UNLV SOFTBALL ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: Amie Stewart (1992-95), UNLV Athletics Hall of Fame '12, Current Physical Education Teacher
In the early 1990s, UNLV softball was in its heyday. Under then head-coach Shan McDonald, the Rebels went on a seven-year NCAA tournament run beginning in 1990, which included the program's only three trips to Women's College World Series in 1990, 1991 and 1995. Around the same time, another UNLV program - the Runnin' Rebels - were fresh off a 1990 national championship and a 1991 Final Four appearance.
For San Diego native Amie Stewart, the Rebel softball program's success was enticing in drawing her to Las Vegas, but the men's basketball success was icing on the cake.
"I definitely was a huge basketball fan, so that played a pretty big part [in coming here] with what they were doing at the time," said Stewart. "Obviously softball was successful too, coming off two world series trips. I also had a friend here that I played travel ball with, Felicia Benjamins, she was a junior when I was taking my recruiting trip. She loved it and I trusted her, so that played a big part in my decision too."
When Stewart arrived on campus in 1992, expectations were understandably high after the two straight Women's College World Series appearances. Rebel legend Lori Harrigan was a senior that year and it was a foregone conclusion that they would go back, but their run ended at regionals. The next two seasons, UNLV came up short in regionals again.
"Honestly, it was a little stressful because my freshman year we had Lori we were supposed to win, but we lost at regionals. My sophomore year, we won the first two games and went to the championship game, but got swept and didn't make it. Then my junior year, we were ranked fifth and UCLA was third and they put us in the same regional, which was frustrating. But we made it to the championship game again undefeated, but we lost a heartbreaking game and didn't make it again," said Stewart.
Going into her senior season in 1995, Stewart and the Rebels were really feeling the pressure.
"So by my senior year, literally everyone and the media was asking us about it and it was on our minds all the time, so we did feel a lot of pressure. But we didn't want to think about it too much. We went into Oklahoma, we beat Oklahoma State, we beat Oklahoma and we went to the championship game again, but lost the first game. We were stressed out and it was 0-0 in the fifth inning, but we went on to win and make it back to the world series. That regional tournament was probably the most exciting time I had at UNLV, just the release of the pressure of finally winning and going back [to the WCWS] was great."
The Rebels went on to go 2-2 at the series that year, finishing third overall - UNLV's best finish in program history at the event. Stewart pitched two complete games for a 0.95 ERA en route to becoming the only Rebel in history to earn all-WCWS honors.
The 1995 squad, with its five All-Americans, is arguably the best Rebel softball team of all time, as evidenced by its number of UNLV Athletics Hall of Fame inductees. Stewart's teammate Kim Rondina and the entire 1995 Women's College World Series team was inducted in 2008, while Stewart entered the Hall of Fame 2012 and UNLV softball's winningest head coach Shan McDonald was the most recent inductee in 2017.
Stewart's legacy has stood the test of time as she still ranks near the top in almost every career pitching category. Her 1.45 ERA ranks third, 73 wins are tied for second, 133 appearance are fifth, 97 games started are fifth, 83 complete games are fourth, 28 shutouts are third, 11 saves are tied for fifth, 737.2 innings pitched are fourth, 492 strikeouts are fourth, .689 winning percentage (73-33) is second and her two no hitters are tied for third. She was named to the Big West All-Conference team twice, earned an all-region nod once and is one of just one of two UNLV pitchers - the other being Harrigan - to earn All-American honors.
Stewart also played on the USA National Team and professionally when her collegiate career at UNLV came to an end.
After her playing career, Stewart went on to become a physical education teacher and over the past year has faced adversity trying to navigate how to teach during a global pandemic. But she says her time as a student athlete prepared her to face the challenge of the past year and of being a teacher in general.
"I think being an athlete brings that to you. Just being able to understand that you're going to fail, be able to bounce back after you fail. The hard work and commitment it takes. I think all of the traits that athletes have, I tell my students, people love athletes and hire athletes because of the teamwork, dedication, collaboration and the communication skills. All of those traits have brought me to where I am today. I was able to finish off my degree and 10 years ago I got my master's, so it just taught me hard work and helped me become who I am today."
Read on for more of UNLVRebels.com's conversation with Stewart about what it was like to play in a Women's College World Series and under Coach McDonald, what it meant to her to be inducted to UNLV Athletics' Hall of Fame, her favorite UNLV softball memories, the most challenging part of being a teacher during the pandemic and following the current Rebels.
The early 1990s were a really exciting time to be a part of UNLV Softball, what was that like?
It was so awesome. My freshman year I came in and we still had Lori Harrigan, so I got the opportunity to learn from her. Then her first year out, she was our grad assistant, so I continued to learn from her, which was pretty awesome. It was just a lot of fun. I think we were in the top 10 all four years, I was there, so that was exciting, and we got to play a great schedule. It was tough, but it was great.
What was it like to play in the Women's College World Series?
It's the best tournament you'll ever play in. The fans are amazing, everyone has their little sections and the kids are asking you for autographs. It was just a really fun time. We had great chemistry on our team, so it was just really fun being there and playing there. I think some of the things in our past helped us because when we got there we had to play Fullerton, which was an our conference we had played them several times. We lost to them in the first game, but we were able to bounce back and win the next two games and finish third. So that was really exciting too because everything we had been through prepared us, even though we lost we just kept going.
Any other favorite memories from your time here?
I think my junior year we played at Arizona and it was the worst road trip possible, the VCRs weren't working on that eight-hour road trip, it was during spring break or something and we had to play a doubleheader. We got killed the first game badly, but we came back and we beat them the second game, and I think they only lost a few games that year and won the national championship. We ended their home game winning streak, so that was a really big game for us. Honestly though, my favorite memory was our entire team getting inducted into the Hall of Fame, there's nothing more special than going into the Hall of Fame with your teammates, your coaches, your media and everyone that was a part of that success.
What did it mean to you personally to be inducted in 2012?
I think when you're playing, you don't think about that. You're just having fun, you love the sport and you don't think about it. Later on in life, you start to think about it. My daughter played at San Diego State and they had the number one offense in the country her junior year, so I told her you'll probably be in the Hall of Fame one day, and she's like, Mom, no way. But you just don't think about it at her age. But it really is an honor, we had some many great players on that team and it really takes a team, so it was great and it was an awesome experience.
Your coach, Shan McDonald, was recently inducted in 2017. What was it like to play for her?
Coach was tough - she was hard, but you can tell how much we loved her by how many people showed up to her Hall of Fame event, I think we had 15 players come in for it. I feel like she probably should have went in before any of us because she completely changed our program. Getting Lori and the players that she recruited, she just did a great job, so it was very deserving. I still talk to her today, probably have a better relationship now than when I played. She's an awesome person, a great coach and she was an amazing player. So kudos to her, she definitely deserved it.
Did you always want to be a teacher?
I actually wanted to be a division one softball coach, that was my life goal. After college, I had a daughter so I was young and I just decided to teach and I really liked it. And I've still been able to coach with it, I had a travel ball team for a while so I was still in the softball world. I definitely wish I would have maybe pursued that because coaching and coaching softball is the best thing ever.
What has been the most challenging part of teaching during the pandemic?
I'm a PE teacher, so that makes it a little more difficult. At the beginning, just understanding the challenges of technology, there were really days that I cried because my technology was breaking down and I can't control it. But now, I really love my students and I've gotten to know them on a little bit deeper of a level, which is kind of weird, but being able to see and talk to them, they just want to communicate and they just want someone to talk to. So it's definitely made me a better teacher. We all cannot wait to get back to playing dodgeball in the gym, but the challenges have made me a better person and teacher.
What's it been like to see the current team have the success they have under Kristie?
It's awesome. I'm really glad that they're doing so well. I saw that they were preseason ranked number two, so that's awesome. Every alumni just wants us to have a great program and it seems like she's doing the right things. It's exciting to see their pitchers doing awesome too, so hopefully they can break some of mine and Lori's records. I was able to watch them more closely for four years when my daughter played in the conference, so it's great to see how much they've progressed over the years. It's exciting.
The current Rebels head out on the road for the first time this weekend, facing No. 3 UCLA for a doubleheader Friday, Loyola Marymount for two on Saturday and wrapping up the weekend with one against Cal State Fullerton.
