Bates College

Romalda Clark Blanchard '90 perhaps more than any other athlete of her generation raised the sports bar.

After being kept literally on the sidelines for much of the 20th century, female athletes at Bates and other NESCAC colleges made up for lost time during the 1970s, '80s and '90s. Time and again, women athletes at Bates redefined the meaning of sports excellence, and Romalda Clark Blanchard '90 perhaps more than any other athlete of her generation raised the sports bar. An All-Maine field hockey player in the fall, Romalda was a two-time All-America selection in indoor track who finished third in the NCAA Division III 3,000-meter run as a junior and still holds the Bates record in that event. A regional All-America selection in lacrosse, she is Bates' all-time assist leader and played in the 1990 North-South women's collegiate All-Star game. She also helped organize the women's club hockey team while maintaining a 3.5 GPA in her major, art. Romalda, who lives in Norwell, Mass., with husband Peter Blanchard '89 and their two children, is a consultant with Dunbar Educational Consultants.