After 25 years, what would the players on the 1996-97 season remember about specific games, the national championship game, their practices, the crowds, their teammates or their coaches.
Sports Information Director emeritus Tim Petermann sent a list of 16 questions to the team members trying to trigger their memories and seeking comments on what sticks out for them a quarter of a century later.
While not all responded, the eight that did included the five starters and the four seniors on the squad. All had unforgettable memories of how the season ended, on a last-second shot that prevented them from winning the national championship. Brenda (Gunn) Bestor, who has spent the past 24 years teaching at Reedsburg High School and was a non-starting senior on the squad, maybe said it best. “Utter shock. Like we got socked in the gut with disbelief at the end result.” New York University’s only lead of the second half was by two in the final 1.7 seconds after the Blugolds led by 15 early in the half. Nici Claymon, who currently resides in Hawaii and daily swims with the sea turtles trying to rehab from another knee surgery, said she doesn’t remember details from certain games aside from “that last second shot going into the basket like a lightning bolt and the buzzer sounding and the yucky feelings that came after that. Hard to forget that last one.”
Many were disappointed that they did not get to host the Final Four as the 1994 Blugold team had done, but then realized that they were going to New York City, a new destination for most of the team members. In addition, they got to stay at the Downtown Athletic Club, which at the time was the location of the Heisman Trophy and the annual Heisman presentation. The 35-story building was just blocks from the Twin Towers and after 9/11, the surrounding neighborhood was blockaded and the building closed in 2002. “Being in such a historic building was a really cool highlight,” said Angie (Cerni) Fisher.
Erika Schmidt recalled being disappointed that instead of going south to someplace warm, the Blugolds’ winter trip was to Columbus, Ohio where the Blugolds lost to Capital University. But later on, she was grateful that the Blugolds had played the Crusaders and were then able to beat them in the semi-finals of the Final Four tournament.
When asked why the 1996-97 team was so successful, most answers were very similar. “Team chemistry,” said Jodi (Pritzl) Puent. “We all had a bond,” said Fisher. “We had a connection that I think needs to be there above and beyond how much talent you have.” Allison (Berg) Larson, then a sophomore starter, pointed to “The drive of the seniors, to not settle for anything less than a championship.” Tanya (Bauer) Longo said “We always managed to find a way to win.” Nici Claymon described the togetherness of that team this way. “We were all very different but it was like we were all individual ingredients and when you put us all together, we made something amazing.”
Claymon also described their ability to get along this way. “We did lots of things as a team, on and off the court. Some of us even jumped out of an airplane together. We sang songs before each game, we danced a lot, we supported superstitions even if we didn’t all believe in them. The list of team bonding was long and special and so fun and probably the most important part of why we went so far in my mind.”
Every team has a character which is not necessarily a bad thing. Nici Claymon’s name popped up several times in the responses. Brenda Bestor described her as a “character in a way that only those of us who were around her on and off the court would ever know!” Angie Fisher said this about Nici. “She was my shooting partner when we first got to the gym before games. Sometimes my shot was off so she would run all around the gym ‘looking for my shot’! Sometimes, I would literally see her up in the second tier of the gym to find it. She would usually find it!”
Another character in a different way was Tanya Bauer, according to Brenda Bestor. “Tanya was our rock. We watched her overcome her ACL knee injury her freshman year to becoming one of the most all-around versatile floor players UWEC has ever had. Her work ethic, defensive tenacity, game mentality, and knowledge were unwavering.”
The atmosphere at home games surfaced in different ways in the player responses. Prior to the season, several players were at Jacquie Vinje’s house and they listened to St. Elmo’s Fire and decided that should be their run out song. Erika Schmidt remembered that “the first home game was against St. Thomas and they made fun of the song. But I loved it.” Angie Fisher said the song “pumped us up even if it wasn’t the top choice by some, but it grew on us and now is the song that reminds us of that amazing year.”
Among the various things players remembered was a humorous incident in the Luther College game. As described by Erika Schmidt, “I was having a difficult time inbounding the ball. So Nici ran by and it ended up being a handoff instead of a pass. Unfortunately, the referee saw that and blew her whistle. Lisa was not very happy with us.”
Allison Larson remembered the satisfaction of the regional championship against Oshkosh because of the great rivalry with the Titans.
Erika Schmidt said radio announcer Woody Wall “was a fabulous member of our Blugold family. His play by play and nicknames for some of the players were the best.”
Allison Larson summed up her remembrances this way. “I remember the practices, Coach Stone’s pre-game talks, walking us through the game plans, scouting reports on the white board before games, Coach Stone reviewing the match-ups and our opponents’ strengths and weakness. I remember us running out for pre-game, the music, how many people came to the games, the team dinners before games, the bus rides to the way games, the intensity the seniors brought to the team.”
Erika Schmidt said that for their locker room pregame talk, Lisa Stone always wrote “The Biggest Game of the Season” on the top of the board. “And she would always write ICE for Intensity, Concentration, Execution.”
For the most part, the Blugolds remained healthy throughout the season. But that didn’t mean there were no injuries. In the home opener against St. Thomas which was ranked No. 1 in the preseason poll, Erika Schmidt took an elbow to the forehead late in the first half. “The game was stopped for a substitution and as Erika stood on the end line to inbound the ball, “I felt what I thought was sweat roll down my face. As I turned toward our bench and wiped my brow, I heard gasps from our crowd. It wasn’t sweat, it was blood.” Head trainer Jeff Oliphant was there as he put steri strips and a big bandaid on it at halftime so she could continue to play. “All through the second half, one of the referees told me how awful I looked every time I inbounded the ball,” said Schmidt. It kept bleeding and Oliphant had to put another band aid over the top of the first. “We won the game and I ended up with 11 stitches in my forehead,” explained Schmidt.
Most of the players expressed gratitude for the chance to play for Coach Stone. “She treated all of us like family. She knew the game very well and was a great motivator. She continues to be a role model for me now that I am coaching my kids,” said Jodi Puent, a mother of five including quadruplets and a pediatrician at Marshfield Clinic in Weston. “Inspiring,” said Angie Fisher, a counselor at Oconomowoc High School. “She was always so full of energy, smart with the scouting reports and had us do team bonding especially over winter break. We spent a lot of time together and Coach Lisa and Coach Phil (Teixeira) were the glue.” Allison Larson, a project manager in the corporate legal department at UnitedHealth in the Twin Cities and a hockey mom, said “Playing for Coach Stone shaped my life. She taught me so many life lessons. About how to stand tall, have confidence and put forth 100% in whatever it is that you do in life. She instilled in us to be good sports, how to win and lose with grace. She gave me the road map to navigate life as a young adult.” Brenda Bestor pointed out all the various roles that Coach Stone filled and said “She served all of her roles at the highest level possible and still mentored and loved each one of her players and helped lead us to become our own best versions of who we could be.” Tanya Longo said “Coach Stone has remained a mentor and beloved friend through all the years.”
While most players have very positive memories from the 1996-97 season, Erika Schmidt pointed out that they are bittersweet because of the one final basket by New York University that kept this team from its final rendition of “We are the champions!”
