Karen Sanders Peterson
- Sanders was the first and only woman to have ever lettered in a men’s varsity sport
- She was on the Tennis team
- She was the last athlete in the exhibit that played for Western Carolina College before it was changed to Western Carolina University
- Played for WCC from 1962-1964
- “She was the only woman in the Conference who was playing tennis” (Steve White)
- “Many men were scared to play against her because she was extremely competitive and had a very powerful swing” (Steve White)
- Sanders was inducted into the Western Carolina Hall of Fame in 2001
- Sanders also appeared in a Sports Illustrated article called “Faces in the Crowd’