It's up to coxswains to motivate and lead rowers during a race, and he says he needs to earn their respect.
A biochemistry major, he did not compete during his junior year to focus on applying to medical school. This year has been doubly rewarding, because not only did he rejoin the team, but he got into Northwestern University medical school, his top choice.
Last fall, Shore was picked to be coxswain of a U.S. national team boat for the prestigious Head of the Charles race. With some four hundred thousand fans watching, he steered his team to a championship.
Tossing the coxswain into the water is "the second coolest tradition in rowing," he says. The best is that winning teams get to claim their opponents' uniforms. "You literally row the shirts off their backs," says Shore, who owns more than thirty such trophies.
— Michael Penn
Tossing the coxswain into the water is "the second coolest tradition in rowing," he says. The best is that winning teams get to claim their opponents' uniforms. "You literally row the shirts off their backs," says Shore, who owns more than thirty such trophies.
— Michael Penn
A New Stone Age
When Lisa Stone says she bleeds red, she isn't talking about hemoglobin. Newly hired to lead the Badger women's basketball team, Stone says she has had Wisconsin in her veins for decades.
"It's a dream come true for me to be able to come home and bring my family home," says Stone, a native of Oregon, Wisconsin, who has spent the past three years as head coach at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. "I have had a desire to be at Wisconsin my entire life."
Stone succeeds Jane Albright, who has the most wins in school history, but resigned when the athletic department opted not to extend her contract after a 7-21 season. The expectations for the new coach will be high, and Stone has the record to warrant them. In eighteen seasons as a head coach, she's compiled a 375-118 record, including helping to build UW-Eau Claire into a Division III power. At Drake, her teams averaged more than twenty wins a season, capped by a 25-8 mark and NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearance in 2001-02.
— Michael Penn
"It's a dream come true for me to be able to come home and bring my family home," says Stone, a native of Oregon, Wisconsin, who has spent the past three years as head coach at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. "I have had a desire to be at Wisconsin my entire life."
Stone succeeds Jane Albright, who has the most wins in school history, but resigned when the athletic department opted not to extend her contract after a 7-21 season. The expectations for the new coach will be high, and Stone has the record to warrant them. In eighteen seasons as a head coach, she's compiled a 375-118 record, including helping to build UW-Eau Claire into a Division III power. At Drake, her teams averaged more than twenty wins a season, capped by a 25-8 mark and NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearance in 2001-02.
— Michael Penn
Badger Ticker
The men's basketball team came up a few points shy in an attempt to knock off Kentucky in the NCAA tournament in March, but the season had more than its share of high points. The Badgers bettered last season's improbable share of the Big Ten title by winning it outright this time around, becoming the first UW team since 1947 to do so. With a school-record twenty-four wins this season, team captain Kirk Penney finished his career having been a part of eighty-three victories and four NCAA tournaments, both unprecedented in UW hoops history.
The women's golf team advanced to the NCAA national golf championship tournament for the first time in school history. Senior Katie Connelly helped the UW get there by winning the Central Regional, leading Wisconsin to a sixth-place finish.
Matt Marshall broke the school-record time for the 100-meter butterfly twice in one day to pace the men's swimming team at the NCAA championships. The Badgers finished in thirteenth place at the national meet, one of its strongest showings ever.
The women's golf team advanced to the NCAA national golf championship tournament for the first time in school history. Senior Katie Connelly helped the UW get there by winning the Central Regional, leading Wisconsin to a sixth-place finish.
Matt Marshall broke the school-record time for the 100-meter butterfly twice in one day to pace the men's swimming team at the NCAA championships. The Badgers finished in thirteenth place at the national meet, one of its strongest showings ever.
Former Wisconsin rower Sam McLennan '02 helped Oxford University defeat archrival Cambridge in one of the most storied events in rowing, the 149th Boat Race. McLennan, part of a UW team that finished second in the national championships last year, is studying sports medicine at Oxford's Corpus Christi College.
Cardinal, White, and Black
The history of the UW's African-American student athletes is long and, regrettably, often untold. Few attempts have been made to tell the stories of Wisconsin's black pioneers — men and women who, like Jackie Robinson, blazed a path that thousands would follow. Recently, Gregory Bond MA'99, a graduate student in history and an intern with the athletics department, plowed through the historical record to unearth their tales. Bond's still-in-progress research is now part of the UW athletics Web site. These are just a few of the Badgers who plunged right through the color line.
Julian Ware x'1903 Baseball, 1900-03
In 1900, Ware and teammate Adelbert Matthews became the first African-Americans to play varsity sports at Wisconsin; two years later, Ware's teammates elected him as the Big Ten's first black team captain.
George Poage '1903 Track and field, 1901-04
His two bronze medals at the 1904 Olympic Games were the first won by an African-American; at the UW, he integrated the track team and became the first African-American to win a Big Ten individual championship.
Julian Ware x'1903 Baseball, 1900-03
In 1900, Ware and teammate Adelbert Matthews became the first African-Americans to play varsity sports at Wisconsin; two years later, Ware's teammates elected him as the Big Ten's first black team captain.
George Poage '1903 Track and field, 1901-04
His two bronze medals at the 1904 Olympic Games were the first won by an African-American; at the UW, he integrated the track team and became the first African-American to win a Big Ten individual championship.
Lloyd Cooke '37
Cross country and track, 1934-37
The first African-American to run cross country at the university, Cooke was an honors chemistry student who earned a PhD by age twenty-five.
Ed Smith x'40 Track and field, 1938-40
Wisconsin withdrew from a 1939 meet at the University of Missouri, rather than agree to the state's segregationist policies and leave the star hurdler at home.
Cal Vernon, Jr. x'48 Football and boxing, 1947-48
A World War II vet who had never boxed before coming to Madison, he became the UW's first African-American boxer and, in 1948, the first to win an NCAA title in the sport.
Sidney Williams, Jr. '61 Football, 1956-58
From segregated Little Rock, Arkansas, Williams became the first African-American to start at quarterback in the Big Ten; in 1994, he won the alumni association's Distinguished Alumni Award.
Pam McKinney Coach, tennis, 1975-76
She led the women's tennis team during its first two years of NCAA competition, becoming the first African-American head coach at Wisconsin.
The first African-American to run cross country at the university, Cooke was an honors chemistry student who earned a PhD by age twenty-five.
Ed Smith x'40 Track and field, 1938-40
Wisconsin withdrew from a 1939 meet at the University of Missouri, rather than agree to the state's segregationist policies and leave the star hurdler at home.
Cal Vernon, Jr. x'48 Football and boxing, 1947-48
A World War II vet who had never boxed before coming to Madison, he became the UW's first African-American boxer and, in 1948, the first to win an NCAA title in the sport.
Sidney Williams, Jr. '61 Football, 1956-58
From segregated Little Rock, Arkansas, Williams became the first African-American to start at quarterback in the Big Ten; in 1994, he won the alumni association's Distinguished Alumni Award.
Pam McKinney Coach, tennis, 1975-76
She led the women's tennis team during its first two years of NCAA competition, becoming the first African-American head coach at Wisconsin.
