First Women's Scholarship Athlete Returns To Troy

Barbara Hallquist DeGroot, USC's first women's scholarship athlete, will be joining women's tennis head coach Richard Gallien along with long-time friend Pat Haden as a volunteer assistant coach for the women's tennis program.

Hallquist captured the national collegiate singles title in 1976 and 1977 and played on four national championship teams overall under exemplary USC women's tennis head coach David Borelli.

As the top-ranked Southern California player growing up, Hallquist won two national USTA junior titles, nine national USTA titles overall and was a co-recipient of the USTA Girls' Sportsmanship Trophy in 1975.

"She really is a cornerstone of the foundation of women's athletics here at USC. She is also a pioneer. As USC's first female scholarship athlete, Barbara paved the way for the 25 national championships that our women's teams have won. It is so exciting to have her back to help lead our women's tennis program." ---USC AD Pat Haden

Make sure to check out this wonderful interview with Hallquist back from 2012 (which took place during the 40th-year anniversary of Title IX) in which she discusses her experiences at USC, the memories of her entire athletic career and reflects back on her pioneering effort to break through the gender divide in collegiate athletics.