Monmouth College Athletics

A four-time letter winner in both volleyball and softball, Karen Friedrich Pyatt was, in the words of her coach, Kathy Wagoner, “a force to be dealt with in both.”

In volleyball, Pyatt was a superb middle hitter. Her strength and agility, along with intelligence and untiring determination, made her a team leader. She was named twice to the all-conference team and was a team MVP.

She was an equally outstanding athlete in softball and excelled at both pitching and catching. Her power was legendary. In a 1983 doubleheader, Pyatt hit two balls over the fence, prompting the opposing coach to successfully argue the fence was too close and cause future balls hit there to be declared ground-rule doubles. Pyatt obliged by hitting another “ground-rule double.” Her senior year brought Pyatt all-conference honors.

In 1984, she was named the MACW Scholar-Athlete of the Year.