Reporter Volume 25, No.16 February 10, 1994

By Bethany Gladkowski
Reporter Staff
	
It was a breakfast of champions as U.S. Olympic Soccer team hopeful
Jennifer Mead spoke to nearly 200 UB women athletes and athletic
administrators during a breakfast held Feb. 3 for National Girls and
Women in Sports Day (NGWSD). 
	The Student Association and the university's NGWSD committee
sponsored the breakfast banquet in Alumni Arena to recognize the
talents and contributions of all women athletes, especially those at
UB. 
	Mead began by telling the athletes, "you could all be in my
position." Her promising career as a star basketball player and
starting goalie for Providence College, Mass. was interrupted when,
during her sophomore year in January 1992, she was diagnosed with a
congenital heart defect. She underwent open-heart surgery in February
1992; ten days after the operation she was on the benches cheering on
her teammates. In four months she had made a full comeback to sports.
That season she was named to the Northeast All-America team as well as
the first-team All New England selection for soccer. Her average score
for basketball that season was 10.1 points, with a per-game average of
7.4. In January, 1994, Mead accepted the Honda-Broderick Cup
Inspirational Award, presented each year to a collegiate woman athlete
who overcomes a personal handicap to contribute to the success of her
team. 
	While referring to her surgery as "just another obstacle" to
overcome, Mead stressed that an athlete's mental attitude is what
makes a difference. She said a strong belief in herself, the ability
to set goals, and not being afraid of failing contributed to her
success.
	Nothing is more important than setting goals, she said. "My
goal through surgery was just to live, and have a heart that works."
Mead said that sometimes people mistake her self-assurance for
cockiness, "But I just see it as self-confidence." 
	As for not winning every game, "It happens to everyone," she
said. "There's always another day and another game." She said that
it's easier to get through the bad games by realizing that after it's
over, you can overlook it and move on to win others.
	She advised, "Give 100 percent now. Even though women's sports
has come so far, it's important that we all make an effort to make it
grow." 
	In an interview after her speech, Mead indicated one of the
ways to help women's sports achieve more status is more widespread
promotion of events. "Most people don't even know that the U.S. Soccer
Team is touring the East Coast. It's hard for women's teams to get the
word out."
	She also said that it is important for grade school female
athletes to have positive role models. "When I was young there were
hardly any women athletes to be role models. I always looked to people
who were more successful than I was and tried to emulate them." 
	Offered two full scholarships from Providence College and
University of North Carolina, Mead chose to play basketball for
Providence College, near her hometown of Raynam, Mass. A strong first
season earned her a spot on the Big East Conference All-Rookie
Basketball Team in 1990. The next year she became starting goalkeeper
for the soccer team in addition to her position with the basketball
team. Now finishing her fourth year playing for Providence, Mead says
the National Soccer Team and training for the Olympics are her
long-term commitments, but she hopes to someday coach college-level
women's soccer.
	Other speakers at the banquet were Nelson Townsend and Emily
Ward, Director and Assistant Director of Athletics, respectively; Vice
President of Student Association Katie Kaney, and Carol Greiner, wife
of UB President William Greiner, who spoke on her own experiences as a
graduated woman athlete.
	Also honored was Betty Dimmick, Associate Director of
Recreational Athletics. Dimmick was presented with the UB Recognition
Award for her service and contributions to the UB Athletics
Department. "We've come from Clark Hall in the 70's to Alumni Arena in
the 90's. I'm proud of the new direction UB sports has taken," she
said.