UTSA women's powerlifting wins first national championship in club sports

UTSA Day

By Mario Rios
Assistant Director, Campus Recreation

(May 1, 2014) -- UTSA Club Powerlifting sent 25 competitors to the 2014 USAPL Collegiate Nationals in Orlando, Fla., in April. The women's team won the National Championship Title with three individual championship titles, a top-three finish and three top-10 finishes. This is the first national title for UTSA club sports.

Molly Zunker, a senior from Thrall, won the national title for her weight class (47 kg/103.6 lbs.) for her fourth national title. Zunker also won national titles in 2010, 2011 and 2012. Allegra Hudson, a junior from Wylie, won the national title in her weight class (43 kg/94.7 lbs.). Victoria Vargas, a sophomore from Moore, won the national title in her 52 kg./114.6 lbs. weight class.

Following UTSA Women's Club Powerlifting were the University of Louisiana-Lafayette (second place) and the University of Texas at Austin (third place).

The men's powerlifting club finished third. Nine of their 18 competitors finished in the top 10. Two teammates won second place in each of their weight classes: Eduardo Estrada, a freshman from Gonzales (59 kg./130.0 lbs.), and Bryce Siecko, a senior from Tomball (83 kg./182.9 lbs.). Mauricio Valdez, a junior from San Angelo, won third place, behind Siecko, in the same weight class.

The club has produced individual national champions for five years running. Molly Zunker started the streak in 2010, and continued that trend in 2011 and 2012. Jeff Button won an individual national champion title in 2013. This year, Zunker was joined by her teammates Hudson and Vargas to keep the winning streak strong.

UTSA Campus Recreation, in support of its vision to be a recognized leader in student development and collegiate recreation, supports students each year to represent UTSA at Club Sports regional and national tournaments.

Events

Friday, May 3, 11:30 a.m.

McNair Scholars' Spring Celebration

This event will acknowledge graduating seniors from the McNair Scholars program at UTSA before inducting the new cohort of scholars into the program.

North Paseo Building (NPB 5.140), Main Campus

Wednesday, May 15, 6:00 p.m.

Doctoral Conferral Ceremony

At this memorable celebration, UTSA graduates will be introduced one-by-one to cross the stage and accept their doctoral degrees.

Arts Building Recital Hall, Main Campus

Thursday, May 16, 3:00 p.m.

Roadrunner Walk

Roadrunner Walk is an event for graduating students to have a memorable walk on campus to celebrate an important milestone and their achievements. Graduates will walk along the Paseo while being celebrated by the UTSA community, friends, and family members.

Student Union Paseo, Main Campus

Friday, May 17, 10:00 a.m.

Commencement: Ceremony One

Celebrate the accomplishments of College of Education and Human Development, College for Health, Community and Policy, College of Sciences and University College.

Alamodome, 100 Montana St.

Friday, May 17, 4:30 p.m.

Commencement: Ceremony Two

Celebrate the accomplishments of Alvarez College of Business, College of Liberal and Fine Arts and Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design.

Alamodome, 100 Montana St.

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The University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.

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UTSA is a proud Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) as designated by the U.S. Department of Education .

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The University of Texas at San Antonio, a Hispanic Serving Institution situated in a global city that has been a crossroads of peoples and cultures for centuries, values diversity and inclusion in all aspects of university life. As an institution expressly founded to advance the education of Mexican Americans and other underserved communities, our university is committed to promoting access for all. UTSA, a premier public research university, fosters academic excellence through a community of dialogue, discovery and innovation that embraces the uniqueness of each voice.