The 1961 men’s tennis team distinguished itself both for
its overall winning record and for its finish at the NAIA
tournament. The Pirates finished with a match record of 18-3,
defeating many larger schools including Washington State (twice),
Gonzaga (twice), Idaho, Montana State and Oregon State.
Whitworth went on to finish fourth at the NAIA tournament in
Oklahoma City, where Marsh Reynolds and Bob Quall advanced to the
semifinals of the doubles tournament and Reynolds made the
quarterfinals of the singles tournament. The members of the
team were: Kay Barney, Dave Deal, Bob Duryee, Jon Ferguson,
Fred Grimm, Jay Jackson, Bob Quall, Marshall Reynolds, and Richard
Riley.
Allison (Nani) Blake initiated the rise of Whitworth
College’s swimming team into a regional and national small
college power by becoming the first individual national champion in
the school’s history. As a junior in 1993 Blake won the
NAIA title in the 1,650-yard Freestyle. Her winning time of
17:30.94 was the fifth fastest in NAIA history at the time and
remains a Whitworth record and the fastest time ever by a Northwest
Conference Swimmer. She qualified for the NAIA championships
in the maximum of 12 individual events over her four-year career
and scored in 11 of those races. She was an All-American (top
six finish) six times. Also in 1993, Blake was the NCIC
Women’s Swimmer of the Year after winning all three of her
individual events at the conference championship meet, including a
record-setting performance in the 1,650.
Norm Harding is one of the greatest all-around athletes in
Whitworth history. As a baseball player he helped lead the
Pirates to the the 1960 NAIA title. As a junior and senior in
1961 and 1962 he was the team’s Most Valuable Player.
In football Harding was a First Team All-Evergreen Conference
linebacker in 1960, when the Pirates advanced to the NAIA
semi-finals. In 1961 he led the team with four
interceptions. He was a varsity letter-winner on the
basketball team in 1960. In 1962 he signed a professional
contract with the New York Yankees’ organization and played
two seasons of minor league baseball (Greensboro, North Carolina in
1962 and Rock Hill, South Carolina in 1963) before an injury to his
throwing arm forced his retirement. Before attending
Whitworth, Harding was a First Team All-City League selection in
football, basketball and baseball at Rogers (Spokane HS).
After his minor league career, Harding went on to play two seasons
of semi-professional football, become a standout fast pitch
softball player in the Northwest, and one of the top amateur
bowlers in the region with nine 300 games to his credit.
Jennifer Tissue is the most recent Pirate graduate, man or
woman, to be drafted by a major professional league. In 2000
Tissue was selected in the inaugural draft of the WUSA by the
Boston Breakers, for whom she played for one season. As a
soccer player at Whitworth, Tissue set individual scoring records
that have not been challenged by any soccer player in Whitworth
history. She holds Pirate records for goals in a season (20),
goals in a career (60), assists in a season (14), points in a
season (54), points in a career (145). Tissue led the Pirates
to NCIC titles in 1993 and 1996. She was a four-time First
Team All-Conference selection and was the NCIC Player of the Year
in 1995 and 1996. She was an NAIA All-American in 1996.
As a basketball player, Tissue scored 1,199 career points and set
Pirate records for free throw percentage (86.8%) and field goal
percentage (56.8%) in a single season. In 1995-96, Tissue helped
the Pirates make the second round of the NAIA Division II
tournament.
