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1996 UW-Oshkosh Hall of Fame

OSHKOSH, Wis. (5/5/1996) – The UW-Oshkosh Athletic Hall of Fame increased its membership to 93 with the addition of three former athletic standouts who were inducted during a ceremony held May 5 at The Pioneer Inn in Oshkosh.

The 1996 inductees were Nila Gruenewald, Susan Judge, and Terri Schumacher.

The UW-Oshkosh Athletic Hall of Fame was established in 1974 to give tribute and deserved recognition to former athletes, coaches and friends of the University. It is also intended to enhance school tradition by honoring those people who have shown such exceptional ability while on the campus and since graduation.

Few women have excelled in softball the way Nila Gruenewald did at UW-Oshkosh. As the first NCAA Division III All-American, first four-time NCAA Division III All-Region selection and first four-time All-WWIAC women's softball honoree in school history, Gruenewald made her mark as the most dominating pitcher in the history of UW-Oshkosh women's softball.

Gruenewald played on UW-Oshkosh women's softball teams from 1982-85 and was captain her junior and senior seasons. She helped the Titans to the first WWIAC softball championship in 1984 and received CoSIDA Academic All-America honors in 1985.

Gruenewald ranks 10th in career strikeouts, 12th in career shutouts and 16th in career innings pitched in NCAA Division III history. She is the holder of school season and career records for victories, innings pitched, shutouts and strikeouts.

On May 4, 1985, against UW-Stevens Point, Gruenewald put herself as a mention in the NCAA Division III record book with 13 strikeouts. She ranks 14th on the NCAA Division III all-time list for innings pitched with 553.1 over her four years and UW-Oshkosh. She pitched 244 of those innings her senior year, the ninth-highest total in NCAA Division III history. Her 177 strikeouts and 14 shutouts in 1985 place her 14th and sixth, respectively, in the NCAA record book. During her four-year career she struck out 403 batters, the seventh-highest total in NCAA Division III history and had 26 shutouts, which ranks ninth on the all-time list.

Following her graduation from UW-Oshkosh in 1985 with a bachelor's degree in accounting, the Bonduel native went on to receive her master's degree from the University of Southern California in 1992. Gruenewald currently lives in Los Angeles, where she is the accounting manager for the largest division of Coca-Cola Enterprises in the nation. She also continues to play softball in Los Angeles and is a member of the Los Angeles City Scholars, which provides programs for inner-city children.

At a time when opportunities for women in sports were few and far between, Susan Judge excelled and paved the way for the women of today and the future of women's sports. There were no women's intercollegiate sports at the time, but the Wautoma native took every opportunity she could get her hands on.

These UW-Oshkosh opportunities included four years on the swimming & diving team of which she was captain her senior season, four years on the field hockey and three years on the bowling team. During her three years on the bowling team, Judge was on the ACU championship squad and was the ACU's double champion in 1965. She was a member of all-star teams in basketball, volleyball, softball and field hockey at UW-Oshkosh and set several Albee Hall pool records in relays and individual events.

Since her graduation from UW-Oshkosh in 1967, Judge has taken her love of athletics and helped advance the future of women's sports in the Fox Valley. She has established a very successful and distinguished career as a teacher, coach and administrator. Judge has spent the past 29 years in the Kimberly Area School District, with eight of those years spent as the athletic director, a position she resigned from in 1993.

Before retiring from coaching in 1990, Judge coached high school girls volleyball teams to one state and five conference championship titles. In addition, she was the girls' track & field coach for five years, the final being a conference championship season. She coached freshmen girls basketball for 17 years and compiled five conference championships.

Terri Schumacher's athletic ability soared long before she attended UW-Oshkosh. At Plymouth High School she was an all-conference first team selection in basketball in 1980 and 1981 and received all-state honorable mention recognition in 1981. She was also an all-conference second team honoree in volleyball in 1981. These accolades set the pace for a very successful future in women's athletics.

Upon her graduation from high school, Schumacher attended UW-La Crosse for two years and then transferred to UW-Oshkosh, where she played on the first WWIAC basketball championship team in school history in 1985. She was honored with NCAA Division III All-America first team recognition in 1985 and NCAA Division All-Region and All-WWIAC first team accolades in 1984 and 1985. Schumacher was the first athlete to receive NCAA Division III All-America honors in the WWIAC and UW-Oshkosh history.

In her two years and UW-Oshkosh, Schumacher scored 1,209 points in 47 games played. She is the school's seventh all-time leading scorer and holds the school's game and season records for points, field goals and steals. She was also the WWIAC scoring champion in 1984 and 1985.

During her junior year at UW-Oshkosh, Schumacher led the team with an average of 23.8 points per game. On Feb. 14, 1984, against UW-Green Bay, she broke her previous school record for points in a game with 41 and set the school record for field goals with 19. She also averaged seven rebounds per game and led the team in steals with 48.

As a senior, Schumacher led the team with 710 points and averaged 27.3 per game. She also averaged 9.3 rebounds per outing. Among her 133 steals that season were a school-record 10 in a Dec. 8, 1984, game against Winona State University (Minn.). On Feb. 23, 1985, versus UW-Whitewater, she tied her own field goal record that she set the previous season. Her senior-year performances gained her NCAA Division III Player of the Year honors by the American Women's Sports Foundation.

Schumacher graduated from UW-Oshkosh in 1986 with a bachelor's degree in education. Following graduation, she worked in the Plymouth School District and then at Oshkosh West High School, where she currently serves as girls basketball coach and physical education instructor. Her coaching record includes four regional championships, a sectional championship and a conference championship.