Alexa Martin, staff writer

During Women’s History Month, we wanted to not only highlight the big names in Women’s Sports such as Serena Williams, Alex Morgan, and so many other influential female athletes. This time, we wanted to take a look closer to home and where better to look than here at Augsburg University. Augsburg is home to three of the first women’s teams in the state of Minnesota. The three teams are women’s hockey, women’s lacrosse, and women’s wrestling. All of these teams are the first women’s teams in the state of Minnesota at the collegiate level regardless of private or public school and division. 

The first team that made history was the Augsburg Women’s Hockey team in 1995. In 1995, the team made their first appearance on the ice, becoming the first ever women’s hockey team in Minnesota history, with Head Coach Jill Pohtilla starting the team off and serving as head coach from 1995 all the way to the 2009-2010 season. From there, current Head Coach Michelle McAteer started off her career at Augsburg during the 2010-2011 season, leading the team to the MIAC Playoffs six times. This team started a wave of college-level programs across the state and in turn, grew the sport of hockey for women across the state of Minnesota. 

The second team to make history as the first in the sport’s history was Augsburg Women’s Lacrosse Team. The program was added in 2014, with Head Coach Kathryn Knippenberg, who is the current head coach for the program today. Many schools are following in its footsteps and starting their own women’s lacrosse programs. Though the team is still young, they are well established and are looking forward to continuing their legacy while remembering their roots. 

The final team that has paved the way for women’s sports is the Augsburg Women’s Wrestling Team. They are the youngest program of the three, starting their first year being the 2019-2020 season. With head coach for the first two seasons being Max Mejia, and now the current Head Coach Jake Short for this season. Each season has multiple All-Americans and even some National Champions. This program has started off strong and is a force to be reckoned with, and there is no doubt that we will see more women’s wrestling programs in Minnesota, and Augsburg’s program will be looked at as the one that has led the charge for the sport of women’s wrestling.