Trish Bostrom, a former University of Washington tennis standout, was officially recognized as an All-American on March 29, more than five decades after her collegiate accomplishments. The ceremony took place at the Conibear Shellhouse, where Bostrom received a Legacy Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) All-American award and had her banner unveiled.
The recognition addresses a long-standing gap in acknowledging women athletes from the pre-Title IX era who were not eligible for such honors during their college years. This move is seen as an important step in recognizing contributions by female athletes who helped pave the way for future generations.
“It was a tremendous celebration,” said Bostrom, now 74. “Many past members of the men’s and women’s teams came, and it was extremely exciting.” She added, “They had been working on this for a while. It had taken so many years, I kind of thought it would never happen.”
Bostrom’s recognition comes from her performance at the 1971 Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) national championships in Las Cruces, New Mexico, where she reached the singles quarterfinals and ranked among the top 20 nationally. Her name will now appear alongside other Husky ITA All-Americans at Nordstrom Tennis Center.
Karen Baebler, University of Washington Associate Athletic Director for Sports Operations, said: “When she competed, there were no women’s All-Americans…All these years Trish was not called an All-American or had a banner for 55 years.” Baebler also said that discussions with coaches and administrators over time highlighted that this omission did not seem right given Bostrom’s standing as one of the country’s top players.
Mary Schutten and Baebler conducted extensive research to provide documentation to the ITA about Bostrom’s collegiate success. Schutten described tracking down newspaper articles and archival material as “a treasure hunt,” adding: “Most of all it was really a pleasure to put it all together.” Baebler explained that official designation required collaboration with both NCAA committees and ITA processes.
Bostrom expressed gratitude toward those who made her recognition possible: “I’m very grateful and thankful to Mary and Karen for all of this effort…It took Mary to do all of this hard-nosed research, and it took Karen all of her work to bring it to the ITA and say this injustice should be rectified.” She also reflected on how Title IX changed opportunities in athletics: “I speak wherever people ask me to speak…on equity and Title IX…and how it has made leaders for our country.”
Looking ahead, Bostrom hopes other pre-Title IX athletes will receive similar honors. She said: “The ripple effect is going to be very huge…I’ve already had the fun of calling my friends who I know reached the quarterfinals…and informing them that they are All-Americans now.”
