Special Recognition

SPECIAL RECOGNITION was accorded last month to Eva Mendiola Dominguez, formerly of Cotulla, at a ceremony at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, for her contribution as one of the founders of women’s sports and specifically women’s volleyball at the private nonprofit institution (Photos this page). Eva Mendiola was the first Latina player and was chosen as co-captain of the university’s first intercollegiate team in 1974 after petitioning for the establishment of women’s sports. Her story has been recorded as part of the university’s Racial History Project, according to the commendation. The presentation was made on June 21 by Dr. Melissa Johnson, department chair of Anthropology. After the presentation, Dominguez and her grandson, Juan McIver, were given a tour of the renovated campus and the new volleyball facility. An educator and counselor, she is wife of the late Juan Rivera “Coach” Dominguez, who served as sports coach and teacher at Cotulla ISD for 30 years and was a public servant as councilor and mayor of the city of Cotulla.