SLIAC Softball: Gorloks Take Control
Over the last few weeks, we have been looking at the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference spring sports history. Each week we examine the 30 years of SLIAC history, culminating with a send-off for SLIAC seniors of each spring sport. This week we are looking at SLIAC softball and the 2000s. The SLIAC did not hold a softball tournament from 2000-04 but that did not stop programs from continuing their success.
As we enter a new century the Webster University softball program had quickly established its dominance. The Gorloks first fielded a team in 1997 but wasted no time in building a championship-caliber program. They won the final two SLIAC Tournament Championships and regular-season titles of the 90s and extended their regular-season title streak to six straight seasons by winning the first four of the '00s. Webster won 30 or more grames in seven of eight seasons from 1998 through 2005 under head coach Craig Walston. After making the NCAA Division III National Tournament in the final two years of the previous decade, the Gorloks would advance to three more at the start of the '00s; picking up wins in each of their appearances. In 2002 the Gorloks advanced to the round of 16, the farthest any SLIAC team has ever advanced at nationals.
The SLIAC reintroduced its postseason tournament in 2005, just in time for the return of another program's dominance; Fontbonne University. Fontbonne already showed success in 2003, reaching the national tournament and picking up a win over Washington University-St. Louis. The Griffins, who had won back-to-back regular-season titles a decade earlier celebrated the return of the tournament by winning back-to-back titles in 2005 and 2006 thanks to standouts Lauren Austin, Annie Dillinger, and Ashley Weaver; with the two latter earning All-America honors in 2006.
Webster though did not relinquish their SLIAC dominance easily, capturing two more tournament titles before the end of the decade. The Gorloks closed out the '00s with championships in 2007 and 2009 behind a strong core of Gail Vogt, Kelsey Washam, and Dana Vahey; a trio of players that took home the SLIAC Player of the Year award in three straight seasons to close out the decade. The Gorloks returned to nationals in both 2007 and 2009, closing out the decade with three more wins in the 2009 tournament to advance to the round of 16 for the second time in the decade.
Maryville University, who departed from the SLIAC in 2009, got one more SLIAC Championship during the 2008 season, preventing the Gorloks from a three-peat. The Saints also boasted the first All-America selections in SLIAC history with Jennifer Kypta earning the honor in 2003. Two more Saints, Brianne Haas and Marissa Essner picked up the honors in 2005 while Haas became the first repeat All-American after also receiving the nod in 2006.
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