Trish Bostrom To Be Inducted Into Pac-12 Hall of Honor
March 06, 2019 | General, Women's Tennis
One of the first standout players in Washington's tennis program, Trish Bostrom was also an early pioneer in women's sports.
While at Washington, she established herself as one of the region's best, winning the Pac-8 singles title in 1972, the AIAW national women's collegiate mixed doubles title and earning a spot on the Junior Wightman Cup team.
Following her collegiate career, Bostrom would rank as high as No. 5 in the world rankings in doubles in 1975 and No. 37 in singles in 1977. She was inducted into the Husky Hall of Fame in 1987, the Pacific Northwest Tennis Hall of Fame and the Washington State Sports Hall of Fame.
Bostrom was an instrumental advocate for gender equity in collegiate sports before the implementation of Title IX in 1975, growing up playing tennis and earning a spot on the boys' team at Chief Sealth High School in Seattle. However, a ruling by the Metro League denied her a chance to compete. When she enrolled at UW in 1969, she dominated play on the women's side and witnessed the huge discrepancies between the women's tennis program and the men's program and wanted a chance to play against the highest level of competition.
In 1972, Bostrom, with the help of attorney Don Cohan, met with UW administrators and requested equal opportunities for women at Washington to compete in sports and—while that was being implemented—to be afforded a chance to try out for the men's team. Weeks later she earned a chance to try out for the men's team and despite losing the match, she continued to fight for equal rights at the University with her actions opening the administration's eyes to the discrepancies in the programs.
After her professional tennis career she earned her law degree and has served as president of the UW Alumni Association as well as on many UW boards.
