SWEET BRIAR, Va. – Sweet Briar College will see four new members inducted into the Athletics and Riding Hall of Fame as part of the 2026 class.
Katharine "Kit" Baker Sydnor '66, Makayla Benjamin Fedder '18, Jill Steenhuis Ruffato '80, and Jenn Wiley Schmidt '06 will be honored at the ceremony on Oct. 16th at 6:30 p.m. in the Upchurch Field House.
Katharine "Kit" Baker Sydnor '66
Kit has supported Vixen Athletics for over 60 years. During her time as a student at Sweet Briar, Kit was head of the Riding Council and has stayed involved with Sweet Briar Riding ever since. In her post-graduate career, Kit has stayed involved in the equestrian world through various board memberships while also periodically teaching classes at Sweet Briar on an interim basis.
Makayla Benjamin Fedder '18
Makayla has had a historic career at Sweet Briar with a sweeping number of accomplishments, including but not limited to being the first Sweet Briar student to win the Cacchione Cup in 2018 and being named the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Rookie Rider and Rider of the Year in 2015. Additionally, Makayla was a stalwart representative of Sweet Briar during the attempted closure and fought hard to keep the College doors open.
Jill Steenhuis Ruffato '80
Jill was an outstanding diver and helped the Sweet Briar Swimming and Diving Team earn a significant portion of points on the team's way to a first-place finish at the VAIAW Small College Championships in 1978. Many of Jill's pool and program records still stand today and will never be broken.
Jenn Wiley Schmidt '06
Jenn, a dual-sport athlete in both field hockey and lacrosse, earned All-Conference honors in both sports and currently holds three ODAC field hockey records. Jenn is still listed amongst the best Division III field hockey goaltenders of all time, while also being amongst the Sweet Briar lacrosse program leaders in ground balls and caused turnovers during her time with the team.
In the following weeks leading up to the ceremony, we will spend time highlighting each of our four inductees.
To RSVP for the ceremony, please fill out the form
HERE.
The ceremony can also be viewed online, both in real time and on demand, at
vixensportsnetwork.com.
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