In athletics, 1998-99 was the year of the women.
Union's 12 women's varsity programs put together a combined record of
102-66-1 for a winning percentage of .607. Three teams—soccer, lacrosse and
softball—won Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association championships, with three teams
— field hockey, softball and lacrosse — all qualifying for the New York State
Women's Collegiate Athletic Association postseason tournament. Lacrosse was also
invited to the NCAA tournament marking the first time since women's programs first
attained varsity status in 1975 that a women's team sport had qualified for the
national championship tournament.
Four teams—soccer, tennis, lacrosse and softball—all set Union College
single-season standards.
Among the highlights:
— The soccer team kicked off the year with a record-setting 13-1-1 season. Coach
Brian Speck's team won their first UCAA title with a 6-0-0 record, and finished the
year ranked No. 2 in New York State and No. 16 in the country.
— Field hockey, with Coach Tracy Barclay, led the team to an 8-6 regular season
record and into the state tournament with a fifth seed. Union won eight of its last 12
regular-season games to qualify for the state event for the 13th time in its history and
the sixth time during the 1990s.
— Softball, under Coach Peter Brown, tied Rensselaer for the first UCAA
championship with its 7-1 record. The Dutchwomen's 26-11 overall final record topped
the 21-win season of the 1994 squad and the 1999 team's 25-9 regular-season winning
percentage of .735 is the best in Union's history.
— Lacrosse, under Linda Bevelander, established a Union record for wins in a
season (14), captured their first UCAA championship (with a 6-0 record), and became the
first women's team ever to qualify for the NCAA tournament. Along the way, they won a
school-record 10 consecutive games while finishing the year ranked second in New York
State and 13th in the country (both Union standards).