By Paul Freelend skiff staff The three members of the Volley Frogs' 1999 senior class will leave a team well on its way to establishing a presence in the collegiate volleyball scene. With home wins against Rice and Tulsa last weekend, seniors Jessica Rangel, Jill Pape and Stacy Olson ended their collegiate careers with a display of natural talent and a passion for pioneering. When the trio entered TCU, however, the volleyball landscape was quite different. "At the time our recruiting pitch was getting to be a part of history and being a part of something special," head coach Sandy Troudt said. "My offer was to get a chance to play the best teams and if the players listened to me, they could be the best." Though the seniors' destination was the same, some of the angles they took to arrive on the TCU campus were very different. "I came to TCU because of a combination of different things," Olson said. "I had a couple of scholarship offers from Division II colleges but TCU was in a good conference, and I had a chance of playing as a freshman." "I had already gone on a couple of recruiting trips out of state," Rangel said. "I wanted to stay in state, though, and I wanted to go to a smaller university. "At TCU I had a chance to make a difference as a freshman and play in a talented conference." Troudt, who already had her eye on her current seniors, saw a wealth of talent in the guise of her newest recruits. "We brought in Jill not only because of her athletic talents but because of her personality, as well," Troudt said. "She loves to compete and we felt that she could develop into the leader that she has become. "We thought that she could survive in the (Western Athletic Conference) even though we were young and she enjoys teeing up against the best teams that are out there. "Jessica had a lot of athletic ability when we found her. She was quick and had the best vertical jump out there. She needed work on her back row skills, though, which is ironic since she's been playing back row almost full time this year. "Stacy started as a non-scholarship player and we couldn't offer her anything more than a position. I was just amazed by her energy and work ethic, though. She will go to any length to make herself and her team better." TCU Volleyball was born in 1996 and debuted with Rangel, Pape and Olson on the Division I circuit. However, life wasn't all fun and games for TCU's first freshman volleyball class. "My first thoughts were 'Oh my gosh, this is harder than I thought,'" Olson said. "I didn't know anyone except my teammates for the entire fall semester. We had to balance everything that was going on and there was no way we could have imagined how hard that would be. "Our freshman year was totally different than any other year any freshman will ever have in this program." Normally teams that have a number of different personalities tend to clash and create discord in the locker room. However, in TCU's case, the exact opposite is true, Pape said. "As a group we tend to balance each other out," Pape said. "All three of us are so different that we compliment one another. We all bring energy and effort to the table." The impact the balance effort brought is not lost on Troudt, who turned to the record books to show just how important her seniors have been to the program. "The seniors have been the program," Troudt said. "The seniors have been the record book. I told the 1996 team that they would be pioneers and these three are the first to complete a full four years in our program." Pape, Rangel and Olson dominate the tops of the TCU record books with two matches to go, holding 19 school records between them. Olson holds the record for most aces in a match, is second in career aces and career matches played and fourth in career digs. Rangel holds the lead in blocks in a match and career blocks, is second in season blocks and third in career matches played. Pape, in addition to holding 16 school records, holds spots on the WAC (seventh in career aces, ninth in career kills and eleventh in career digs) and NCAA record books (fifth in season attacks per game), as well. "I don't know if there is enough time to say how much I've learned from these three," Troudt said. "Even as long as I've coached, I don't think I ever appreciated my upperclassmen until I started all freshmen here. "Also, I also learned that I don't have to yell and scream to get players to hate losing. They already knew that despite the odds we faced night in and night out." As they bid farewell to their days at the Rickel Building, the Volley Frog seniors will take with them many lessons learned throughout their years at TCU. "I learned a lot of discipline and I learned how not to handle situations more so than how to handle situations," Pape said. "I learned how to accept a role, no matter what it has to be. "We proved that we could stick through the tough times and now we are able to say that we are almost like the founders of this program, being the only three players left out of the original 15."
Paul Freelend
Frogs join first conference in their athletic tenure 1909 TCU became a member of the Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association. TCU men's basketball team doesn't take the court. 1910-1913 For a four-year span, the Frogs did not field a men's basketball team. It is the first time TCU lacked a basketball squad since its induction 91 years ago. Football team just misses an undefeated season 1912 The Frogs' finished the season 8-1, with its only loss coming against the University of Texas. Frogs go to the Dixie Bowl in Fort Worth 1920 The post-World War I squad produced TCU's best record to date, winning nine straight games in the regular season. However, the post season bowl contest against Centre College ended in a 63-7 Frog defeat. TCU joins the newly-formed Southwest Conference 1923 The Frogs were admitted into the SWC. In their initial football season in the SWC, the Frogs played three games and posted a 2-1 record. Frog basketball player named All-SWC twice 1925 Tim George, a center on the TCU basketball squad, repeated as an All-SWC performer. Baseball team produces major-league talents 1909-1912 Louis Drucke played his entire career for the New York Giants. 1912 Ona Dodd and Jim Haislip each played a single season of major-league baseball. 1912-1917 Claude Cooper had a six-year career for the Giants and the Philadelphia Athletics. 1921-1932 Pete Donahue played for four different teams over his 12-year tenure in Major League Baseball. 1923-1926 Boob Fowler played in Boston and Cincinnati during his career. |
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