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History of Women in Sports Timeline - 2003
"I go to work every day and am able to work with young people and am able to make things happen in a positive way, to help them build their self-esteem and build confidence"
- Pat Summitt on winning her 800th game as the coach of the Tennesse Lady Vols.
- 2003 - Pat Summitt becomes the first coach in women's basketball to win 800 career games when her Lady Vols beat DePaul 76-57. She is just the fourth coach in Division I to post 800 victories, and the first woman. Her record stands at 800-161 in 29 seasons with six national championships.
- 2003 - Candian Olympian Hayley Wickenheiser, 24, becomes the first woman to record a point in a men's pro hockey game. She assists on a goal for her Finnish League team, the Kirkkonummi Salamat, in a 7-3 victory.
- 2003 - Connecticut ties the NCAA Division I women's record for consecutive basketball victories with a 53-48 victory over Seton Hall, matching Louisiana Tech's record of 54 straight wins.
- 2003 - Michelle Kwan wins her sixth straight and seventh overall US National Figure Skating title, the longest streak by an American skater since Dick Button's seven men's titles from 1946-52.
- 2003 Texas Longhorns coach Jody Conradt, 61, becomes the second woman basketball coach to earn 800 career wins with a victory over Texas Tech. Condradt has a record of 800-262 in 34 years of coaching; she is just the fifth coach in Division I to earn 800 wins.
- 2003 - Serena Slam: Serena Williams wins her fourth consecutive Grand Slam, the
Australian Open, against old sister Venus (7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-4). In 2002 she won the French Open, US Open, and Wimbledon, all in finals matches against her sister. Serena has a 5-4 career edge over Venus in major titles, and 6-5 lead in sister-to-sister matches. This is only the sixth time a woman has held all four of tennis' major championships at the same time (last done in 1994 by Steffi Graf). The Williams sisters are the first two women in Grand Slam history to square off in four consecutive finals.
- 2003 - Martina Navratilova, 46, becomes the first player inthe modern era to win the singles, doubles and mixed doubles at all four Grand Slams during her career. She completes her "Super Slam" by winning the Australian Open mixed title.
- 2003 - UConn extends its winning streak to 59, the best in women's history and the third highest in basketball history. Only two men's teams have a longer steak UCLA with 88 in a row (1971-74), and San Francisco with 60 in 1955-57.
- 2003 - Candian Olympian Hayley Wickenheiser, 24, becomes the first woman to score a goal in a men's pro hockey game on a backhander for her Finnish League Kirkkonummi Salamat.
- 2003 - Regina Jacobs becomes the first woman to break the four-minute mile in the indoor 1,500 meters, beating a 13-year old world record with her time of 3:59:98 at the Boston Indoor Games.
- 2003 - Olympic champion Stacy Dragila sets a new American record in the pole vault with her jump of 15 feet, 5.5 inches at the Boston event.
- 2003 - The 17th annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day theme is "Succeed in Sports - Lead in Life" on Feb. 5.
- 2003 - The Flo Hyman Memorial Award is presented to Olympic gold medalist Nawal El Moutawakel in ceremonies at a congressional luncheon in Washington, D.C. The award recognizes an outstanding female athlete whose achievements reflect Flo Hyman's spirit and commitment to excellence on and off the playing field. Nawal El Moutawakel captured the gold in the 400-meter hurdles at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games. In doing so, she became the first woman from an Islamic nation to win an Olympic medal and the first Moroccan of either sex to win the gold. El Moutawakel's accomplishments earned wide recognition in her home nation, resulting in the King of Morocco declaring that all girls born on the date of her victory were to be named in her honor. A graduate of Iowa State University, El Moutawakel received an athletic scholarship for track and field, and was the NCAA 400-hurdles champion in 1984 and an All-American. In 1995, she became a council member of the International Amateur Athletic Foundation. Two years later, El Moutawakel was appointed Minister of Sport and Youth in Morocco and became the first Muslim woman ever elected as a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). El
Moutawakel continues to work with the IOC's group on Women and Sports and the IOC Marketing Commission.
- 2003 - Serena Williams, 21, wins the Gaz de France in the final against Amélie Mauresmo, 6-3, 6-2.
- 2003 - UConn's women's basketball team moves into second spot in college ball's winning streak list with 61 consecutive wins in an 83-75 game over Boston College. Only UCLA has a better record.
- 2003 - Annika Sorenstam, 32, accepts a sponsor's invitation to compete in the Colonial Tournament in May, becoming the first woman to play on the PGA Tour in 58 years. Babe Zaharias was the first/last woman to compete in a men's professional tour in the 1945 Los Angeles Open. Sorenstam is the only LPGA player in history to shoot a 59 and she has won four major championships.
- 2003 - Teresa Phillips, 44, the athletic director at Tennessee State becomes the first woman to coach a major college men's basketball team. The coaching assignment is for one game only. Phillips says, "History will occur when institutions actually hire a woman to coach a men's team and give her all the opportunities to build a program. I'm pinch-hitting for one night." Phillips coached Tennessee State's women's basketball (1989-2000) with a 150-151 record, twice leading her team to the NCAA and was national coach of the year in 1990. Her career record is 212-189. Tennessee State is the only historically black university to compete in a conference with other colleges of predominantly white enrollment.
- 2003 - Venus Williams repeats her win at the Diamond Games in Antwerp with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Kim Clijsters in the final.
- Mia Hamm scores her 137th international goal as Team USA beats Iceland 1-0.
- 2003 - The UConn Huskies (26-0, 13-0 Big East) just keep winning with their 65th straight game in a 77-59 victory over Notre Dame, the last team to beat UConn.
- 2003 - Nearly 3,000 girls play high school football in various positions like kicker, wide receiver, linemen and linebacker according to the National Federation of State High School Associations.
- 2003 - The UConn women clinch their 10th straight regular-season Big East title and their 67th straight win with a 70-52 victory over Providence.
- 2003 - Gail Devers breaks her own American record in the 60-meter hurdles, and wins the final for her 14th national title.
- 2003 - American figure skater Sasha Cohen earns her frist major international title at the Grand Prix final in St. Petersburg, Russia, beating world champion Irina Slutskaya.
- 2003 - Ai Sugiyama defeats Kim Clijsters 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 for the State Farm Women's Tennis Classic championship in Scottsdale, AZ.
- 2003 - In Lake Placid at the US Biathlon National Championships, Tracy Branes of Durango, CO, beats out her twin sister, Lanny, to win the gold medal in the women's 10-k pursuit. Denise Teela of Jericho, VT, wins the women's idividual sprint in 20:55:02.
- 2003 - American Stacy Dragila broke the women's world indoor pole vault record with a jump of 15 feet, 8.25 inches at the US Indoor Track & Field Championship in Boston for her 13th US championship and 7th indoor title.
- 2003 - Regina Jacobs, 39, wins the women's 1,500 meter and the 3,000 meter race. She is the first woman to win both races since Jan Merrill (1976) and Francie Larrieu (1977).
- 2003 - The UConn women keep on winning, closing out the regular season with a 78-58 victory over West Virginia and upping their unbeaten streak to 68 games.
- 2003 - The second longest winning streak in college basketball comes to an end at 70 as Villanova upsets the UConn Huskies 52-48 for the Big East Conference tournament title.
- 2003 - Skater Sarah Hughes is presented with the Sullivan Trophy as the nation's top amateur athlete by the AAU.
- 2003 The Women's Hall of Fame announces the Class of 2003,including two women athletes: GERTRUDE EDERLE (1906-) In 1926, Ederle became the first woman to swim the English Channel, setting a new time record that would stand for the next 35 years. Ederle's career included 29 U.S. and World swimming records, erasing many people's doubts about the physical abilities of female athletes. DONNA DE VARONA (1947-) In 1960, at the age of 13, de Varona became the youngest member of a U.S. Olympic swim team. Just four years later, she won gold medals in the 400 IM and 400 Freestyle Relay at the Tokyo Olympics. She went on to set 18 world records in her career, and co-founded the Women's Sports Foundation in 1974. De Varona was the first full-time female sports broadcaster (for ABC) and has served two Presidential Commissions and five terms on the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.
- 2003 - The US National Soccer Team wins the Algarve Cup with a 2-0 victory over China on goals by Shanon MacMillian and Mia Hamm.
- 2003 - Elmira College claims its second D-III women's national hockey championship with a 5-1 victory over Manhattenville.
- 2003 - Minnesota Duluth wins its third straight national D-I women's hockey championship with a 4-3 double-overtime victory over Harvard. Bulldogs coach Shannon Miller has a record of 108-19-13 in four years. 9,962 spectators watched the game.
- 2003 - Harvard University's Jennifer Botterill wins her second Patty Kazmaier award as the best player in women's college hockey. She is the all-time leading scorer in Division I men's or women's history in 2003 with 326 points (151g, 175a) for her career.
- 2003 - Michelle Kwan becomes only the third American to win fice World Figure Skating Chamipionships with her gold medal victory. She ties the records of Dick Button and Carol Heiss. She has more world medals than any American with eight.
- 2003 - Serena Williams continues her winning ways with a victory over Jennifer Capriati at the Nasqaq-100 Open.
- 2003 - California's Natalie Coughlin wins the Honda Award, given to the top female athlete in 12 sports. She is honored as the nation's outstanding woman in swimming and diving for the second consecutive year.
- 2003 UConn's Diana Taurasi wins AP Player of the Year for women's D-I basketball; UConn coach Geno Auriemma wins Coach of the Year honors, the fourth time so honored.
- 2003 - The US wins its first women's world curling title in a 5-3 victory over Canada. Sweden defeats Norway 7-4 for the women's bronze.
- 2003 - Justine Henin-Hardene wins the Family Circle Cup title over the world's number one player, Serena Willaims, in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4.
- 2003 - Russian Elena Dementieva, 21, wins the Lausch & Lomb Chamiponship, defeating Lindsay Davenport 4-6, 7-5, 6-3.
- 2003 - Candie Kung wins the LPGA Takefuji Classic Tournament.
- 2003 - Se Ri Pak wins the Chick-a-fil-A Charity Championship.
- 2003 - Annika Sorenstam, 32, competes in the PGA's Colonial Tournament, the first woman to play on the tour in 58 years. After two rounds, she is 5 over par, failing to make the cut for the rest of the tournament. However, she stands up to some of the most intense media pressure any athlete has ever faced, playing competatively.
- 2003 - Justine Henin-Hardenne defeats Kim Clijsters 6-0,6-4 in the first all-Belgian Grand Slam final at Roland Garros for the French Open title.
- 2003 - Annika Sorenstam, 32, wins the LPGA Championship with a par on the first extra hole against Grace Park.
- 2003 - Rachel Teske wins the Giant Eagle LPGA Classic on the thrid hold of a sudden death playoff with Annika Sorenstam and Lorie Kane.
- 2003 - Sally Ride is inducted into the US Astronaut Hall of Fame, nearly 20 years after she became the first US woman in space about the Challenger on June 18, 1983.
- 2003 - Hurdler Gail Deavers, 36, wins her 9th national championship in the 100-meters.
- 2003 - 39 year old Regina Jacobs wins her 12th national title in the 1,500 meters in 4:1.63, the fastest world time this year. She has won five straight national titles in the 1,500, 9 out of the last 10. Her firsttitle came in 1987.
- 2003 - 32 year old Stacy Dragila won the women's pole vault at the US track championships, winning 6 of 7 titles since the event was added in 1997.
- 2003 - Courtney Kupets beats defending champion Taska Schwikert for her first national title at the US Gymnastic Chmapionships.
- 2003 - The Radcliffe heavyweight crew wins the NCAA Championship on Eagle Creek Reservoir in Indianapolis with a time of 6:26.98. Michigan (6:28.58) was second, followed by Stanford (6:29.54). The victory marks the second National Championship for the women's crew program, exactly 30 years after the first title.
- 2003 Serena Williams tops sister Venus for the championship at Wimbledon with 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the women's final.
- 2003 - Martina Navratilova, 46, captures her 20th Winbledon title by winning the mixed doubles with Leander Paes, tying Billie Jean King's record for wins there. Her record at Wimbledon includes 9 singles, 7 women's doubles, and 4 mixed doubles titles.
- 2003 - For the first time, two female drill sergeants capture the titles of Drill Sergeants of the Year for both the active-duty and reserve components. Sgt. 1st Class Billie Jo Miranda of Fort Jackson, SC, wins the title Army Drill Sergeant of the Year for the active component. Sgt. 1st Class Corenna L. Rouse, U.S. Army Reserve, Louisville, KY, wins top drill-sergeant honors for the reserve component. To win the DSOY title, competitors must successfully negotiate four major challenges - a physical fitness test; a "surprise topic" essay; an appearance before a board comprised of five sergeants major; and a teaching demonstration of soldier common tasks like setting up a claymore mine and drill and ceremony.
- 2003 - Chamipon free diver Tanya Streeter, 30, a native of the Cayman Islands, breaks the women's world record with a 400 foot dive on a single brerath. Under for 3:58 minutes, she beats the old record of 312 feet set by Cuban Deborah Andollo.
- 2003 - Annika Sorenstam wins the British Open by one stroke over Se Ri Pak and completes her career Grand Slam. She will be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in October as the sixth woman to complete the Grand Slam.
- 2003 - Veteran cowgirl Connie Reeves dies at 101 after being thrown from her favorite horse, Dr. Pepper, in San Antonio. Reeves taught more than 30,000 girls how to ride horses over more than 70 years. She was the oldest living member of the Cowgirl Hall of Fame, located in Fort Worth, Texas.
- 203 - The US team wins the world gymnsatics championship with a young team beset by injuries to some of the top performers.
- 2003 - Ana Geuvara becomes the first mexican woman to win a gold medal in the 400 meters at the world track and field championships (or the Summer Olympics).
- 2003 - In another all-Belgiam final, Justine Henin-Hardenne, 21, defeats Kim Clijsters, 20, (7-5, 6-1) for the US Open's women's single title, earning a record $1 million.
- 2003 - The Detroit Shock beat the LA Sparks in the third game of the WNBA Finals to claim the championship with a 83-78 victory. Ruth Riley is named the MVP of the finals with a career high 27 in the game. The Shock are the first Eastern Conference team to win the WNBA title in the league's 7 years.
- 2003 - In the Women's World Cup, Germany defeats Sweden in OT 2-1 to win their first title. The US women beat Canada 3-0 for the bronze medal.
- 2003 - Sweden's Annika Sorenstam, 33, is inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. This year show won two majors, the LPGA Championship in a playoff and the Women's British Open in a back-nine duel with Se Ri Pak, to completed the career Grand Slam; starred in a European victory at the Solheim Cup as a first time player for her native Sweden; and played in the Colonial, where she became the first woman in 58 years on the PGA Tour. In addition to her career Grand Slam, Sorenstam has won 47 times on the LPGA Tour and in 2001 became the first woman to shoot 59 in competition.
- 2003 - Japanese pioneer Chako Higuchi is inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame, the first golfer from Japan to be enshrined. She became the first Japanese player to win a major at the 1977 LPGA Championship, earned 82 career victories, and now she runs the Japan LPGA Tour, which conducts 30 tournaments.
- 2003 - Kim Clijsters sits at Number 1 atop the WTP tennis ranking with her third straight Seat Open title in a 6-2, 7-5 victory over Chandra Rubin.
- 2003 - Se Ri Pak becoms the first woman in 58 years to make the 36-hole cut in a men's tournament and the sixth woman golfer to play against men this year. She finishes the SBS Super Tournament in Seoul, South Korea, in 10th place with a 2-under 286, 11 strokes behind the winner.
- 2003 - Race car driver Shirley Muldowney ends her 42 year career, 30 in drag racers, with her final start in a race on November 9.
- 2003 - Annika Sorenstam completes her LPGA year with a win at the Mizuno Classic in Otsu, Japan, finishing 24-under 194, breaking the 54-hole record. Her win here is the third in three years at this event.
- 2003 - The US beats Canada for the Four Nations Cup in women's ice hockey in a 2-1 final. Both US goals come from Cami Granato; the second in a shoot out to end the game. Finland beats Sweden 3-2 for thrid place.
- 2003 - Kim Clijsters wins the WTA Championship and the largest purse in women's tennis at $1,000,030 (the extra $30 celebrates the WTA Tour's 30th anniversary) in a 6-2, 6-0 final with Amelie Mauresmo. She finishes the year with $4,091,594 in earnings, becoming the first female player to top $4 million in a season. Her 2003 season ends with a 90-12 record and nine titles.
- 2003 - Annika Sorenstam continues her winning ways with a second place finish and $225,000 in the otherwise all-male "Skins" game that marks the end of the pro golf circuit.
- 2003 in Women's D-I soccer, undefeated North Carolina wins 6-0 over Connecticut in the NCAA championship, marking the team's 18th victory overall in the tournament. Alyssa Riley is named the outstanding offensive player after finishing the tounament with 8 goals and 3 assists; teammate Catherine Reddick takes home defensive player honors.
- 2003 - The Lady Huskies of UConn have the longest home winning streak at 70 games of any college basketball team, men or women.
- 2003 - Annika Sorenstam is named the AP Female Athlete of the Year for her outstanding year in golf. She won a career Grand Slam, including two majors in 2004 - the LPGA Cha,pionship and the British Open. She was the 100th person inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.
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