DENVER – MSU Denver has for decades been a leader in providing equal opportunities for women in intercollegiate athletics.
Today is the 43rd installment of a 52-part tribute by Roadrunners Athletics to pioneers and leaders in intercollegiate athletics at MSU Denver. The series coincides with the passage of Title IX.
Each Thursday, a key female figure in Roadrunners athletics history will be recognized.
Today, tennis player Jessica Meares is featured.
Meares, whose sister Beck was also one of MSU Denver's all-team greats and was later the Roadrunners' coach, was – like her sister – named to the six-player Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference All-Century Team in 2009.
She helped Roadrunners reach National Championships semifinals in 2003, during four-year run in which the Roadrunners were 73-20 in duals, including 23-1 in RMAC regular-season play, with three RMAC regular-season and tournament championships.
She teamed with sister Beck to win the doubles title at the 2003 ITA Fall Regional, and the Meares sisters were All-RMAC first team in No. 1 doubles all four seasons. They were ranked as high as No. 14 in Division II.
Jessica Meares earned All-RMAC first team honors three times in singles and was second team as a freshman in singles (in 2004, All-RMAC first team, No. 2 singles; in 2003, All-RMAC first team, No. 3 singles; in 2002, All-RMAC first team, No. 4 singles; in 2001, All-RMAC second team, No. 2 singles).
She is the program's all-time leader in doubles wins with 76 and is second in doubles winning percentage at .854 (76-13). She is also ranked fourth in program history in singles wins with 58 and is third in singles winning percentage at .817 (58-13). …The Meares sisters are tied for fist in program history in No. 1 doubles winning percentage at .837 (36-7), and their 23-3 record in doubles in 2003 is the best percentage (.885) in a single season in program history.
Title IX, the groundbreaking law prohibiting sex-based discrimination at schools that receive funding from the federal government, went into effect just over 50 years ago – on June 23, 1972.
