The 2018 class of the UW Athletic Hall of Fame has been selected and one new member will be announced each day from July 9-19. Visit UWBadgers.com each day to celebrate each new member of this distinguished and historic class of Badgers!
BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider
MADISON, Wis. — Allie Blomquist could have been annoyed and jealous.
Instead, she was inspired.
Blomquist had a one-of-a kind career with the Wisconsin women's golf team from 1997 to 2001.
It was so distinguished that she is part of an 11-member class that will be inducted into the University of Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame on Sept. 7.
But the work Blomquist did on behalf of the Badgers was largely overlooked because she competed during one of the most remarkable periods in school history.
Consider: Wisconsin won consecutive Big Ten Conference football titles and Rose Bowls in 1998 and '99 while featuring Heisman Trophy-winning tailback Ron Dayne.
Consider: For the second time in program history, the Badgers advanced to the NCAA Final Four in men's basketball in 2000.
Consider: Wisconsin reached the NCAA title match in volleyball for the first time in 2000.
Consider: The men's track and cross country teams swept Big Ten championships in 2000 and '01.
Consider: For just the third time in program history, the men's hockey team won the MacNaughton Cup as Western Collegiate Hockey Association regular-season titlists in 2000.
Consider: The four-time national champion women's hockey program debuted in 1999 and the softball team, which was introduced in 1995, advanced to its first NCAA tournament in 2001.
Blomquist's college career was so unique that she's the first women's golfer to go into the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame since it was formed in 1991.
She was the first individual in program history to qualify for the NCAA tournament, in 2000, and set school records for the lowest 36-hole and 72-hole totals.
But on the local attention-getting scale, Blomquist languished.
Not that it mattered to her, though.
"I always thought I was very lucky to be a part of University of Wisconsin athletics and I was proud to be on the women's golf team," Blomquist said. "I was excited and as big a fan as anyone."
Instead of feeling as though she were lost in the public relations shuffle, Blomquist found inspiration in the dynamic atmosphere.
"Success is catchy," she said. "That was a good motivator for me. It certainly was a great atmosphere and a great chunk of time to be at the university."
Blomquist, 40, said news of her induction and her breakthrough status as a Wisconsin hall of famer left her "shocked and honored."
"I had no idea," she said.
Blomquist came to Madison from Afton, Minnesota, graduating in 2001 with a degree in mathematics with an emphasis on physics.
She was the National Golf Coaches' Association Midwest Freshman of the Year in 1998 and an All-Big Ten pick in '98 and 2000.
She was chosen as the Big Ten Medal of Honor recipient from the school in 2001.
In her final outing with the Badgers, Blomquist tied her own school record for 72 holes with a 296 (77-72-74-73) at the NCAA tournament, finishing in 18th place.
She subsequently played on the LPGA Tour — qualifying for the U.S. Open in 2002 — the Futures Tour and the Canadian Tour before devoting her time to being a golf instructor in 2007.
When Blomquist arrived for college, Wisconsin men's and women's golf coach Dennis Tiziani gave her a project that continues to this day.
"He told me to get a notebook and write it all down and I did," she said.
Blomquist scrawled ideas, quotes and diagrams — even pasted pictures — in the 4-by-5, inch-thick pad and took it with her everywhere. That was the case even after she invested in an iPad.
"I would refer to it a lot," Blomquist said.
"I'm a very visual person so I would make pictures along with the phrases I wrote down. They're good reminders when things go astray. It's been a great resource for me."
Tiziani, who coached the Wisconsin men's program for 26 years and the women's team for 14 before retiring in 2003, said Blomquist's exceptional background in physics — she finished as a four-time NCAA Academic All-American with a 3.93 grade point average — fortified her game. He said her primary strength was her ability to focus.
"An advantage in coaching (at Wisconsin) is you have people with great concentration, mind interaction," Tiziani said. "They're able to take instruction and assimilate it."
Tiziani said Blomquist had a "special" penchant for understanding the mechanics of her swing and how physics played a role in that.
He also described Blomquist as a leader.
"She was not the most vociferous," Tiziani said, "but when she talked, people listened."
Blomquist currently lives in Hudson with her partner of 13 years, Michelle, and three children: 6-year-old daughter Tatum, 3-year-old son John and 9-month-old daughter Emery.
Building a family has given way to another classroom career for Blomquist. She spent the last year obtaining her teaching certificate at Wisconsin-River Falls. She will teach math at New Richmond High School, which is a 20-mile drive from her home near the Wisconsin-Minnesota border.
It's an occupation that has roots back to her days at Wisconsin and her time with Tiziani, who left a lasting impression on her career past and present.
"I've always loved teaching and I've always loved watching good teachers teach," she said. "That's why I loved watching Tiz teach the other players on the team.
"I really identified with the way he explained the golf swing and my physics background probably helped with that.
"I definitely was a student of the golf swing, the physics of it, and I liked listening to him teach other people as well."
Obvious, Blomquist learned her lessons well.
UW Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2018
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