WHEREAS, The Washington State Senate honors the women and girls who
have overcome barriers in sports, making excellent role models for
young girls and women across the state; we renew our commitment to
female athletes and the promise and drive they exhibit both on and off
the field; and
WHEREAS, Participation of girls and young women in high school
sports reached a new all-time high in the 2012-13 school year, with an
additional 15,190 female student athletes participating from the year
before; and
WHEREAS, Participation in athletics is one of the most effective
ways for girls and women in the United States to develop leadership and
communication skills, discipline, initiative, and self-confidence that
contribute to a healthy life at home, school, work, and society as a
whole; and
WHEREAS, Not only do active girls and young women tend to have
higher self-esteem, reduced risk for heart disease, and other
illnesses, but these students who participate in sports tend to have
better grades and are more likely to graduate; and
WHEREAS, The Washington State Senate urges media outlets to provide
equal coverage for the accomplishments of women and girls in sports, as
they provide for men and boys, noting that vibrant news stories can
inspire our young girls to become successful and healthy athletes; and
WHEREAS, Washington high schools foster outstanding achievements in
all women's sports, including state volleyball champions: Bellarmine
Prep, Mercer Island, Burlington-Edison, Cascade (Leavenworth), Colfax,
and "3 peat" state volleyball champion and state academic champion,
Tekoa-Oakesdale; state soccer champions: Central Valley, Liberty
(Issaquah), Sumner, University Prep, and Crosspoint Academy; state
softball champions: Arlington, Kamiakin, Selah, Connell, Toutle Lake,
and Colton; state tennis champions: Skyview, Mercer Island, West
Valley (Yakima), and Cashmere; state cross-country champions:
Bellarmine Prep, Glacier Peak, Sehome, and Lakeside; and state track
and field champions: Federal Way, Kamiakin, and Sehome; and
WHEREAS, This year the Washington State Senate honors Northwest
Christian High School (Lacey) for its girls cross-country and track
teams. Its cross-country team won an all-time state record (for any
classification) for eight consecutive state championships in 2013, one
of the longest consecutive active girls' state championship streaks in
the country. The Olympian also selected Northwest Christian High
School's girls team performance as one of the top ten sport stories of
the year, on top of its winning a WIAA outstanding academic award for
having a team average GPA of 3.7; and
WHEREAS, The Washington State Senate recognizes the several teams
who have won state championships in dance, drill, and cheer in
Washington high schools, including dance state champions: Eastlake,
Todd Beamer, Moses Lake, Kentridge, Shorecrest, Hazen, and Tumwater;
drill state champions: Moses Lake, Decatur, and Lake Washington; and
cheer state champions: Hockinson, Kentwood, Meadowdale, Skyline,
Richland, Bethel, Juanita, Selah, and Union; and
WHEREAS, This past year, Washington high schools won state
championships in swim and dive: Newport (Bellevue), Mercer Island, and
Pullman; gymnastics: Emerald Ridge and Enumclaw; state golf champions:
Bear Creek, Woodland, Bellingham, Hanford, and Bellarmine Prep; and
wrestling: Warden; and
WHEREAS, The Washington State Senate honors our outstanding
institutions of higher education for continuing to produce elite female
athletes who compete with pride, commitment, and passion; and
WHEREAS, Pacific Lutheran University's volleyball team members
slammed their way to the Northwest Conference Champion title in 2013;
and a member of its softball team, Kaaren Hatlen, was named one of nine
finalists for the 2013 NCAA Woman of the Year award. This award
recognizes top achieving female student athletes for their athletic
excellence, academic achievements, community outreach, and leadership;
and
WHEREAS, The University of Puget Sound athletic department offers
eleven women's varsity sports at the Division III level, giving two
hundred ten female student athletes the opportunity to compete in
collegiate athletics; its women's soccer squad has won twelve
consecutive NWC titles, the longest active title streak in Division III
women's soccer history; and its women's crew squad has reached the NCAA
tournament eleven years in a row while competing as an independent; and
WHEREAS, The Washington State Senate honors the hard work and
dedication shown by the University of Puget Sound coach Aaron Benson
and Betsy Bayliss, as well as its student crew members Carly Fox, Leah
Shamlian, Dina Mustakim, and Kenzie Marshall; and
WHEREAS, Seattle University's women's basketball team won the 2012-13 Western Athletic Conference regular season title in March 2013. Its
head coach, Joan Bonvicini, was named WAC Coach of the Year, while
Kacie Sowell earned WAC Player of the Year; and
WHEREAS, Hannah Mittelstaedt won the 3000 meter steeplechase at the
Western Athletic Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships,
becoming the first Seattle University female to win a Division I
conference title since the Redhawk program received full NCAA Division
I membership; and cross-country runner Lauren Hammerle was named First
Team All-WAC, and Lila Rice was honored as WAC Freshman of the Year in
2013; and
WHEREAS, The Seattle University women's soccer team completed an
undefeated conference season, winning every WAC regular season and
tournament match to earn the league's regular season and tournament
titles. Head coach Julie Woodward was named WAC Coach of the Year, and
Stephanie Verdoia was named WAC Offensive Player of the Year; and
WHEREAS, University of Washington women's softball team finished
third at the NCAA College World Series; and its volleyball team won the
Pac-12 championship title and also made it to the semi-finals of the
2013 NCAA Tournament; Krista Vansant was named Pac-12 Player of the
Year, AVCA National Player of the Year, the Seattle Female Sports Star
of the Year, and won the Volleyball Honda Award; and
WHEREAS, University of Washington's goalkeeper for the women's
soccer team, Megan Kufeld, earned the UW President's Medal for High
Scholarship as the student with the highest GPA in her class; women's
crew won its seventh consecutive Windermere cup and also finished
seventh at the national championships; and track and field athletes,
Megan Goethals and Kristine Felix were Pac-12 Champions in the 5000
meter run and pole vault, respectively; and
WHEREAS, Lynda Goodrich, Director of Athletics at Western
Washington University for twenty-six years, has shown dedication and
passion for the development of female athletes and women's sports
overall; she was the recipient of the 2014 Division 2 Athletic
Directors' Association Lifetime Achievement Award; and
WHEREAS, Western Washington University's women's basketball team
reached the semifinals at the 2013 NCAA Division II National
Championships, won the West Regional championship, and ranked number
three in USA Today Top Twenty-five Poll; its head coach Carmen Dolfo
was named CaptainU NCAA II National Coach of the Year; and
WHEREAS, Western Washington University's women's soccer team
reached the semifinals at the 2014 NCAA Division II National
Championships, won the West Regional title, finished with a 20-2-1
record, the win total being a school record, and ranked number three in
the final National Soccer Coaches Association of America Top Twenty-five; and
WHEREAS, Seattle Pacific University women's soccer team won the
2013 Great Northwest Athletic Conference tournament championship; and
WHEREAS, Eastern Washington University's basketball star, Hayley
Hodgins, was named the Big Sky Conference Freshman of the Year; and its
track and field star, Keisa Monterola, won her second consecutive pole
vault title at the Big Sky Conference Outdoor Championship Meet; and
WHEREAS, Eastern Washington University women's golf received the
NCAA Public Recognition Award for having a perfect Academic Progress
Rate of 1,000 for the second consecutive year; its women's soccer
received the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Team
Academic Award for the eleventh straight year; and basketball earned a
spot on the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Academic Top Twenty-five Honor Roll for the twelfth time; and
WHEREAS, Washington State is proud to be the home of many
professional women's sports teams that exhibit passion and pride,
supporting our communities both on and off the field; and
WHEREAS, The Washington State Senate celebrates women's roller
derby. The Seattle City Council has proclaimed January 18th "Rat City
Roller Girls Day" in honor of their tenth anniversary; we also honor
the 2013 USA Roller Sports National Roller Derby champions, the Oly
Rollers; and
WHEREAS, Washington State honors the beginning of the second year
of our professional women's soccer team, the Seattle Reign FC and their
new home at Memorial Stadium. We wish them well as they begin their
2014 season; and
WHEREAS, We recognize the beginning of the 2014 season of our
professional women's tackle football teams, the Seattle Majestics,
Everett Reign, and Tacoma Trauma; We honor the Seattle Majestics for
taking part in the WIAA Girls and Women in Sports and Leadership
Conference, which helps spread the word to young women about
dedication, hard work, and balance as it relates to sports, family, and
life; and
WHEREAS, Washington State proudly honors our women's professional
basketball team, the Seattle Storm; in the wake of the immensely
publicized Seahawks victory, we would like to add to our Washington
sport's pride and reiterate that the Storm took home national
championships in 2004 and 2010; we urge that the Storm be celebrated as
a major sports league, as its players have won as many national
championships as the Mariners, Seahawks, and former Sonics combined,
and we ask that the media do the same; and
WHEREAS, The Seattle Storm qualified for the 2013 WNBA Playoffs,
setting a WNBA record with ten consecutive playoff appearances; Tina
Thompson, the first overall draft pick in the WNBA's inaugural draft in
1997, became the first WNBA player ever to record 7,000 career points
and 3,000 career rebounds, and after retiring following this past
season, leaves the league as the all-time leader in points scored and
games played; Tanisha Wright, competing her ninth season in Seattle,
was named the 2013 WNBA All-Defensive first team for the fourth time in
her career; and, off the court, the Storm continues its strong
community impact, hosting events from library readings, Make-A-Wish,
basketball camps, girls 5K runs, and hospital visits; and
WHEREAS, Our state continues to foster star Olympians with many
female athletes who represented the United States and Washington at the
2014 Sochi Winter games, including Angeli VanLaanen, a freestyle skier
from Bellingham; Sadie Bjornsen, a cross-country skier from Winthrop
with three United States titles already; twenty-one year-old Jacqueline
Wiles, who grew up skiing at Mount Hood and White Pass, sped her way to
the C squad after taking the 2013 United States downhill title; and
WHEREAS, These women and many more not mentioned here are sterling
examples of what is possible through hard work, focus, and
determination; and
WHEREAS, The twenty-eighth annual National Girls and Women in
Sports Day took place on February 5th, 2014;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Washington State Senate
honor Washington girls and women in sports on February 26th, 2014, and
encourage others to observe the day with appropriate ceremonies and
activities; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be
transmitted by the Secretary of the Senate to all of the aforementioned
athletes and their respective institutions.