The Rise of the Athenas

When women's athletics was introduced at CMS, after Claremont McKenna became co-educational in 1976, the Athenas perhaps started a little bit behind some of their SCIAC rivals, where the institutions had been co-educational for far longer and there was already some women's athletics infrastructure in place. Occidental (6) and Pomona-Pitzer (5), in fact, combined to win the first 11 SCIAC women's all-sports trophies from 1977-1987. The Athenas closed that gap quickly, though, winning for the first time in 1987-88, and then rattling off 12 in a row from 1992-2003, establishing CMS as the dominant women's athletic department in the conference. There were a number of transformational student-athletes who had major roles in the Rise of the Athenas in the latter part of the 20th century.

Diane (Lindflott) Brogden - Basketball
Athenas Basketball began its ascent in the mid-1980's, regularly earning second and third-place finishes in SCIAC play, and Diane Lindflott joined in 1986-87 and helped the Athenas finish their journey to the top. She was part of a 16-10 team in 1986-87, earning Team MVP honors, and the Athenas then skyrocketed to a 23-3 record in 1987-88 and a 20-5 record in 1988-89, winning the SCIAC title in both years. Lindflott was inducted into the Ted Ducey CMS Hall of Fame in 2007, and her 17.4 points per game average as a senior still ranks seventh in program history.

Robyn Hollingshead - Soccer
Athenas Soccer needed very little time to achieve its rise, debuting as a varsity program in 1985 and then earning back-to-back SCIAC titles in 1987 and 1988, only the third and fourth years of the program, going 18-1-1 in league games in that span. Hollingshead was a key figure in that meteoric rise, earning the SCIAC Player of the Year in both of those seasons, while also serving as a team captain and winning the Team MVP award. She was also a second-team All-West Region selection, and was a first-ballot selection into the Ted Ducey CMS Hall of Fame, earning induction in 1999, ten years after her graduation from Scripps.

Maril Davis - Soccer
After establishing itself as a SCIAC power in the 1980s, Athenas Soccer maintained its prestige in the 1990s, behind the strong play of Maril Davis, who scored a remarkable 106 goals in her career, an average of 26.5 per season, which remains a program record. Davis was a four-time first-team All-SCIAC selection, and led the Athenas to a combined 39-14-3 record in her last three seasons, including 29-6-1 in SCIAC play.  She also earned the SCIAC Player of the Year Award in 1992, and was an All-West Region selection in 1993. Davis was a first-ballot selection to the Ted Ducey CMS Hall of Fame in 2004, ten years after her graduation from Scripps.

Kristine Zoch - Softball
Athenas Softball won its first SCIAC title in 1991, just the program's second varsity season, and Kristine Zoch's recruitment in 1997 brought CMS back to an elite level, pitching the Athenas to two SCIAC Championships. As a first-year, Zoch led CMS to a 22-2 league record, which remains the best league winning percentage in program history, and she followed that up by earning All-America honors in 1998 and 1999, tallying a program-record 0.68 earned run average in the 1999 season. As a senior, she earned the SCIAC Player of the Year for the second time, and All-Region for the third time. Zoch was inducted into the Ted Ducey CMS Hall of Fame in 2013.

Regina (Saulsbury) Schafnitz - Volleyball
CMS volleyball is now considered one of the flagship DIII programs in the country, winning the 2017 national title and hosting the NCAA Division III Championships in 2023.  Saulsbury was one of the key players who helped raise the level of the program, reaching 1,175 kills in her four seasons, which set a CMS record at the time. Saulsbury was a four-time All-SCIAC selection and earned all-region honors in both 1997 and 1998. She was inducted into the Ted Ducey CMS Hall of Fame in 2016, and still ranks third in Athena history in kills.
 

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As part of the 50th Anniversary of Co-Education at Claremont McKenna College (1976-2026) and the Scripps Centennial (1926-2026), the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps athletics department will be celebrating 50 Years of Athenas over the course of the 2026-27 academic year. We will be highlighting just some of the many individuals who have helped make CMS one of the top women's athletic departments in the country.  Our list is not meant to be comprehensive, but will highlight some of the people who have had a significant impact on CMS Athletics, before and after their athletic careers, to help tell the story of the growth and success of the Athenas over the last five decades.

The list was developed with support from the CMC 50 years of co-education Athletics Committee, including staff leads Kerry Steere and Raechel Holmes:

Jodie Burton
Rachana Bhat
Erica Perkins Jasper
Mike Sutton '76
Felicia Davis '01
DT Graves '98
Jenna Grunwald '19
Corie Hack '19
Kathleen Hurley '80
Sue Matteson King '85
Maya Love '20
Shelby McIlroy '26
Jay Tremblay '80
Riley Zitar '26