Today is Friday, October 9, 2026
Editor’s note: The following information was provided by UW-Whitewater.
Becca Murray, a University of Wisconsin-Whitewater alumna and national champion women’s wheelchair basketball athlete, was named Best Athlete with a Disability in Women’s Sports at the 2021 ESPY Awards at Pier 17 in New York City on July 10.
Murray was picked from four finalists, all of them Paralympians: Sam Bosco, cycling; Oksana Masters, Nordic and cycling; and Leanne Smith, swimming.
“I guess I never took myself to be one of those athletes,” said Murray of other wheelchair basketball athletes who have been ESPY nominees. “So I was super excited to find out I was nominated.”
The ESPY Award is presented by the American broadcast television network ABC, and previously by ESPN, to recognize individual and team athletic achievements and other sports-related performances. Nominees in other sports categories in 2021 included Simone Biles, Tom Brady, Aaron Rogers, Naomi Osaka, Phil Mickelson and LaMelo Ball.
After a tumultuous year for sports, catharsis was in the air and a sense of purpose in the speeches at the 2021 ESPYs. Like many nominees, Murray did not travel to the event and instead posted a 19-second video on the National Wheelchair Basketball Association Facebook page thanking her wheelchair basketball “family.”
“Being good at basketball gets your name out there, but I’ve always wanted to be that athlete who brought their teammates along with them,” said Murray, several days after the awards ceremony. “That makes the difference between a good basketball player and a player who is remembered.”
The quiet athlete from Germantown came to UW-Whitewater as a freshman in 2008, already a member of Team USA, which had gold-medaled that September at the Paralympic Games in Beijing. Murray, a special education major, became a cornerstone of a newly established women’s wheelchair basketball team at the university.
The UW-Whitewater men’s wheelchair basketball team had sprung from the university’s mission to serve students with disabilities, established in the 1970s. By the early 2000s, the men’s program was enjoying both national respect and support from the campus and community, propelled first by former Head Coach Tracy Chynoweth. It was time to expand the wheelchair basketball franchise to a women’s team.
What followed was a remarkable team-building effort that resulted in three straight collegiate women’s wheelchair basketball national championships, international competitions and, for Murray, two more Paralympic Games including a gold medal in 2016 at Rio de Janeiro. Through those years, the UW-Whitewater wheelchair basketball program added athletes from the U.S. and around the world, attracted by the reputation of its program, and talent developed in summer camps on campus. By 2014, UW-Whitewater was the national capital of collegiate wheelchair basketball when both the women’s and men’s teams won national titles under Head Coaches Dan Price and Opie Lade, respectively.
“I have tons of role models,” said Murray, laughing when asked to cite only one. “I couldn’t name them all. That Whitewater family is where a lot of that came from. Opie has always been a big influence, like a brother. Tracy Chynoweth is the reason I got to play at Whitewater. He asked me to help start a team. I’m forever grateful to him for starting that women’s team.”
As a player for the Warhawks, Murray was patient, unflappable and as essential to the team as the hub is to a wheel. Her individual statistics confounded one coach, who noticed she posted higher percentages in games, where she had real opponents, than in practices, where she did not. Murray didn’t fold under pressure — she got better. One close friend, another Warhawk athlete, at first felt intimidated by all of that talent, which surprises Murray.
“It is funny when I hear those stories because I don’t see myself as intimidating,” she said. “No one is better than another person. And so I take the time when people approach me and want to talk. And they see I’m just a down-to-earth person.”
Murray, who graduated in 2014, works as a clinical assistant at Rogers Behavioral Health in Brown Deer, Wisconsin. For the 2021 Paralympic Games held in Tokyo Aug. 25-Sept. 5, she plans to take a two-week vacation just to view the live broadcasts of Team USA, which will likely air in the middle of the night, local time.
In the fall she will return to basketball, playing for the Division 1 Milwaukee Bucks men’s wheelchair basketball team and the women’s counterpart, the Lady Bucks. Retired from playing basketball on the world stage, she recently bought a condo in New Berlin to be closer to the Whitewater campus, where both Bucks teams practice at the Roseman Building. The move also brings her closer to Edgerton, where her friends AJ Messmer, a former wheelchair basketball athlete who just succeeded Lade as head coach, and Lydia Messmer, a former teammate and women’s assistant coach, have their home. It would never do to be too far from your family.
“I enjoyed my time at UW-Whitewater and being a part of that wheelchair basketball family,” said Murray. “There was something special about that team. There are always your highs and lows. But we would always pull together, and that would make us stronger.”
The Whitewater State Farm 10u (3rd & 4th grade) baseball team just wrapped up their season on July 16 with an exhilarating 4-3 come from behind win to take the end of the year league tournament championship. Here’s how they got there. Their season started out flat with a disappointing 0-7 loss to Elkhorn AM Towing. A lack of hitting obvious to be the problem in the game with just a few hits. For the rest of the season that would change. With lots of hard work at practice and taking those improvements to the field the Whitewater State Farm team would go on to hit the tar out of the ball outscoring their opponents by a margin of 189 runs scored to 45 allowed! Great hitting was achieved from the top of the order through to bottom. Leading the team with five home runs was Brayden Cutshall, followed by George Christon and Trevor Bucholtz with three apiece. Great pitching by Brayden, George, Trevor, and Liam Egnoski would continue to dominate all season long as well. In 32 innings pitched Brayden Cutshall would strike out 85 of 92 batters faced with 0 runs allowed on the season. All of the games were important, but the game that would ultimately decide the regular season title was a rematch of the first game loss to Elkhorn. Sweet revenge was in order as Whitewater won the game 18-6 and would go on to finish the regular season with a 13-1 record to wrap up the #1 seed.
In the tournament Whitewater would cruise to a 15-0 win against Delavan and a tough game against the other Whitewater team winning 7-2. That game was secured with a diving catch by pitcher Trevor Bucholtz with bases loaded and two outs in the top of the 6th inning. The championship game would be the next day against the Elkhorn Batterman, whom the State Farm team beat 12-2 in the regular season matchup. That high score would not repeat itself in the championship game as both teams pitched well and played great defense. The game would remain scoreless until the top of the 7th inning as Elkhorn struck first. Whitewater would respond with an RBI groundout by Gavin Dammeir. With the scored tied at 1-1, a mishap on defense would allow the Batterman to take a 3-1 lead. In the bottom of the 8th the first hitter for Whitewater would reach base on a hit by pitch and advance to second on a wild pitch. The next batter struck out. Two consecutive base hits would score Zach Babcock and put Brayden Cutshall on 2ndbase and Trevor Bucholtz on 3rd. The next batter would pop up and they were down to their last out. With two out and two strikes Gavin Dammeir hit a soft fly ball over the pitcher’s head and dropped in front of Elkhorn’s second baseman. Trevor would easily score the tying run from third. But Brayden never stopped running and powered around third trying to score the winning run, against the third base coach’s wishes. The ball easily beat him at home, but a tremendous slide and a late tag would allow him to be safe at home and win the championship in walk off style. The crowd at Treyton’s Field of Dreams went crazy! What an end to the season.
The team roster: Brayden Cutshall, Gavin Dammeir, Zach Babcock, Sam Brockwell, Trevor Bucholtz, Liam Egnoski, Owen Everett, Miles Morgan, Brady Schilt, Arlo Zotti, and George Christon. Head coached by Eric Cutshall, assistant coaches Corey Schilt and Will Dammeir and lots of help from other parents as well was much appreciated. Thanks again to our sponsorship from Bob Cutshall’s State Farm agency here in Whitewater. 16-1 with a 16 game win streak to win regular season and tournament championships! What a season!
Editor’s note: The author of this article and the photographer are unfortunately unknown to the Banner. We would be happy to update the post if that information is provided. Our thanks to Molly Fuller for the submission.
Our Whippet volleyball team was recognized by the Marines and The American Volleyball Coaches Association for academic excellence this past spring! Super proud of all their hard work in the classroom and on the court!
Team Members were:
CC Alexander, Lexi Juoni, Avery Hintz, Amanda Tovar, Kiyla Kopecky, Kindyl Kilar, Emme Bullis, Cora Linos, Caleigh Yang and Cali Kopecky!
Whitewater United FC formerly known as Whitewater Youth Soccer Club (WYSC) would like to invite kids from four years old through the 8th grade to join the 2021-2022 soccer season. Registration is now open until July 31 for Recreational and Select (*If you received an offer letter.) For more information or to register please check out https://www.whitewatersoccer.com/
The Whitewater United FC Soccer Club is the local soccer club for children ages 4 to 14 in the Whitewater area. The club is volunteer-run and season are played in the fall and spring. Our home fields are at Moraine View Park.
The image on the homepage, “Soccer Ball” by faungg’s photos is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0
Upcoming Events
