Campus Connection

Former Head Baseball Coach Bill Terry dies

Former UWL Head Baseball Coach and Instructor Bill Terry, 90, died Oct. 8 at the Spring Brook Assisted Living Center in Onalaska. He is survived by his wife, Margaret, and one son, Larry.

Terry served as UWL’s head baseball coach from 1969-79, finishing 199-144 (.580) in 11 seasons — third in school history and 10th in WIAC history. His teams recorded nine winning seasons, including a then school-record 26 games in 1977. They won seven conference and four NAIA District titles. 

UWL made six appearances in NAIA playoffs (’72, ’75, ’76, ’77, ’78, ’79). The team advanced to the NAIA World Series in 1979, placing fifth. A total of 34 players earned all-conference honors under Terry. 

Inducted into the UWL Wall of Fame in 1994, Terry was an assistant UWL football coach from 1961-67. Ten of his players signed professional baseball or football contracts. Along with coaching, he assisted the student teaching program from 1968-89.  

Terry was inducted into the State Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame in 1986 and the La Crosse Area Baseball Hall of Fame in 2019. In June 2009, UWL announced plans to cut the sport and Terry spearheaded an effort raising more than $175,000 to save the program. He was the 2010 La Crosse Tribune Sportsperson of the Year for those efforts.

Another Eagle Olympian

Natalie Sims, ’21, at Paralympic Games Tokyo

UWL's Natalie Sims represented the U.S. at the Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 in summer 2021. Sims placed seventh in the 100 freestyle (1:03.85) and eighth in the 400 freestyle (4:58.55). She was the lone U.S. swimmer to compete in the 100 freestyle final. She also competed in the 200 I.M. preliminaries (2:43.95). 

It was her second appearance in the Paralympic Games after finishing eighth in the 400 freestyle in 2016. Sims also swam in the 100 backstroke, 100 freestyle and 100 butterfly there.   

Sims attended Edina, Minnesota, High School and competed on the YWCA's Minneapolis Otters, where she first qualified for the Paralympics. She was named to the U.S. Paralympic Swimming Emerging Team and competed in the 2014 Can-Am Paralympic Championships.

Sims earned a bachelor's degree from UWL in May 2021, majoring in communications and minoring in sociology and leadership development. She competed in the 50, 200 and 500 freestyle, as well as the 100 butterfly and 200 I.M. for the Eagles. 

International competition isn’t new to Sims. She earned four medals at the Lima 2019 Para Pan American Games, including a gold in the 100-meter freestyle. She was on the 4x100-meter relay that earned a silver and secured two individual bronze medals in the 100-meter butterfly and 200-meter individual medley.

NCAA Woman of the Year

Former track & field standout recognized

Former UWL track & field standout Savannah Rygiewicz was named the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference nominee for the 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year Award. The Wind Lake native earned three career NCAA III All-America outdoor and four career indoor honors. She earned 18 USTFCCCA All-Midwest Region career accolades. She was one of 152 conference-level nominees for the 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year Award.

Athletes earn academic accolades

UWL student-athletes earned the 2020-21 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference All-Academic Award. They compiled a 3.433 cumulative grade point average with the overall student body at 3.356.  

It’s the 19th time in 20 years the UWL student-athlete GPA was higher than the combined student GPA .

The Eagles have the highest combined GPA in the WIAC in 19 of the last 22 years. UWL had 415 student-athletes with a cumulative GPA of 3.000 or higher in 2020-21.

Fall 2021 team standings