Women Can Play

"Show me the rules. Show me where it says women can't play."

That was the winning argument put before an ump who initially objected when UIC alumna Sandy Wichelecki took the field with her male colleagues for a company softball game. Never mind that Sandy set - and still holds - two Flames Softball career batting records. Or that she played a mean infield.

"Our opponents thought they could take advantage of a woman at third base," Sandy recalls of that game. "After they shot a few down my way, and I caught them all, they changed their minds."

Sandy is no stranger to changing minds about what a woman can or can't do and she's firmly committed to supporting UIC's Athletics Department. Her giving has helped fund student-athlete scholarships and softball's operating budget. Most recently she contributed to the Ann Baum Scoreboard campaign for the softball field.

She entered UIC in the late 1970's on a softball scholarship, and quickly made her academic mark as one of only a handful of female structural engineering students. She recalls that, more often than not, she was the only woman in the lab or lecture hall.

Sandy Wichelecki

The mix of athletic camaraderie and academic rigor suited Sandy well. Her success on the softball field helped to boost her confidence in the classroom. "I played ball all my life. Whatever ball there was; whatever shape it was," Sandy explains, "and that usually meant keeping up with the guys. So it never occurred to me that I couldn't do something."

"Sandy has had tremendous impact on our program," says Michelle Venturella, women's head softball coach. "She's helped us financially, taken the time to mentor these young women and reminded us what it means to give back to those who have given you an opportunity."

"It's important to provide support for women to both get an education and be able to play," says Sandy. "That balance was such a gift for me. I needed both to make it through." 

Learn more about the Brilliant Futures campaign.