Editors Note - The following is part of a series featuring Wayne State female athletes in honoring the 50th year anniversary celebration of Title IX. 

Written by Deb Korth

            Any day at the pool is a good day. 

            For as long as she can remember, Tami (Thompson) Rinehart loved swimming.  When she was old enough, she joined and competed on her hometown Iowa City (IA) swim team.

            In 1974, she graduated from Iowa City West High School, after competing on the high school swim team, and headed to Wayne State College that fall.

            During her first semester at Wayne State College, she was asked to try out for the swim team as a diver.  With that try out, her collegiate experience changed - along with the many females who would follow in her footsteps as Wayne State College Wildcat female student-athletes.

            Rinehart became the first female to break the sex barrier in sports at the college, being the first female to win a varsity letter in men's athletics as a Wildcat. 

            On an otherwise all-male WSC swim team, Rinehart shared diving duties with another Iowan, John Kerns.  Known as just 'one of the guys', Tami's abilities shown like a jewel and she became the first female Wildcat to showcase what females could contribute in the athletic arena in the early years of the Title IX movement.

            The two divers helped the Wildcats compile a 10-2 record in dual meets the first year.  Diving is a sport of form and finesse.  Tami adds, "Judges tended to judge a girl on form while judging a guy on strength."  While her male diving teammate often performed more difficult dives, Rinehart's form was more accurate, which in turn gained the team more overall points.

            When asked how her male fellow teammates accepted her, Rinehart says with a smile, "I was treated ok – at times they thought I received too much attention."

            When reflecting on who was most proud of her collegiate diving career, Rinehart's great aunt, Dr. Charlotte Fisk, comes to Tami's mind.

            "Charlotte was one of the first female pediatricians in Des Moines (IA), having a neonatal wing of the local hospital named after her," said Rinehart.  "She was a swimmer and loved all sports.  Charlotte was very supportive of me in all aspects of my life.  She was a real women's pioneer."

            Reflecting on her influence in the Title IX movement, Tami humbly believes, "I don't really think it had any effect on women's athletics – or at least I didn't notice."

            The many female Wildcats to follow this 5-2, 98-pound diver might not agree.