Dr. Nicole LaVoi
Dr. Nicole LaVoi was a tennis student-athlete at Gustavus Adolphus College and later went on to play internationally. After her playing career, LaVoi went into coaching and helping develop young female athletes in the sport of tennis. She was the head coach for the St. Paul Academy girl’s tennis team (’91-’93), head coach at Wellesley College (1994-1998). Since her coaching time, Dr. LaVoi has dove head first into being an advocate for the advancement of women athletics in college sports, serving as an assistant and associate director of The Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport from 2005-2019. She is now serving as the director of the Tucker Center, the first and only research center of its kind in the world solely devoted to the academic study of girls and women in sport. Dr. LaVoi has dedicated her research to focus on the relational qualities of the coach-athlete relationship, the physical activity of underserved girls, the barriers and supports experienced by women in sport coaching, and media representations of girls and women in sports. One of her most influential facets was being the founder and director of the annual Women Coaches Symposium held on the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities campus, which hosts and serves over 350+ women coaches of all sports and all levels.
Gretchen Koehler
Gretchen Koehler started her time with Gustavus Adolphus College athletics in 1968 where she was an educator as well as a head coach to both the volleyball and women’s basketball programs. While she led a multitude of her teams to very successful seasons and several championship runs, Koehler’s effect on her student-athletes went far beyond the court lessons. She has been referred to as one of the most beloved coaches in Gusties history, and throughout her 28-year coaching career made a point to incorporate team building activities to stay in touch with her athletes after their time at Gustavus. She dedicated her career to being a helping hand and mentor to hundreds of Gustavus female student-athletes.