Louisville Field Hockey Celebrates 50 Years and More
July 08, 2026 | Field Hockey
The 2026 University of Louisville field hockey season will mark a time of celebration and appreciation as the program marks its 50th season as an NCAA Division I sanctioned sport.
The 50th season is impressive enough for a sport which only currently fields 83 teams on the Division I level, field hockey is actually one of the oldest women’s sports at the University of Louisville.
The Fall Term of 1927 was the first year that field hockey was played at the University of Louisville. That year U of L watched as a young team that played with tremendous enthusiasm, albeit without a coach until 1928 when Miss Lillian (Tucky) Sanders took over.
In 1928 after winning their first two local games, the team embarked on what was then considered a milestone when the team traveled to Nashville to play Peabody College. This trip to Nashville was the first ever taken by a Southern girls’ hockey team. Games were almost exclusively played with local teams. In this respect U of L had taken a jump on the other Southern schools. Eventually, women’s field hockey became a varsity sport along with women’s basketball, tennis, volleyball, and gymnastics.
In the early days, the program looked to its matriarch, Mrs. Sherrill Brakmeier. Affectionately known as ‘Mrs. B,’ she served as head coach of the Field Hockey team for more than 25 years and was a pioneer in women’s athletics, paving the way for many who followed.In 1983, she became the first woman to be inducted into the University of Louisville Athletic Hall of Fame.
In 2012, the UofL field hockey program dedicated its locker room to her in conjunction with her 90th birthday (August 25). She made a point of attending at least one field hockey game every year and always met with the team after cheering them on.
After making the move from a club sport to a varsity sport in 1972, UofL’s field hockey success rose in 1976 under the direction of coach Sandy McLaughlin Tabler.
Described by her players as someone who was an amazing motivator and made you want to be a better person, McLaughlin Tabler recalls those days of growing the program as a labor of love. She searched for anyone with experience and invited them to bring a friend or two. It was also a tall task to get the grass cut to an appropriate length. The team spent the first 10 minutes of each practice making sure the field was playable which typically meant clearing rocks off.
Under McLaughlin Tabler’s tutelage, the Cardinals had an impressive run with three Kentucky Women’s Intercollegiate Conference (KWIC) championships, a runner-up finish and represented the KWIC at the Southern Region II Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) tournament twice.
The addition of then-assistant coach Debbie Condreva helped propel the Cardinals' early success.
According to McLaughlin Tabler, “Since I didn’t play field hockey in college, I was always cognizant of how much I didn’t know; so I always wanted to learn more in order to teach my players, and I wanted to bring in people that could teach them more. Debbie was the best player in the State at that time, and I wanted my players to learn from the best! So I did everything I could to get her here at Louisville, and it turned out to be one of my best decisions ever! Besides her knowledge of the game and her high level of skills… she brought laughter and fun! Debbie was always laughing and joking around, getting the players to laugh; which balanced out my high level of seriousness. Our team had a lot more fun and was more successful after Coach Condreva came aboard!”
Sherry Effinger Brown and Terry Vogt also brought additional spark to the team, adding offensive firepower with Effinger Brown still listed among the top scorers in program history and was inducted into UofL Athletics Hall of Fame in 1992.
[In the early years] our players didn’t get any scholarships. Most of the team had jobs on weekends when we weren’t playing. They didn’t get any fancy uniforms, cleats or sticks. Everyone was out there because they LOVED Field Hockey; they LOVED to compete; and they LOVED each other! We had no pressure except for the pressure we put on ourselves; and we had so, so much FUN!Coach Sandy McLaughlin Tabler
School records indicate that the Cards competed in the KWIC from 1976-82. Louisville played as a Midwest Independent team from 1984-93 and joined the Mid-American Conference in 1994.
Condreva, who had served as an assistant under McLaughlin, took over the reins as the Cardinals’ head coach from 1981-84 and Cheri Hauber guided the team in 1985 and 1986.
Theresa Wessel Young, who played for the Cardinals from 1982-86 reminisces about her years on the team.
“When I was a player, our games and practices were held at the old Parkway Field. Between the passing trains, the smell from the Purina plant and its towering silos, the tall grass, and limited funding, it wasn't exactly a state-of-the-art facility. Yet somehow, we remained competitive. Some of my favorite memories are from our trips to St. Louis, where we had the opportunity to play on artificial turf at the Anheuser-Busch fields. Our coach, Debbie Condreva, always made sure the team enjoyed at least one dinner each season at Stan Musial's Restaurant, a tradition we all looked forward to. Team travel was very different then. We piled into two 15-passenger vans packed with goalie equipment, sticks, balls, and each player's gear. It was crowded, but those trips helped build the camaraderie that made our teams special.”
The arrival of Louisville football coach Howard Schnellenberger in 1985 brought additional opportunities with access to the weight room and training facilities. Young recalls it as turning point during her time as a student-athlete and impactful for the program during her coaching career which spanned from 1987 through 1991.
As an assistant coach and later as head coach, I watched our athletes become stronger, faster, and more committed to field hockey as a year-round sport.Theresa Wessel Young (Head Coach, 1987-91)
During Young’s time as a head coach, UofL was still competing as a Midwest Independent school and Young was working diligently with then-Athletic Director Bill Olsen to prepare the program to join a field hockey conference, a goal that was not realized until the 1994 season when Louisville became an affiliate member of the Mid-American Conference.
The next installment of UofL Field Hockey’s history celebration will be available soon.
