Pacific Lutheran University Athletics

RUTH BABCOCK
(Women's Crew, 1976-80)

Ruth Babcock was a four-year letterwinner for the Lutes. As a freshman she was a member of the Open 4 squad which finished second at the Northwest Regionals. The next three years she was part of the Senior 4 squad which qualified for the national championships all three seasons, placing sixth in 1978 and fifth in 1980. Babcock and Paulette Bergh also won a bronze medal in the varsity pair at the national championships as seniors. After graduating from PLU, she continued her rowing career. In 1983, Babcock, Bergh and Pam Knapp Black won the Senior 4 at the U.S. Nationals and the Canadian Henley. Babcock and Bergh also finished second in the pair's races at the U.S. Nationals and Canadian Henley that same year - missing the title in the Canadian Henley by two-100th's of a second. They won the pair's race at the U.S. Master's Nationals in 1995.

Paulette Bergh transferred to PLU as a sophomore and quickly became an integral part of the Lute crew team. She was a member of the Senior 4 squad which qualified for the national champion-ships three straight seasons, placing sixth in 1978 and fifth in 1980. Bergh and teammate Ruth Babcock won a bronze medal in the varsity pair at the national championships as seniors. Bergh lettered three times, and was a team captain and received the team's Most Inspirational Award her senior year. Bergh continued her rowing career after graduating from PLU, and in 1983 along with Babcock and Pam Knapp Black won the Senior 4 at the U.S. Nationals and the Canadian Henley. Bergh and Babcock also finished second in the pair's races at the U.S. Nationals and Canadian Henley that same year - missing the title in the Canadian Henley by two-100th's of a second. They won the pair's race at the U.S. Master's Nationals in 1995 and Bergh was a member of the Elite 4 squad with won the Canadian Henley title in 1987. She was an assistant coach at Western Washington University for five years (1988-93) and was on the board of directors of the U.S. Rowing Association for four years (1994-97).

Colleen Hacker originally coached field hockey at PLU. In 1981, even though she had not played or coached soccer, Dr. Hacker became the head coach of the new team. The rest is history. In a 15-year span that ended with the 1995 season, Hacker's teams compiled a 233-59-18 record, won the Northwest Conference title 10 times, won five straight NAIA District 1 and NAIA West Region crowns, and played for the NAIA national championship five consecutive years. The Lutes won the national title in 1988, 1989 and 1991, and finished as the runner-up in 1990 and 1992. Her win total remains to this day the NAIA record, and her .781 winning percentage is currently sixth in the NAIA annals. She was named the conference Coach of the Year five times, the NAIA District 1 Coach of the Year seven times, is a four-time NAIA/NSCAA West Region Coach of the Year and three times was named the NAIA/NSCAA National Coach of the Year. Dr. Hacker joined the coaching staff of the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team in 1996 and serves as the team's sport psychologist.

The 1972 PLU yearbook says that Ake Palm "in the last four years has been Mr. Basketball at PLU." He was the Most Valuable Player for the Lutes and a first team All-Northwest Conference pick in his junior and senior seasons, and helped the Lutes win the conference title in 1970. He is seventh all-time in scoring with 1,481 points. The highlight of his career may have been a game against Puget Sound on Feb. 26, 1972, when he tied a school record by making 16 field goals and shot 94.1 percent from the field in the game - a school record that stood for 28 years. He led the team in scoring average his last two seasons and was the top rebounder three straight years. Palm was also a second team all-conference pick as a freshman and received honorable mention all-conference recogni-tion his sophomore season.

Brian Peterson is PLU's only NAIA national champion and two-time NAIA All-American in wrestling. He won the 158 pound title in 1994 after finishing second in 1993 in the 150 pound classification. He also competed at the NAIA National Championships in 1992 at 142 pounds. He fashioned a 43-5 record in 1994, an .896 winning percentage which is the best single-season percentage by a PLU wrestler. His victory total is third all-time, as is his career total of 114 victories. He was named an NAIA All-America Scholar-Athlete in 1993 and 1994, and was a co-winner of PLU's Man of the Year in Sports Award in 1994.

Carol Quarterman Kummerle was a four-time NAIA All-American in women's swimming for the Lutes. In the 1986 through 1989 seasons, she swam in 28 different events at the national meet - the most possible - and finished in the top six 27 times. At the 1986 national meet, she won the 200 yard backstroke title and swam on three national champion relay teams. She won a total of 25 Northwest Conference titles, winning individual championships in four different events and relay titles in five different events. PLU won the team title at the conference meet all four years, did not lose a dual meet in those four seasons, and finished second, fourth, fifth and third, respectively, in the team standings at the national meet. She was a co-winner of the Senior Athlete Award in 1986.