Statement by Director of Athletics Rocko DeLuca:
The original release date of this article was Wednesday May 18th with an accompanying feature graphic that contained an error. In the graphic encompassing photos of all three Women of the Year, we incorrectly swapped our two Black alumnae, Jamila Demby and Tanisha Silas, names with the other persons' photograph. The BIPOC experience of being called the name of another BIPOC is unfortunately a common microaggression that results in deep racial harm. In an effort to spotlight the amazing accomplishments of the two Aggies, we recognize we instead did damage in not taking the time to ensure we properly identified each individual, a reminder of systemic racism in our country. I have spoken with both Jamila and Tanisha to apologize and now wish to apologize to the UC Davis community at large for our failure. Identities matter. As we go forward, I am committed to ensuring that our communications processes highlight our student-athletes (former & current) correctly and honorably. We hope that this article will now serve as originally intended to honor the successes of our Women of the Year during the celebration of 50 years of Title IX.
Davis, Calif. - As we've seen as UC Davis celebrates the 50th anniversary of Title IX — a federal edict that leveled the playing field for female athletes —Aggie coaches, administrators were generally ahead of the curve in enforcing its intent.
And brilliant as UC Davis women's programs have performed over the years, it hasn't always been about who jumps the highest, runs the fastest or scores the most points.
While Aggie accomplishments through the years suggest the statistics are important, too, female student-athletes have been just as impactful off the campus courts and tracks.
Community service, attention to their chosen courses of study and getting a kick start into the real world have been as valuable as any 3-pointer or 11.34 in the 100 meters for UCD women.
To wit, that uncommon evolution of sports and academics at UC Davis has produced three NCAA Women of the Year.
Since the honor's inception, Aggie sprinters Jamila Demby (1999) and Tanisha Silas (2002) and lacrosse maven Kelly Albin (2004) have each earned the coveted Woman of the Year designation.
The award is based on academic achievements, athletic excellence, community service and leadership. The women are nominated first through their schools and then their conferences, and they must be senior competitors. Nine finalists are chosen annually.
With that trio of student-athletes, UCD has celebrated NCAA Women of the Year more than any member universities except Arizona and Georgia (four each). Along the way, Kameelah Elarms (a teammate of Silas and Demby) and Aggie softballer Susan Churchwell (2003) were WOY finalists.
To have one NCAA Woman of the Year is big news. But to have three?
Former UCD Senior Associate Athletic Director Pam Gill-Fisher, a longtime Title IX champion, says it's an honor for the individual Aggies and "a solid accomplishment for UC Davis as an institution."
Gill-Fisher noted at the time of Albin's acceptance: "When you think about the national scope of the award — and the more than 350 institutions it represents — to have three winners is enormous."
Silas Almost Didn't Run
Looking back, Silas had turned heads with her prowess in the 400 meters at Hogan High (Vallejo). Her grades were as sparkling as her times, and coaches were sure she could excel both on the cinders and in the classroom, no matter which university she chose.
But early on, Silas had a single focus: medical school. She wanted to be a doctor and help people however she could.
Raised by her father in Vallejo, Tanisha lived smack-dab between UC Berkeley and UC Davis. Upon graduation from Hogan, there was a choice to be made …
"(UCD) is a person-friendly campus," she explained. "Berkeley was closer to home, but it felt very busy, disjointed, much like (having) the city in the middle of campus."
Silas' choice was clear: pre-med at UC Davis. Initially, she chose not to participate in her sport, despite interest from Aggie track coach Rahn Sheffield.
However, once she was at UCD, things slowly changed.
"She crushed the academics that first year," remembers former Aggie women's track coach Dee Vochatzer. "Tanisha told me she wasn't coming out for track because 'I want to make sure my grades are what they need to be.' "
Vochatzer and Silas didn't lose track of each other, and by Silas' second year on campus, she was heading toward being a two-time All-American.
In fact, Silas was joined by another WOY (Demby) along with Elarms and Rose Criss as they smashed the school's 4x400-meter record.
On her way to becoming Dr. Tanisha Silas-Young, who currently chairs the OB-GYN Department at Kaiser Permanente in Vacaville, the blazing sprinter sang in the UCD Gospel Choir, volunteered as an intern in the geriatrics wing and pediatrics emergency room and coordinated volunteers for Special Olympics and Shriners Hospital.
Demby was Told 'Go to Davis'
For then-Merced resident Jamila Demby, there was a degree of wanderlust in her original decision on college.
"I applied to three UCs and got into all of them," Demby remembers. "I went to visit UC Santa Barbara and came home and told my coach: 'I'm going to Santa Barbara.'
" 'He said, '(no), go to Davis!' I told him 'OK' and that was it. I just fell in love with UC Davis."
Demby said she knew it was the right decision from the start: "The campus feels small, and being embraced by my teammates right away … it was like family. I always felt included.
"And it wasn't just (track) teammates. Whether it was a tennis player or a football player … there was an understanding and appreciation of each other. It was always genuine and fun at Davis."
Although she was the first in her family to graduate from college, Demby pointed to her mother, Deborah Thomas, as an inspiration.
After surviving a kidney transplant, Thomas kept her daughter on the straight and narrow about athletics and classroom studies.
As Demby matriculated, she worked with Special Olympics, assisted with a junior high track club, volunteered for clothing and food drives and organized events at the Shriners Hospital in Sacramento. She also earned UCD's Outstanding Leadership Award in 1999.
Oh, did we mention that she made the dean's list in each of her four years at Davis and was an All-American in the 1,600-meter relay (1998, 1999) and the 800 (1996, 1997, 1999)?
Demby is employed these days by the Chula Vista Elementary School District, where she teaches dance and physical education.
Albin Makes It Three
Then in 2004, it looked like UC Davis was making the NCAA Woman of the Year its personal property when Albin received the 14th annual award. It marked the third time in six years that an Aggie reigned supreme.
But Albin had a shaky athletic start in Davis.
A native of Fort Bragg, Calif., she came to town to play soccer and major in food sciences. Her first pass at soccer didn't pan out. After she failed to make the team, she wanted to keep busy athletically and took a swing at the newly minted women's lacrosse squad.
"I wound up loving lacrosse, so I just stuck with that," recalls Albin.
She loved it so much that she earned All-American status from Inside Lacrosse magazine after dishing a then-school-record 29 assists and scoring a personal-high 43 goals.
Lacrosse was a varsity sport, but like at so many other West Coast universities, it was in its infancy. In Albin's first season, the lacrosse roster had student-athletes from other programs. By the time she graduated, the sport had emerged in California.
"Going forward after that first year, there was enough of a (prep selection) in the state to recruit from high schools," Albin remembers.
She says she never felt out of balance as a student-athlete, explaining that university administrators and faculty understood the athletes' commitment and challenges.
Once on campus, Albin marveled at the choice of majors open to her:
"I remember looking at some of the other UCs when I was applying. … Like UCLA, for instance, only had four majors for me to choose from. One of the reasons I chose UC Davis is there are so many majors, (especially) if you look at the list of science majors."
Earning a degree in food science, Albin netted a 3.95 grade-point average, graduating magna cum laude.
These days, Dr. Kelly Wilkinson is married and is a physician in Boise, Idaho. Affiliated with the Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center, the good doctor and her husband have a boy, 7, and a girl, 5.
While at UC Davis, Albin earned the campus Lindley Award as the top Aggie student-athlete. She also was named the Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association D-II Scholar of the Year.
Her relentless work with UCD Peer Counselors in Athletics and a stint as a volunteer in Peru to help ProPeru promote social and economic development added to Albin's WOY résumé.
— Next up, we'll take a look at the newest women's sports programs at UC Davis, equestrian and beach volleyball.
