Athletic Hall of Fame

• Three-sport varsity athlete at SPSG: lacrosse, basketball, and field hockey
• Earned the Sash for Athletic Excellence and multiple leadership/academic honors
• Two-year starter on SPSG lacrosse teams that posted back-to-back 17–1 seasons
• Led team in goals and assists in 1979; recipient of Varsity Leader and Team Player Awards
• Four-year Division I starter and captain at University of Richmond (Midfield – D-Wing)
• Honors include Presidential Scholar-Athlete, Phi Beta Kappa, and NCAA East appearances
• Selected for U.S. National Team Trials and named Richmond’s “Woman Senior Scholar-Athlete”
• Founder of True Lacrosse Girls’ Program, mentoring 2,700+ athletes across 15 states

• Competed in tennis (doubles), varsity basketball, and lacrosse all three years
• Leading scorer for the varsity lacrosse team each season from 2002 to 2004
• Delivered 3 goals and 2 assists in the 2004 IAAM Championship while heavily double-teamed
• Widely regarded as the top lacrosse player of her era at SPSG
• Known for her fierce competitiveness, resilience, and leadership on and off the field
• Inspired teammates with her energy, communication, and relentless work ethic
• Helped set a new standard for lacrosse excellence at SPSG through her example

• Served as SGA President, excelling academically and athletically.
• Multi-sport athlete at SPSG and an exceptional leader both on and off the court.
• Recipient of the 2005 Cameron O’Neill Mullin Award for outstanding achievement in academics and athletics.
• All-Conference selection and program-defining player.
• Continued her athletic career at Davidson College, where she played basketball during the same era as Steph Curry.
• Elevated the level of play for the entire program through her work ethic and leadership.
• Remembered as an incredible athlete and an even better person, credited with helping transform SPSG basketball into a top-tier program

• Earned 8 varsity letters at SPSG across lacrosse, field hockey, and basketball
• Led SPSG to IAAM A-Conference titles in 2004 and 2006 as senior lacrosse captain
• Named Offensive MVP, Most Outstanding Player, and IAAM All-Star
• Became a Tewaaraton and Honda Award Finalist at Loyola University
• Named National Attacker of the Year and multiple-time All-American
• Set scoring records and helped elevate Loyola’s lacrosse program to national prominence

• Record: 15–2, with an IAAM Championship
• Ranked #2 in Maryland and #3 nationally
• 13 players continued to Division I collegiate lacrosse
• Three players named First-Team All-Metro
• Lydia Sanza named Baltimore Sun Player of the Year
• Caity Whiteley named Towson Times Player of the Year
• Known for depth, selflessness, and elite team culture that helped elevate SPSG lacrosse to national powerhouse status

Florence “Flo” Bell †

Ophelia “Ophie” Hollingshead †

Caroline Ober †

Jenifer Blenckstone Boyce ’88

Lindsay Sheehan Bradley ’81

Lyn Brooks ’66

Traci Davis ’78

Joy Koch McPeters ’87

1972-1973 Field Hockey Team
 

Mary Colt Creighton Navins ’68

While a student at SPSG, Colt played four years of varsity field hockey, basketball, and lacrosse. She was awarded her athletic sash junior year and was captain of the field hockey team her senior year at SPSG. At Green Mountain College, she played for two years on both the varsity field hockey and the varsity lacrosse teams. Colt has continued her involvement in sports while living, working and raising a family in Massachusetts. She has coached middle school field hockey for six years and has spent the last three years coaching in a youth lacrosse program. This past spring, Colt coached two lacrosse teams, her town of Wayland’s under 14 girls’ team, which had an undefeated season and the under 13 eastern Massachusetts State Girls’ Team which won all seven games it played.

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Mary Sadler Dohony ’78

Mary played varsity field hockey, basketball, and lacrosse her sophomore, junior, and senior years at SPSG. She was awarded the Stacey Ellen Hooper Spirit Award her sophomore year and was the White Team Captain her senior year. Mary continued to distinguish herself at Salisbury State where she played varsity field hockey and lacrosse and was inducted into the Salisbury State University Athletic Hall of Fame. Mary has coached and taught physical education at several schools in Baltimore including St. Timothy’s School, Baltimore Lutheran, and the Park School. Currently she coaches recreation lacrosse and soccer teams in Baltimore which she has done for the past nine years.

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Sandi Stevens Corbo ’85

Sandi distinguished herself at St. Paul’s School for Girls by playing varsity field hockey, soccer, and lacrosse. She was also recognized several times by the Baltimore Sun for her athletic accomplishments while being named to several AIS teams. Her achievements at Western Maryland College in both field hockey and lacrosse earned her, among other awards, the Western Maryland College Alumnae Athletic Award, a place in the Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges, and induction into the Western Maryland College Sports Hall of Fame in 1999. Sandi has worked as both a field hockey and lacrosse coach, a lacrosse referee, and participated in both biathlons and triathlons. She currently works as a physical education teacher in Baltimore County.

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Kelly Cowan Colhoun ’89

Team captain of three varsity sports in her senior year at SPSG, Kelly’s accomplishments while a student at SPSG also earned her three AIS all star distinctions, two in lacrosse, and one in field hockey. Kelly then earned a four-year lacrosse scholarship to the University of Virginia where she played on two NCAA Division I National Championship teams and in her senior year was selected to the NCAA All America Team. After graduating from UVA, Kelly spent the next four years working as a professional road racer, racing for Team Power Bar, qualifying for the Olympic Trials, and in 1996, being named the California/Nevada District Road Racing Champion. Kelly continues to race, though now as an amateur. I am pleased to announce that this fall, in addition to getting married, Kelly will be joining the coaching staff at SPSG.

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Tricia Burdt Abbott ’93

While playing four varsity sports as a student at SPSG, Tricia was named an AIS All Star 13 times in four years from 1989 to 1993. As a student at the University of Maryland College Park, Tricia played field hockey where she excelled on both the collegiate and Olympic levels. During that time, Tricia won two gold and one bronze medals in the U.S. under-21 division at three Olympic Festival competitions. She also started on Maryland’s varsity field hockey team four years, being named to All ACC, All Region, All Mid-Atlantic, and All-American teams and playing on Maryland’s 1993 NCAA National Field Hockey Championship team.

Tricia continued to coach at Maryland after her graduation and more recently has been working in the physical education department of the Tilden School in Rockville, Maryland.

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Daphne Penelope diBrandi ’76 †

The selection committee of the Athletic Hall of Fame has the opportunity with each ballot to select one deceased member of the SPSG alumnae or coaching staff for induction into the Hall of Fame. This year, the committee overwhelmingly voted to select Penny, as she was known at SPSG, who died in May, 2001, at the age of 43.

Penny was an integral part of SPSG athletics in her junior and senior years, but not as an athlete. In her junior year, Penny was the assistant manager of the varsity basketball team, manager of the varsity lacrosse team, and winner of the Spirit Award. In her senior year, she managed all three of the varsity teams—field hockey, basketball, and lacrosse. After graduation, Penny played tennis in college in Athens, Greece. However, she reached her peak as an athlete playing racquetball, which was one of the passions which consumed her in the last decade of her life. In 1998 she was the Singles Champion of the Maryland Washington Racquetball Association and in 1999, was awarded a bronze medal in the Consolidated National Doubles Competition by the United States Racquetball Association. And finally, in 2000, while battling cancer, Penny was ranked 18th nationally in the over 25 Division of the United Sates Racquetball Association.

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The 1980-1981 Varsity Lacrosse Team

Athletic Department records, confirmed by the school’s archivist Mary Bready, show that in 1981 Mary Ellen Thomsen—then Headmistress of St. Paul’s School for Girls—reported to the Board of Trustees that the varsity lacrosse team had had an undefeated regular season. Unfortunately, the team lost to Friends School in the final round of the post season AIMS tournament that year. According to the late Flo Bell, coach of the team, that loss broke a 38-game win streak which included five games played by the team during their trip to Scotland. “This was indeed a great team” Mary Bready, 2001.

Edie Pieper Bidwell ’65

Diane Whiteley ’79

Jaleh Hagigh ’81

Liz Low Harlan ’93

Tice Burke Pell ’95
Stacy Hermann Sauerhoff ’87

Lori Song, Coach

1992 Varsity Soccer Team

Jill St. Clair Ambrose ’92
Field hockey, Basketball, Lacrosse

Jill St. Clair Ambrose entered SPSG in the ninth grade, receiving her varsity sash as a sophomore. Truly an all-around athlete, Jill received honors and recognition in field hockey, basketball, and lacrosse. In 1989, she was selected to represent SPSG at the Field Hockey Scholarship Trials and, as a senior, she was named to the AIS Senior Field Hockey Team West. As a basketball player, Jill received the Most Improved Player Award as a sophomore, and as a junior; she was named to the All-Star Team. Jill received the Best Defensive Player Award for two years in a row, and in 1996, she received the Outstanding Team Player Award. An exceptional lacrosse player, Jill received All-Star Honorable Mention in 1990, and, in 1991, she was named an All-Star and received the Best Defensive Player Award. That same year, Jill was also selected for the Lacrosse Scholarship Trials. Playing Division I lacrosse for Colgate University, she was a starter from her sophomore year on while maintaining a place on the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll. At the end of her senior year, Jill placed third for ground balls (42) and third for scoring (18 pts). In addition to receiving numerous Colgate and Patriot League honors for her defensive play, she won a place on the Division I North Regional All-American and the Division I North/South Senior All-Star Teams. Currently, Jill is a strategy manager for Advertising.com.

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Joan Muller Peterson ’65
Field Hockey, Basketball, Lacrosse

Joan Muller Peterson entered St. Paul’s School for Girls as a founding student in September 1959. As a ninth grader, she played three varsity sports—field hockey, basketball and lacrosse –becoming the second student in the school’s history to earn her sash as a freshman. Joan continued to play at the varsity level throughout her upper school years. As captain of the Green Team, Joan and classmate Robin Hume introduced skits and pep rallies into the culture of SPSG with Joan being cast as none other Super St. Paul’s. As a senior, Joan accepted the McDavid Bowl for the Green Team as well as the Levering Prize in acknowledgement of her citizenship and support for the SPSG. She went on to receive her B.A. and M.A. in social work from Boston University. Although athletic opportunities for women were limited or non-existent for women during this time, Joan continued to play field hockey for her town team and took up new sports: tennis, cross-country and downhill skiing, sailing and golf, which she still enjoys in addition to weight training and walking. Married and raising two sons in the Boston area, she managed to establish the SPSG athletic tradition of serving after-game “tea” to the opposing team at her sons’ schools. The tradition caught on at both Groton and Yale.

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Joan Creighton McNamara ’70
Field Hockey, Basketball, Lacrosse

Jill Creighton McNamara entered St. Paul’s School for Girls in 1962 as a fifth grader, and in the fall of her eighth grade year, Carol Ober, head of the Physical Education Department and Coach, gave her a starting position on the varsity lacrosse team. Jill’s superior athletic skill and determination earned her starting positions the following year on the varsity field hockey, basketball, and lacrosse teams. As a freshman on the varsity field hockey team, Jill was an integral part of the team. Jill and SPSG were recognized in the Baltimore Sun for their undefeated season in 1968. Jill not only received her varsity sash as a freshman and 13 varsity pins throughout her upper school years, but she was the first SPSG athlete to receive a five-year award for lacrosse. After graduation, Jill attended Marymount College in Virginia, and continued to play both field hockey and basketball at the varsity level. Unfortunately, few opportunities for women to play lacrosse existed on the collegiate level at that time. In 1992 Jill, mother of daughters, formed a lacrosse clinic for the seventh and eighth grade girls in the Washington DC area.

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Holly Hooper Leachman ’71
Field Hockey, Basketball, Lacrosse

Holy Hooper Leachman started on the school’s varsity field hockey and lacrosse teams as a freshman and earned her varsity sash during her sophomore year. By the end of her senior year, she had accumulated 11 Varsity pins. As a senior, Holly was captain of varsity field hockey, basketball and lacrosse teams and was acknowledged by many as a team leader and high scorer. Holly, captain of the Green Team, not only lead her team to victory and claimed the McDavid Bowl, but in the last moments of a highly competitive green and white field hockey game, she scored the game winning goal. Holly went on to Stratford College, where she played varsity basketball and was leading scorer and MVP for two years in a row. Although she officially retired when she married in 1973, she has remained closely involved with the growth of women’s lacrosse. She served on the organizing committee for the Women’s World Cup and coaches a high school team in the Stars and Stripes High School Tournament of the World Cup. In addition to managing a middle school girls’ lacrosse league, Holly coaches one other team and monitors two other teams in the Stars league. She is also the administrator for the Triple Threat Lacrosse Camp, which runs summer programs for both middle and high school girls.

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Nancy Gross ’73
Field Hockey, Basketball, Lacrosse, Coach

Nancy Gross came to St. Paul’s School for Girls as a fifth grader in the fall of 1965. Four years later, she was pulled up to play goalie for the varsity field hockey team. She went on to earn her three-sport varsity sash as a sophomore and would earn 11 varsity pins by the end of her senior year. In addition to being the captain of the Green Team, Nancy was the captain of her field hockey, basketball and lacrosse teams. She went on to play field hockey and lacrosse for her four years at Ursinus College, where she won a spot on her college badminton team. In 1979, she was the lacrosse goalie for the Baltimore Women’s Lacrosse Association and the South District Lacrosse League. From 1980 until 1995, Nancy continued to play lacrosse in the Baltimore summer league. As a member of the 1972 varsity field hockey team, she was inducted into the first SPSG Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001, and in 2007, she was inducted into the Baltimore Chapter of the Lacrosse Hall of Fame. Currently Nancy is the owner of Fast Break Sports, which is located in Baltimore and serves many of the local schools and recreation councils.

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Dr. Margaret Olmedo ’80
Field Hockey, Basketball, Lacrosse, Swimming, Soccer

Coming to SPSG as a ninth grader in 1976, Margaret quickly adapted to life as an SPSG Gator. During her upper-school years, she earned eight varsity pins and received her varsity sash as a junior year. She played on five varsity teams—field hockey, basketball, swimming, lacrosse, and soccer—as a senior. Margaret was elected team captain three times, and, during her senior year, she served as president of the Athletic Association. Margaret went on to play field hockey and lacrosse for four years at Ursinus College. In 1983 and 1984, she played on the East Coast Athletic Conference Division 1 Field Hockey Team, which won the championship in 1984. Margaret also played on two Ursinus lacrosse teams that were Division III national champions in 1982 and 1984. She received All American Honors in lacrosse in 1984 and was awarded the Ursinus College Womens’ Club Prize. Swimming for Ursinus rounded out her college athletic career. Following graduation in 1984, Margaret was a member of the United States Women’s Lacrosse Team, and in 2002, she was inducted into the Ursinus College Hall of Fame. With an M.D from Brown University School of Medicine, Margaret specializes in orthopedic medicine and has completed two fellowships in sports medicine—one from Penn State University and a second from Karolinska Hospital in Stockholm, Sweden. She is currently an associate professor and program director for the department of orthopedics at the LSU-Health Science Center in Shreveport, Louisiana.

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Heather Geiger Bailey ’87 †
Field Hockey, Basketball, Tennis

Heather loved athletics. From the fifth grade on, sports were the center of her life. A stand-out athlete in Middle School, she had earned her athletic sash by her sophomore year for playing varsity field hockey, basketball, and tennis. She continued her upper-school athletic career, accumulating honors along the way, including All-Star recognition in all three sports. She was most often the high scorer on her teams and the captain. In the spring, tennis was her game. She played both singles and doubles, and, fiercely competitive, she was in the game to win. In 1986, she received the Francis Kennedy Memorial Tennis Award, which recognized not only her skill but her devotion to her teammates and to the sport of tennis. Heather’s positive, can-do attitude rivaled her athletic skills. Her friends remember that she never considered not winning, never turned down a challenge, and, on or off the field, she played her hardest, every minute, until the whistle blew. Devotedly supported by her parents as she played on the fields and courts of SPSG, Heather was, as one friend recalls, a “mighty, mighty Gator.” She died of ovarian cancer in 2005, after an intense battle sustained by spirit and determination. As Beth Hollingshead Furlong ’80, SPSG alumnae director, wrote, “she was a wonderful example to so many during her short, but significant life.”

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Dr. Hollie Burdt Ellis ’89
Field Hockey, Soccer, Lacrosse

Hollie entered SPSG in 1985 as a sophomore and quickly found her place on the athletic field, receiving eight varsity pins and her three -sport varsity sash. As sweeper, Hollie was an integral member of the 1986 “undefeated” field hockey team that also took the AIS West Championship. A standout defensive player, Hollie was invited that same year to participate in the Scholarship Trials, sponsored by the Baltimore Field Hockey Association. She was named an AIS All-Star in 1987 and 1988 and served as captain for the Gators during the 1988 season. Hollie’s drive extended to the soccer field as well and she was recognized as an AIS All-Star three years in a row. As goalie for the lacrosse team, Hollie moved up to varsity as a junior and was named an AIS All-Star in 1989. SPSG would go on to win the AIS Championship that year. Following the AIS victory, Hollie participated in the first lacrosse exchange program when the SP/SPSG lacrosse teams travelled to Japan for the Friendship Games. Hollie attended the University of Pennsylvania, playing field hockey her freshman year as well as intramural soccer, volleyball, and basketball throughout all four years at Penn. Hollie is a dentist with a private practice in Finksburg, Maryland.

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Jennifer Collins ’95
Tennis, Basketball, Lacrosse

Jennifer entered SPSG in 1991 as a ninth grader. During her upper school years, she received nine pins for varsity level play in tennis, basketball, and lacrosse. As a member of the varsity lacrosse team in 1995, Jennifer was recognized with the outstanding team award. For her skill as a tennis player, she received the Francis F. Kennedy Award in 1994 and was recognized as an AIS All-Star in 1994. The tennis team took top honors for SPSG as the “B” Conference Champions in 1993. In addition, Jennifer’ skill on the basketball court brought her unparalleled acclaim. In four years of varsity level play, Jennifer was named the most improved player 1993; the best defensive player 1994; and the best offensive player 1995. As a senior, she was recognized as an AIS All-Star and received the McCormick Unsung Hero Award. To cap her incredible high school athletic career, she was awarded the Marjan Lotfi Athletic Award on Class Day. Jennifer attended Cornell University, and for her first year of play on the Cornell basketball team, she received the team spirit award. Jennifer continues to challenge herself, competing in six (Olympic distance) triathlons since 2004; three in 2007. Jennifer is an attorney with Tishman Realty.

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Sarah Oglesby Slomkowski ’97
Field Hockey, Basketball, Soccer, Lacrosse

Sarah entered SPSG in 1991 as a seventh grader and immediately established herself as an amazing athlete in field hockey, basketball, soccer, and lacrosse, receiving her varsity sash in ninth grade. A starter for four straight years in field hockey, Sarah made the AIS All-Star teams two years in a row, was recognized as MVP, and made the All-Metro 1st Team in 1995 and 1996. In 1996, she was named All-City County Player of the Year and made the All-State First Team. As captain of the 1996 SPSG Field Hockey Team, Sarah led her team to the AIS Championship with the best team record in the school’s history. A four-year starter in lacrosse, she received MVP recognition in 1996 and was named to the 1st team All-City County. Sarah went on to play Division I field hockey and lacrosse for Georgetown University. Named to the Senior All-Star Team in 2000 by the Washington Field Hockey Coaches Association Division I, Sarah also received the Maralyn Dodd Loyalty and Service Award, and ranks 14th in Georgetown’s history with 43 career points. In lacrosse, Sarah was selected for the Big East Second Team All Conference and named US Lacrosse Honorable Mention All American. In 2000, she received the Bulldog Award, was named scholar athlete, and made the South I Team. She is listed on the Georgetown All-Time Leaders list for draws. Following graduation, Sarah co-coached the SPSG 2002 varsity field hockey championship team, and in 2005, served as coordinator for the World Cup Lacrosse Tournament. Currently she is the Director of Special Events at US Lacrosse.

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Annie Smallwood Morse ’95
Coach

Annie Smallwood Morse came to St. Paul’s School for Girls in 1989 as a ninth grader and a legacy—the daughter of Lannie Semans Smallwood ’66. As a student, Annie played both field hockey and soccer at the varsity level, and was the varsity assistant lacrosse coach during her senior year. A t the University of Miami at Ohio where she majored in communications and played lacrosse all four years, Annie was co-captain of her team for three years. In 1997 and again in 1999, Miami of Ohio won the Midwest Women’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association Championship. After graduating, Annie returned to SPSG first as the junior varsity lacrosse coach and then in 2001, as the school’s varsity field hockey coach. Her SPSG career highlights include two IAAM Division A co-championships and in 2003 the Division A League and Tournament championships. Annie also received back to back nods as the Baltimore City/County Coach of the Year in 2002 and 2003, and 2003, she was named the All-Metro Field Hockey Coach of the Year. Currently, Annie works in the SPSG Advancement Office as Director of Annual Giving. As an alumna, a legacy, and a coach, Annie is in the unique position to bring years of SPSG athletic traditions to new generations of Gators.

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1996-1997 Varsity Field Hockey Team

In the fall of 1996, the Baltimore Sun’s Katherine Dunn wrote, “The No. 3 Gators rode two years worth of determination to their first Association of Independent Schools A Division field hockey title, winning yesterday’s tournament final, 2-0, over No. 5 Roland Park.” That victory topped off a spectacular winning season (11-0-5) that made SPSG field hockey the hottest team in the area. Coming off a heart-breaking loss (1-0) to Garrison Forest the year before, the players were determined that 1996 would bring them the championship. They adopted the motto, “Focus, Finish,” at the beginning of the season, and they confidently set out to devour opponents. “Shoot, shoot, shoot,” said forward Mills Hook, describing coach Eileen Alban’s game plan. Along the way, the team beat Garrison Forest, a very sweet victory, in the quarter-finals, and then Bryn Mawr in the semi-finals. Names of players—Sarah Oglesby, goalie Joanna Renner, Michelle Wachter, Libby Hoyle, Mills Hook, Marcela Sardi, Kate Ahearn, Erin Oglesby, Alyson Bowyers and Allison and Hilary Polk-Williams—appeared regularly on local sport pages. Hundreds of fans—parents, faculty, alumnae, students—were on hand to watch in intense anticipation as the Gators fought hard and well to defeat Roland Park and capture the title with Mills Hook and Michelle Wachter driving in the goals. The girls were skilled and talented, but the real strength was in the team. All-Metro midfielder Sarah Oglesby summed it up when she said, “It feels great because everybody contributed and that’s what our team is all about.”
 

Amy Ward ’87

Jennifer Landsman Erdman ’00

Jessica DiCicco Ferrill ’89

Karen Shackelford Moore ’74

Margaret Spies Freeman ’01

Tehma Smith Wilson ’96

Suzanne Friedrich, Coach

Lynnie Cook, Coach

1966 lacrosse team

Mills Hook Dancy ’97, Lacrosse

Samantha Murray ’97, Badminton

Allison Schindler D’Anjou ’02, Lacrosse

Danica Strutt MacMullan ’02, Lacrosse

Kristin Connelly ’03, Field Hockey

Megan DelMonte McKenzie ’05, Lacrosse

The 1989 Lacrosse Team

Holly and John Cole
Stacey Ellen Hooper ’72 †
Susan Allen Kamauff
Ron and Debbie Landsman
Cal Ripken Jr.
Johnny Unitas
Warren Wagner
Emily Watts