High school softball in Tucson in the early 1990s was so ridiculously competitive that it was no place for the meek. The crowd at the top seemed impenetrable..
Sabino, Sahuaro, Canyon del Oro and Pueblo won state championships from 1990-92. Flowing Wells, Santa Rita, Tucson and Desert View finished second. Those teams were flush with standout players and coaches such as CDOβs Kathy McQuown and Brandi Bundrick; Desert Viewβs Bert Otero and Lety Pineda; Tucsonβs Renee Espinoza and Sahuaroβs Billy Lopez.
Salpointe Catholic had never been a factor at the top level of high school softball. The 1990 Lancers went 4-16, last place in the region standings.
In attempt to change that, Salpointe elevated junior varsity coach Stacy Iveson to be the Lancers softball coach. Iveson had a strong reputation in the softball community; after an all-city career at Catalina High School, Iveson had been an All-Pac-10 catcher on Mike Candreaβs first Arizona softball teams.
The coaching industry would refer to Ivesonβs promotion as a βgood hire.β No kidding. In 1993, the Lancers went 30-2 and won the state championship, one of the epic rebuilding jobs in Tucson prep sports history.
Iveson surrounded herself with quality assistant coaches such as Phil Gruensfelder, Ted Farhat and Chuck McCollum. She built the β93 club around senior catcher Tanya Farhat and senior pitcher Tara Robinson, both of whom had played on the 4-16 club as freshmen.
There was nothing easy about becoming state champions.
In the 1993 state quarterfinals, Salpointe and Mesa Dobson played in a tense, 21-inning game that seemed like it would never end. Finally, after 4Β½ hours, Salpointe prevailed 3-2. Incredibly, Robinson pitched all 21 innings. She gave up just 14 hits and struck out 16. She also drove in the winning run in the 21st inning.
βAdrenaline kept me going,β Robinson told the Star. βI felt like I could pitch a million innings because I didnβt want that to be the end.β
βIt was crazy,β Iveson remembers today.
Two days later Salpointe hung tough to beat Scottsdale Chaparral 4-3 in the state championship game.
Farhat, who hit .470 with 32 stolen bases as the stateβs top catcher, was emotional. βIβve never cried after a game,β she said, wiping away tears. βBut today I cried so much. I was so happy for the team, the coaches, everyone. Today it was more than fun.β
Iveson had changed the culture of a losing program in a short period. Part of it was handing out T-shirts to team members that had βState of mindβ across the jersey.
βIt took a while for them to believe it,β said Iveson. βWe had to go from losing every game to winning every game.β
The Lancers finished 30-2.
Robinson, who completed the season with an astonishing 0.42 ERA in 121 innings, allowing just six earned runs, put the championship in perspective when she said: βThings looked bleak my freshman year. But we kept getting better. Every high school team dreams about accomplishing this. Thatβs what itβs all about β winning state.β
Salpointe Catholic catcher Tanya Farhat, left, was one of the best catchers and hitters in 1993.
Farhat and Robinson had plenty of help en route to becoming state champs. Third baseman Andrea Avena was an all-city player. Melinda Almazan, Chris Majalca, Staci Underwood, Jeanie Duggan and Lindsay Robinson, Taraβs younger sister, were steady contributors.
Farhat, now Tanya Farhat Villarreal, began her college career at a small college in Denver but transferred to Arizona and became part of the UAβs 1996 Womenβs College World Series championship team. She became a high school softball coach in Wisconsin; both of her daughters played for her.
Robinson, now Tara Robinson Keen, went on to play at McNeese State. She lives in Tucson and is a pharmaceutical sales specialist.
Iveson left Salpointe after four years to join Candreaβs staff at Arizona, where the Wildcats won three NCAA championships. She later coached Pima College and Yavapai College to four NJCAA national championships β two for each school β between 2004-11. She rejoined Candreaβs staff in 2012 and remains there today.
