Kasnevich Field Dedication Photos
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Last Saturday marked a memorable moment for the Slippery Rock University softball program as the University officially renamed the softball field as "Kasnevich Field" in honor of former coach and SRU Hall of Famer Jan Kasnevich during a dedication ceremony on campus.
Slippery Rock softball supporters, members of Kasnevich's family, University administrators, Athletics administrators and the current SRU softball team and coaching staff attended the dedication.
"What a tremendous day for our softball program and for SRU as a whole," said
Roberta Page, SRU director of athletics. "Having her name on one of our competition facilities is such a fitting way to celebrate the contribution that Jan Kasnevich made to Slippery Rock. I want to thank everyone that contributed to making this happen and to the University administration for their support."
Kasnevich, a 1968 SRU alumna, basically did it all during her 33 years at Slippery Rock. A stellar athlete in her own right, she was a four-year member of SRU's basketball, volleyball, tennis and field hockey teams during her undergraduate years and went on to become an assistant women's basketball coach, head softball coach, head field hockey coach and a professor upon returning to SRU as a professional.
Read more about Kasnevich's contributions to SRU here.
The renaming of the field wasn't the only highlight of Saturday's event.
SRU president William Behre attended the dedication and surprised the team and other supporters in attendance with the news that SRU has committed to significant renovations to the softball field, including the installation of artificial turf and new dugouts.
"Saturday was an amazing day for our program," said SRU head coach
Stacey Rice. "We are thrilled to be able to say we will be playing our games on Kasnevich Field and we are so grateful to the administration for committing to the facility upgrades. Our student-athletes will benefit from one of the best softball facilities in the region when the renovations are complete and we couldn't be more excited for the future."
The tentative plans for the field renovation will begin following the 2023 spring competition season. A timeline for the project will be announced at a later date.
Kasnevich Field becomes the only active competition facility on campus named after a woman and becomes the second SRU Athletics facility ever named after a woman. The first was Zimmerman Field, named after former field hockey coach Patricia Zimmerman. That facility was used for SRU field hockey games through 2003 when field hockey was moved to the turf at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium. Zimmerman Field currently serves as a practice and recreation field on campus.
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