Bio

It's been 20 years since Carolyn (Christiansen) Destache last competed for the UW-Oshkosh women's gymnastics team, but her success as a member of the Titans from 1980-83 still ranks today as one of the finest in school and WIAC history.

Shortly after arriving on the UW-Oshkosh campus from Arlington Heights High School in the northern Chicago, Ill., suburbs, Christiansen immediately made her mark as a top performer and a leader for head coach Phyllis Hardt's Titans.

Christiansen won the WIAC's all-around title as a freshman with a score of 32.46 and helped the Titans to their second of a league-record nine consecutive team championships. Her rookie collegiate season ended with All-America honors in the all-around competition at the AIAW Division III Championship, an event won by UW-Oshkosh. That national championship claimed by the Titans in 1980 was the first in the history of the UW-Oshkosh women's athletics program.

In 1981, Christiansen again won the WIAC's all-around championship and paced the Titans to the league title. The Titans were denied in their quest to repeat as AIAW Division III champion, but it wasn't at the fault of Christiansen, who received All-America honors in the all-around competition, on the balance beam and in the floor exercise.

In 1982, Christiansen became the first person in WIAC history to win three straight women's gymnastics league titles, this time taking the all-around crown with a score of 33.00. Her effort again helped the Titans to the WIAC championship. Christiansen concluded her junior season with an All-America performance in the all-around competition at the AIAW Division III Championship.

Christiansen's final season at UW-Oshkosh resulted in another WIAC championship for the Titans. Individually, she finished second to teammate and eventual UW-Oshkosh Athletic Hall of Fame inductee Debbie Lindemer in the all-around competition at the league event. Christiansen's final performance at the AIAW Division III Championship resulted in All-America honors on the balance beam.

In all, Christiansen's career at UW-Oshkosh includes four conference team championships, one national championship, three conference individual titles and six All-America honors.

Christiansen, a 1983 UW-Oshkosh graduate, lives in Sussex with her husband, Doug, and their two daughters, Nicole and Jamie. Christiansen currently is in her 20th year as the Health Recreation & Fitness Director at the Jewish Community Center of Milwaukee. She also has been associated with a number of community groups in the Milwaukee area, most notably the American Heart Association, American Red Cross, and Girl Scouts of America.