GRANVILLE, Ohio (October 9, 2022) – This year marks the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, a landmark piece of legislation for gender equity.
In recognition of the 50th year of Title IX, Denison University Athletics asks you to join us in our year-long celebration as we recognize and pay tribute to the impact the women of this university have had on the athletic department.
On the ninth of each month from July 2022 to May 2023, Denison Athletics will highlight various female pioneers, former student-athletes, current student-athletes and coaches highlighting their impact on Denison Athletics and their thoughts on Title IX's impact on their lives.
Next up, we have the female student-athletes who competed at Denison during the 1980's after Title IX had already been in place for over a decade.
Kathryn Pongonis '91
Kathryn (Kate) Pongonis played volleyball at Denison from 1987-1990, earing first time All-NCAC as a middle hitter in 1989, followed by second-team honors in 1990. She is currently the only CoSIDA Academic All-American in the history of the Denison volleyball program, earning second-team status in 1990.
Ms. Pongonis is now a Foreign Service Officer with the United States Department of State. She joined the State Department in 1999 and has served in overseas postings in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; Beijing, China (twice); Chengdu, China; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Pretoria, South Africa; Caracas, Venezuela; and Seoul, South Korea. She has had one prior domestic posting in Washington, D.C. in the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration. She is currently serving as a Senior Advisor in the Office of Global Criminal Justice. Prior to joining the State Department Ms. Pongonis was a Hispanic Outreach Attorney with the Atlanta Legal Aid Society in Atlanta, Georgia. She served as an Agriculture Extension volunteer in the United States Peace Corps in Ecuador from 1992-1994. Ms. Pongonis graduated from the University of Cincinnati College of Law in 1997 and was a fellow in the Urban Morgan Institute for Human Rights. Her undergraduate degrees are in Spanish and Economics from Denison University. She is proficient in Mandarin Chinese, Korean, and Spanish. Ms. Pongonis is married to David Foster, a Foreign Service Information Technology Specialist also serving in the State Department. They have two college-aged children.
Q: How did Title IX transform women's sports?
A: Title IX was passed when I was a young girl, so I benefited from its protections my whole life. I do not recall hearing about it or even being aware of it as I was growing up, but looking back, I am thankful it existed to give so many girls and women more equal opportunities to participate in sports and be protected from abuses. The fact that I took it for granted means that in the institutions where I participated in sports, it was well-enshrined and respected.
Q: What do you think the benefits of Title IX were that impacted your experience as a student-athlete at Denison?
A: I believe Denison lived up to the spirit of the law and provided its women's and men's teams with the appropriate funding required by each sport. Our women's volleyball team was well-equipped with everything we needed to perform our best – including the university's commitment to recruit, hire, and retain the best coaches. I was privileged to be coached by Cyndi (Krzystofiak) Holliday and Sara Lee, who continues her service to Denison's teams and Athletic Department today.
Q: As a female student-athlete and now looking back after college, what does Title IX mean to you?
A: Title IX has enabled generations of students to compete on a more even playing field. We raised a daughter, now 19, who participated in swimming, cross country, and track and field, over the course of her academic career. We felt confident she had every opportunity her male counterparts had. The principles of Title IX were so entrenched that we did not ever think to question whether funding was being applied equitably to her teams. This was as it should be. And we can be assured our grandchildren will continue to benefit from the protections of the law.
Anneliese Barris Fierstos '90
Anneliese Barris Fierstos graduated from Denison University with her B.A. in English in 1990. Anneliese swam for Denison from 1986-1990 and was a team captain in 1988 and 1990. She qualified for the NCAA championships all four years on the team and earned 18 All-American Honors.
Anneliese graduated from The John Marshall School of law in 1994, and has practiced law in various capacities since earning her J.D. She is currently of counsel with Brown, Hay and Stephens in Springfield, Illinois.
Anneliese is married to Joseph Fierstos (Class of '98) and they live in Springfield, Illinois. They have two children. Their son, Nathaniel Fierstos, is an officer in the United States Navy and stationed in Coronado, California. Their daughter, Abigail Fierstos, recently graduated from Denison University in 2022, and is attending law school in Chicago, Illinois.
Q: What do you think the benefits of Title IX were that impacted your experience as a student-athlete at Denison?
A: Title IX had a groundbreaking impact on the number of women participating in sports. Swimming & diving was no exception. In 1986 when I started at Denison, the women's swim & dive team had several dedicated and strong female athletes. However, the team was still very small in comparison to the men's team. The men had already had some very successful national teams by that time. On the women's side, we had a few strong individual swimmers, but the NCAA team was very small. I was personally recruited by Lynn Schweizer, who was the head women's coach at the time I was being recruited. Lynn had already started the momentum of building a strong women's program and had already coached several women to NCAA cuts. Lynn's continued involvement in the program helped the women's team recognize their potential to redefine the success of women's swimming & diving at the school.
By the 1980's, Title IX's impact on the country's perception of female participation in athletics inspired more young girls to start swimming as young age groupers. More female athletes had goals that included swimming or diving on college teams. Denison's program was the perfect fit for strong female swimmers and divers who loved their sports and wanted to continue their athletic careers. The men's team had a proven record of success, and recruits who visited the school were able to witness that the women's team was on the same trajectory. The men and women shared coaches, facilities, and practice times. The structure of the program allowed female swimmers the opportunity to train side-by-side with the men and to be pushed to their limits in practices. Denison had the foresight to hire head coaches during my tenure (Richard Burrows and Gregg Parini) who put equal effort in to coaching the men and women, and each made it clear to the athletes that the expectation of excellence and commitment to the team would not be defined by gender.
By 1987, Denison was able to recruit several strong female swimmers and divers into the program, in part, because the pool of interested female athletes was larger, but also because the program treated the men's and women's teams equally. As the team grew in numbers, it grew in strength, and we started to place very well at NCAA's. The women's team began to forge its own identity and, as a team, we felt respected by the athletic department and administration. As a result of those early years, as most know, the women's team has continued to grow in numbers and strength and has become a force to be reckoned with on the national stage. I have been fortunate to have a front row seat the past few years while my daughter was on the team to observe how the Denison women's program continues to grow. The current team has embraced their mission to pursue another national championship through fostering an environment that empowers women to be bold and break new barriers.
From a personal perspective, the opportunity to participate in a program that was growing and improving gave me the opportunity to feel a part of something very special. I do not believe I would have had the same opportunities elsewhere. As an age-group swimmer, I was focused on individual performance and success. At Denison, I was part of a real team. I learned the values of hard work, time management, goal setting and sacrifice. I had the opportunity to be a team captain and learned about leadership, motivating others, and the value in supporting others in achieving their goals. My time with the Denison program played a huge part in forming the person that I am today.
Q: What do you think Denison did right regarding Title IX that other schools struggled with?
A: Simply put, Denison offered opportunity and accessibility. I recognize that Denison, and other Division III programs, had some advantages in embracing Title IX because athletic scholarships did not play a role. However, I believe that Denison uniquely embraced having a variety of women's teams and Denison students respected women who participated in sports. Many of the women that I knew were members of a sports team, giving them the opportunity to experience the same things that I experienced as a swimmer.
Denison University also has a uniquely strong history of placing women in influential roles in the athletic department. Specifically in the swimming & diving program, it placed two strong and successful women in roles which lead to the continued growth of the women's team. As mentioned above, Lynn Schweizer was the catalyst for the early years of the team's success and continued to mentor women's swim and dive even after she left a direct coaching role. As Director of Athletics since 2011-12, Nan Carney-De Bord, has been a strong advocate for all of the athletic teams, but makes her presence known to female swimmers and divers. The impact that these two women have had on hundreds of Denison women athletes should not be underestimated.
My daughter, Abby Fierstos '22, had an opportunity to be a part of Denison women's swimming & diving. I had the opportunity to witness her growth and development into a leader and a team captain while she was a part of the team. The experiences that she had in her leadership roles, and the skills she developed, will be something she will be able to rely on her entire life.
Q: Can you talk about a time in your life where you noticed inequities in sports, how that impacted you and how you handled it?
A: I had to really reflect on this question because when I was a young athlete, I was not truly aware of Title IX and its impact on my sport as an age-group swimmer. I started swimming competitively in 1978 for our local YMCA swim team and by that time our YMCA had already started equalizing accessibility to the sport and to its facilities. However, I did go to an all-girls high school, and we did not have a swim team. We were allowed to represent the school at the IHSA State meet, but we did not have team practices or meets. Our school had a great volleyball team, but the school did not think there were enough girls interested in swimming to budget for a girl's program. The all-boys' school down the street did have a team and they had a real season and a City Championship. The girls were invited to time at the city meet. I remember how exciting it was to watch the boys team cheer for each other and vie for points to win the meet. Until that time, I did not realize that I was missing out on anything.
Being a part of Denison swimming & diving gave me that opportunity, and I think my early experiences helped me embrace the opportunity that was offered. It made me love and appreciate a team atmosphere while inspiring me to work harder out of appreciation for the opportunity of being part of a team.
Q: As a female student-athlete and now looking back after college, what does Title IX mean to you?
A: Statistics clearly demonstrate that Title IX was the catalyst for more young women to not only become involved in sports, but also to set goals and achieve them. My opportunity to participate in college athletics in the Denison environment developed me into the person that I am today. I recognize that the skills I developed through participation in college athletics extended beyond the gym (or pool) and into my adult life.
I believe that through participation in athletics, young women are given opportunities to test their mental and physical strength. Their athletic success builds better self-esteem. They develop confidence and leadership skills. I had the opportunity to coach a high school team for over 13 years, and it was important to me to instill what I learned at Denison though being on a team into my athletes. They learn the value of teamwork and recognize their ability to influence others to work hard toward common goals. These are the lessons that they can take with them into adulthood and will help create more strong female leaders in our country.
Barbara Van Horn Yocum '85
Barbara Van Horn Yocum earned 12 varsity letters while she attended Denison. She received four letters in field hockey from 1981-84. She was an All-NCAC selection as a senior and two of the field hockey squads she played on finished fourth at nationals. Barb earned four additional letters in swimming from 1982-85. She was a team captain during her junior and senior years and qualified for nationals in each of her four seasons. In the spring, Barb spent her time on the lacrosse field, lettering four times from 1982-85 and serving as team captain during her senior year. In 1983, Barb tried out for the United States national lacrosse squad and in 1984 her Denison team finished third in the nation. In 1985, Barb was an All-NCAC standout and a United States Women's Lacrosse Association All-American.
Barb was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority and received the Panhellenic Women's Achievement Award for outstanding contribution to the Denison community. She received a Master of Education degree from Springfield College. At Springfield College, Barb received a Teaching Fellowship and was the assistant men's swimming coach.
Q: What do you think the benefits of Title IX were that impacted your experience as a student-athlete at Denison?
A: At Denison as a student-athlete I was able to compete in three sports all four years. The academic staff was very understanding when I had to miss class for a competition, although I was responsible for any work missed, which is fair. It may have been different for female athletes before Title IX.
Q: What do you think Denison did right regarding Title IX that other schools struggled with?
A: I believe Denison encouraged a strong showing for women's sports and that is why we did so well. In every sport I was involved in, it was the first time the sport Denison had gone to nationals and each year we achieved a higher ranking. It was amazing to see the progress.
Q: Can you talk about a time in your life where you noticed inequities in sports, how that impacted you and how you handled it?
A: Middle school is when I first noticed the different offerings in sports for men compared to women at the recreation program I grew up with. My twin sister and I loved sports. We wanted to play all the time. There were never any "girls only" leagues. We always had to play with the boys. In basketball one year we were the only girls playing in an otherwise all-male league. The boys never passed us the ball, even though we played better than some of them. Eventually we decided we had to take control, so we did. We intercepted passes from our own teammates to other team members and eventually the boys realized we were just as capable as they were and sometimes even better. We had to gain their respect and therefore had to work harder than any guy, just to prove to the whole team we were just as good. This happened again in 1992 when I moved to a small town in Colorado. Again, it was basketball. My friend and I went to play in a "coed" league and again the guys wouldn't include us in the play. They weren't even very good. We solved the problem again by intercepting the ball and having to prove again that we were just as capable. The Recreation Director at the time was very chauvinistic which didn't help. He was one of the players on the court.
Q: As a female student-athlete and now looking back after college, what does Title IX mean to you?
A: Title IX means to me that the country is looking more towards women as equals and giving us the opportunities, we deserve. I also think that maybe the male gender is finally coming around to realizing that women can do things just as well and maybe in some cases better than men. We all have our place and different capabilities. Hopefully the world will one day realize, that yes, women are different than men but in a good way and that we can benefit and learn from each other. We all have different opinions, insights, and social backgrounds. Let's use this to our benefit.
