By Victoria Chiesa

If any of Adelphi University's 23 athletic teams posted six straight unbeaten seasons today, their efforts might make national headlines. Six decades ago, though, things were very different, and one of the most dominant runs in school history largely flew under the radar.   

From 1965-70, Adelphi field hockey played—and won, continuously—at a time where women's intercollegiate athletics were not of varsity status: no scholarships, no organized governing bodies, and no media attention. But this summer, at long last, this exceptional group of Panthers got the kudos they so richly deserved, and took their rightful place inside the Adelphi University Athletic Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2021. They not only waited more than 50 years to have their trailblazing efforts recognized, but also saw their enshrinement delayed nearly two full years as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking on behalf of Panthers both physically present at and unable to attend the induction ceremony, held on June 23 at the Chateau Briand catering hall in Westbury, former team member Cynthia Retarides spelled out the reality for female athletes of their era.

"We had no scholarship opportunities, have few records, no titles, few photos in our yearbook and maybe, occasionally, got a small blurb in the Delphian [Adelphi's student newspaper]," Retarides, who was a freshman in 1966, said before the assembled crowd. "Basically, we were a second thought in the sports community, as it was in most colleges.

"We played in plaid hand-me-down tunics, with different rules than today, long-headed sticks and black-buckled shin guards. Certainly, not at all like today's teams. We did not get the same spotlight as our male counterparts, but our desire to compete and excel was no less than any other Adelphi team."

In spite of it all, they did excel: Over six years, the Panthers didn't lose a game under the direction of head coach Helen Sedelmeyer, who also taught physical education. Sedelmeyer, now a spry 90 years old, first took over the reins of the 'Pantherettes'—as Adelphi's fledgling women's teams were then called—in 1962, and soon built something special. Schools like Brooklyn College, Hofstra University, Hunter College, Lehman College, Queens College and Wagner College couldn't hold a candle to a group dubbed the 'Big Eleven.'

"From year to year, I was just happy to have good players on the team," Sedelmeyer recently recalled in a phone interview. "As a coach, it's your job to put them together at the right time, the right place, to play together and enjoy themselves, which is what we did. I always had it in the back of my mind that they were going to be future teachers and future coaches, so I wanted to set an example on how to do that. That definitely was in my mind. Winning really wasn't, but fortunately, we put it together somehow.

"I think when you enjoy what you're doing, you get a lot out of individuals as far as effort. That camaraderie that they developed was very strong. … We were just doing our own thing."

Sedelmeyer's roster was primarily made up of physical education majors, and the era afforded these women the opportunity to hone their athletic abilities by playing multiple sports. Take Anne DiPrima, class of 1970, for example: She also played basketball and softball, and was herself inducted into the Adelphi Hall of Fame as an individual in 2004.

"Everyone was there for one reason," DiPrima says today. "It wasn't for a scholarship. It was for the love the game, and I think that's pure. We loved what we did, and we did it to the best of our ability."

Over the six years, some of wins were dominant—in 1967, the club didn't allow a goal all season and shut out Hofstra by a record-breaking 9-0 margin in one contest. In others, the margins were razor-thin: In the final game of the 1966 season, for example, Retarides scored the game-winner in a rain-soaked 1-0 win against Hunter that the Nov. 23, 1966 issue of the Delphian dubbed "thoroughly soggy."

Later that academic year, the Woodruff Hall circular—a recap of the athletic year that was written on a typewriter—recounted: "It was worth the muddy knees, soaked uniforms and ruined hairdos to give Adelphi another undefeated season."

Through it all, though, these women were staying in the moment. 

"I don't remember ever talking about being undefeated," DiPrima said. "When the season was over, we knew we were, but we never spoke about it [at the time]. When the game was over, we got back on the bus, got back to school, and that was it. When it was all over, we realized what had transpired and what we had accomplished ... but I think that it's really hit us now, when talking about all the teams, that we realize what we did."

Sedelmeyer's teams were, in fact, dominating at a time where the Adelphi Athletic Hall of Fame was in its infancy. Adelphi's all-time annals were established in 1961—and returned in 1991 after a 10-year hiatus—to honor former student-athletes, coaches and friends of the university who distinguished themselves during their time on campus or thereafter. The 1965-70 Adelphi field hockey teams not only did that for themselves, but set the standard for the future: Dormant for 25 years, field hockey returned to campus in 2008 and has since seen eight winning seasons in that time. Four of these teams qualified for the NCAA national championships—an opportunity that those who'd come before them only dreamed of six decades ago.

"[This] recognition is very timely because this year we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of Title IX legislation that changed the direction of young girls and women in sports," Retarides said. "I didn't know anything about field hockey until … the seventh grade. Now, you know, it's amazing to see how fit the athletes are, how strong they are, how hard they work. The mindset was totally different back then. It wasn't like we had chips on our shoulders, speaking for myself personally, but we just wanted to compete. We played on a grass field that's a footprint of where the gym [the Center for Recreation and Sports] is now. We knew we'd want to stop the ball, but we weren't sure what rock it would hit first. Now, the players play on turf that's smooth as silk. It's just wonderful to see how the sport's grown and how it's changed, how the rules have changed, and all the success that the teams have had."

After her coaching career ended in 1975, Sedelmeyer continued to teach until 1990—but with this honor, her name is now as equally linked with her teams as it's long been with her teaching career: The Helen Sedelmeyer Award is awarded every year to an Adelphi physical education student who demonstrates excellence in student teaching.

But, she nonetheless says that the lasting legacy of her "Pantherettes" shouldn't be a trophy you hold, or something you find spelled out in a history book.

"The best thing that happened at the dinner was after they had introduced me and the girls, read that nice description of what we did over the years and so forth, a woman who I did not know came up to me and she said, 'I did not go to Adelphi. I'm here with one of the men, but I have two young girls and I want them to be involved in athletics.' When she heard about what we had accomplished … she told me that she only hopes that her girls would be fortunate enough to have that kind of experience. I think that said it all to me. That's the kind of atmosphere, enjoyment and memories I would like people to have," Sedelmeyer said.

"It's nice to know that you scored 50 goals, and you did this and you did that. You do need awards along the way to give you an incentive, and you feel good when you have accomplishments, but I think that that time period, maybe it was a little unique with the individuals that we had. To see them together, and that they've been successful professional women and have had field hockey be such an important thing in their minds, it was a wonderful tribute.

"Not everyone can get into the Hall of Fame, I realize that, but the students deserved it, and I'm happy to be part of it. I'm very, very, very happy to be involved, and a member of the Adelphi Hall of Fame."