Need an important rebound or a crucial block? Another
double-double? Someone to set a back screen? Who are you gonna
call?
If you were involved with those great WPI women's basketball
teams of the mid-'90s, the answer was never in doubt: Jennifer
Lovin.
There were many reasons why the 1995 team finished 18-10, played
in the NEW-8 championship finals, and competed in the ECAC
postseason tourney. And why the 1996 team finished 23-6 (the best
single-season record in WPI history), won the NEW-8 championship,
and reached the second round of the NCAA postseason tourney.
There were several star-quality players on those squads, but one
of them not only put up the numbers, but did the "dirty
work"-rebounds, blocks, back screens, and tough defense. That was
the essence of Jenn Lovin.
She was confident, hard-working, willing to take on the
burden-the kind of all-around player coaches love. Jenn could be
relied upon to put points on the board-her 1,036 career points
ranks 10th in WPI annals. She could be relied upon to compete-her
101 games played ranks sixth. And she could be relied upon to make
the shot when it counted the most-her .473 career shooting
percentage ranks third.
Rebounding and intimidating the shooter came naturally. The
6-foot center pulled down 934 rebounds in her career, ranking
fourth in WPI history. Her 9.3 rebounds per game remains at fourth.
Her 50 blocks in 1994-95 is tied for second in single-season
history.
Jenn recorded double-digit rebounds a remarkable 48 times in
those 101 games. She was credited with 34 double-doubles (points
and rebounds), fourth in WPI history.
She was the team MVP in 1994 and a NEW-8 All-Star in 1995, when
she averaged a double-double the entire season: 11.3 ppg and 10.7
rpg. She did it again, as co-captain, in her senior year: 13.3 and
10.6. Once again, she was a NEW-8 All-Star, and she participated in
the New England Women's Basketball Association Senior Classic. She
also was named an ECAC Scholar-Athlete that season.
Jenn also played tennis at WPI, earning three letters. WPI won
the MAIAW Tournament in each of her three years on the tennis team.
Her hard work on and off the courts has paid off and today she
is yet another WPI success story. She is a well-respected
pediatrician in Gales Ferry, Conn.
For all her outstanding achievements, it is with honor that WPI
inducts Jennifer R. Lovin into its Athletic Hall of Fame
