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Teresa Szumigala played basketball at Mercyhurst College for both Paul Demyanovich and Jim Webb from 1991 to 1995. During her four years, the Lady Lakers went a combined 72-36 and made NCAA postseason play in both 1994 and 1995. The 1995 season has been the finest in the history of the program. The Lady Lakers finished the season ranked first in the East Region and 13th in the nation. They became the first Mercyhurst team ever to host an NCAA Regional Championship. (Baseball followed suit a few months later when it hosted the North Atlantic Region Tournament at Hirtzel Field at Mercyhurst North East.) The Lady Lakers made it to the Elite Eight in Fargo, North Dakota, before being eliminated by Stonehill College 80-78. The team finished the season with a record of 24 wins and only six losses.
Szumigala led Mercyhurst in scoring in each of her four years and finished with 2,024 points, second all-time to another Hall-of-Fame member and Mercyhurst Prep alum, Lisa (Maxson) Beery who totaled 2,112 from 1986-1990. She also finished second in career rebounds (917), tied for third in games played (107), second in free throws made (535), and first in assists (362). In 1995, Szumigala was named a Kodak All-American, the ECAC Division II Player-of-the-Year, the NCAA East Regional Tournament MVP, and a Women in Sports Flo Hyman Award-Winner. All told she was named to 12 all-tournament or all-star teams as a Laker. She graduated from Mercyhurst in 1995 with a B average in Elementary Education.
In 1999, Szumigala was inducted into the Erie Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. Since graduation, she has taught the fourth grade at McKinley Elementary School. She also coached the Strong Vincent girl's basketball team for three years before moving to Mercyhurst Prep as the girl's junior varsity coach.
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