The 1988-89 women's team was comprised of the following eight players:
Susan Loepp (inducted into the inaugural HOF class),
Laurie Cusick (three-time HS state singles champ, KCAC sgls/doubles champ and undefeated in KCAC )
Joni Graber (HS state sgls and dbls champ, four-time KCAC sgls/dbls champ, undefeated in KCAC career),
Julie Colberg (HS state dbls champ and four-time KCAC sgls and dbls champ)
Mary Kessinger (undefeated KCAC sgls/dbls in 1988-89, Bethel's first District 10 #1 sgls champ [as a senior])
Lori Pauls (undefeated KCAC sgls in 1988-89)
Stephanie Gingerich (undefeated KCAC doubles in 1988-89)
Denetta Decker (four-time letterwinner, competed in NAIA nationals in spring of 1989, future KCAC champ)
An unbiased panel would likely name this 1988-89 as the best/most dominant KCAC champions in conference history. Loepp, Graber, Colberg Pauls, Gingerich and Decker were members of Bethel College's first-ever KCAC championship team in 1987-88. And, then the following year in 1988-89 with the addition of Cusick, and Kessinger, the group of elite women won Bethel's first-ever District 10 title qualifying them for the NAIA national championships.Â
It is noteworthy that Bethel won the district at a time when all the universities/colleges of KS (other than KU, KSU and Wichita State University) were NAIA members . In fact, this Thresher team was strong enough to merit a dual meet with WSU which turned out to be very competitive and resulted in the scheduling of the Shockers in years that followed. Also, during the fall of 1988 season, the Threshers won the prestigious Emporia State and Bethel College invitational tournaments in dominating fashion. In addition, the Bethel women traveled to Topeka and downed Washburn by a 7-2 score.
Bethel's top twenty finish at nationals in 1989 was at a time when the NAIA was much stronger than it is today. Just look at the state of KS and you can see that Emporia State, Washburn and Fort Hays State are now competing at the NCAA Division II level. The migration of NAIA schools to DII, and in some cases all the way to DI (such as Abilene Christian and Incarnate Word in TX), has occurred throughout the nation thus greatly impacting the NAIA national championship tournament.
