CLEVELAND - With the 50th anniversary of Title IX being this school year, NADIIIAA is sharing stories from the NADIIIAA Community of family members and friends who inspired and paved the way for future athletes to be successful in collegiate athletics because of the passing of Title IX. Today's story features Ann Nealon.

Nealon joined the Rochester Institute of Technology's (RIT) physical education athletics staff in 1969, teaching tennis and badminton. In 1971, she started the women's tennis team at RIT, paving the way for women in sport at a time when opportunities for girls and women to compete at the collegiate level did not exist. It is only fitting that RIT is celebrating Nealon's 90th birthday during the 50th Anniversary of Title IX, the federal civil rights law that prohibited discrimination giving women the equal opportunity to play. During her time at RIT, not only did she champion the installation of women's athletics at RIT, but she witnessed the start and advocated for ALL 12 current women's sports that compete today. In addition to opening doors for women at RIT, she was the first women's tennis pro at both Mid-Town Tennis Club (1973-1981) and head pro at Oak Hill Country Club (1978-2009). She was and always will be a Pioneer.

During her 35-year coaching career at RIT, the women's program enjoyed outstanding success, compiling a win-lost record of 228-114-3 before her retirement in 2005. She also coached the men's team for nine seasons, compiling an 86-31 record and leading the team to the Empire 8 Championship in her final season in 2005. During one stretch between 1980 and 1983, RIT won an astonishing 30 consecutive dual matches, with undefeated seasons in 1982 and 1983. Ann led her team to a New York State Women's Collegiate Athletic Association (NYSWCAA) championship in 1983 and two Empire Athletic Association titles in 1984 and 1986. Eight of her players had decorated careers and have been inducted into the RIT Sports Hall of Fame. After "retiring", Nealon remained on RIT's staff, teaching part time classes until her full retirement in 2013.  Nealon herself was the 1985 recipient of the Rochester Press-Radio Club Jean Giambrone Award and was inducted into both the RIT Sports Hall of Fame for Distinguished Service in 1994 and the inaugural class of the Rochester Tennis Hall of Fame in 2014.

This story was submitted by Jacqueline Nicholson, the executive director of intercollegiate athletics at the Rochester Institute of Technology. The message that she would like to send Nealon is that she is an inspiration and "she was a trailblazer for our tennis programs and for women's athletics at RIT. She laid the foundation for this department and continues to inspire the next generation of Tennis student-athletes at the institution."

NADIIIAA is still looking for stories from the NADIIIAA Community of family members and friends who inspired and paved the way for future athletes to be successful in collegiate athletics because of the passing of Title IX. To submit your story to be featured, please CLICK HERE!