University of Minnesota Athletics
History of Gopher Women's Athletics - 2010s
2011
Haley Spencer (200 breaststroke), Jillian Tyler (100 breaststroke) and Kelci Bryant (1-meter diving) win national titles as Minnesota finishes a program-best ninth at the NCAA Championships. Tyler becomes the first Gopher in any sport to win the same event (100 breaststroke) at four consecutive Big Ten Championships.
2012
Women’s Hockey wins the NCAA crown for the third time, beating Wisconsin 4-2 in the championship game.
2013
Women’s Swimming & Diving conquers the Big Ten for the second straight season.
2013
Women’s Hockey runs the table with a perfect 41-0-0 record to win its second consecutive national title. Amanda Kessel wins the Patty Kazmaier Award as the nation’s top player and the Gophers establish an NCAA record for consecutive victories.
2013
Gymnastics finishes a program-best eighth at the NCAA Championships.
2014
Gopher Athletics established Women Invested in Leadership and Learning (W.I.L.L.) with assistance from the Schwan’s Company to empower young women through a blend of skill and competencies development, customized mentoring and transformational leadership.
2015
Women's hockey returns to the top of the podium for the third time in four years, winning the national title with a 4-1 win over Harvard in the title game at Ridder Arena.
2015
Women's Swimming & Diving wins the Big Ten title for an unprecedented fourth straight year, a first for any women's program in school history.
Kierra Smith (left) wins the 100-yard breaststroke and Yu Zhou (right) takes the 3-meter diving title at the 2015 NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships. Zhou would add a second national title in 2017.
2015
Volleyball wins the Big Ten for the first time since 2002 and makes a run to the NCAA Final Four. Four Gophers earn All-America honors and Daly Santana is named Big Ten Player of the Year. Head coach Hugh McCutcheon is named AVCA National Coach of the Year.
2016
Sarah Wilhite is named the AVCA National Player of the Year and Big Ten Player of the Year. Minnesota advances to the Final Four for the second straight year.
2016
Women’s Hockey wins the NCAA title for the fourth time in five seasons, defeating Boston College 3-1 in the title game.
2016
Rachel Banham becomes the Big Ten’s all-time leading scorer (3,093 points) and ranks sixth in NCAA history. Banham also ties an NCAA record with 60 points in a road game at Northwestern and breaks the school and conference record for season scoring average. She is named a First Team All-American and Big Ten Player of the Year.
2016
Gymnastics goes undefeated in the Big Ten and finishes 12th at the NCAA Championships. Lindsay Mable concludes a remarkable career with three First Team All-America awards.
2017
Softball posts a record 56-5 season and reaches No. 1 in the national rankings for the first time. Sara Groenewegen becomes Minnesota first three-time softball All-American.
2018
The $166 million Athletes Village opens in January.
2018
Lindsay Whalen returns to campus as head coach of the women’s basketball program after an incredible professional career. Whalen won two Olympic gold medals and four WNBA titles with the Minnesota Lynx.
Volleyball wins 18-straight Big Ten matches en route to a 19-1 conference record and a league championship. It marked the program’s third conference title in school history.
Softball wins the Big Ten Tournament for the third straight year and fourth time in five years.
2018
Kaitlyn Long becomes the first thrower to win a national title for Minnesota, winning the weight throw at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
2019
Softball advances to the College World Series for the first time, sweeping LSU in the Regional Final at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium.
2019
Volleyball advances to the NCAA Final Four for the fourth time in the last decade.