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Tenille Howe Slack: strokes ahead of the pack

Former Weber State women's golf standout Tenille Howe Slack. Slack is one of the five members of the Wildcat Hall of Fame Class of 2015.  (Source: Weber State Athletics)
Former Weber State women’s golf standout Tenille Howe Slack. Slack is one of the five members of the Wildcat Hall of Fame Class of 2015.
(Source: Weber State Athletics)

Some members of the Wildcat Hall of Fame are obvious and need no explanation save that they are just spectacular. But it’s not every year that a Willie Sojourner in men’s basketball or a Jamie Martin in football exists to shine like the bright gems they are. No, most are people you could classify as unsung heroes.

In the 2015 Hall of Fame class, one of those heroes is Tenille Howe Slack.

As a student at Weber State University, she was a four-year starter for the women’s golf team and became one of the first golfers in school history to win a Big Sky Conference championship.

Previous to her college career, she was a multi-sport athlete that did it all. Howe worked hard, graduating from Fremont High School where she played golf for about one year before coming to Weber State.

“Growing up, I was active and loved to play whatever sport I could,” Slack said. “For me, golf started out as a hobby, and when I found out I wasn’t too bad at it, my competitive side took over and I made it my goal to become the best.”

Her hard work and dedication paid off. When she was on the team as a junior from 1999-2000 she won individual honors as the low medalist at the Big Sky Championships, at Sunbrook Golf Course in St. George.

On that day she set herself up to be a big part of the Wildcat athletic history by being the first and only golfer from WSU to ever win the Big Sky title. She shot rounds of 74, 71 and 78 for a three-day total of 223 to win by two strokes.

She was named the Big Sky Conference Player of the Year that season, the only Wildcat to ever win the award.

“When I won that first championship, I knew that I could only go up from here,” Slack said. “I started to work harder and set goals to even try my hand at some of the local amateur games. This drive to win came with me from my early days, and it is what helped me to be great.”

As a senior in 2000-01, she led the Wildcats to their first ever team championship. She finished third individually and helped the Wildcats capture the Big Sky team title at Valley View Golf Course in Layton. For Slack, that aspect of working together as a team became something that she still cherishes to this day.

“My final year we went far as a team, and that came from strong effort from everyone,” she said. “Triumphing like that together, it creates bond that last forever. Many of the people from my collegiate days are still my dear friends and we have remained in communication to this day.”

That season Weber State advanced to the NCAA West Region Championships where Howe was WSU’s second finisher.

As an amateur she saw continued success and, after a lot of hard work, she took home the 2000 Utah State Women’s Amateur Championship at the Logan Golf and Country Club. She continued that dedication and played nationally as she finished in the top 16 at the U.S. Public Links Tournament in 2000 and qualified for the U.S. Women’s Amateur in 2000.

As a collegiate athlete she earned four Big Sky Academic All-Conference honors and was named the Big Sky Conference Female Scholar Athlete in 2001. She earned four Academic All-American honors and was awarded the NCAA post-graduate scholarship award, an award which is given to athletes who have excelled both academically and in their sport of choice.

She continued to give back to WSU by serving as president of the Weber State Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. After college, she met her husband, Rob Slack, and they married in 2004. They have four children and reside in Lehi, Utah.

Reflecting on her career and her time playing as a Wildcat, Slack feels overwhelmed at the honor of being in the Hall of Fame. It was never something she sought 0r dreamed of.

“To be honored like this is overwhelming,” Slack said. “Weber State and its programs mean so much to me. There are very few words to describe how I feel. To be honored like this is really one of the greatest achievements of my life.”

She and the other recipients will be honored before the crowd during halftime at this Saturday’s men’s basketball game. The night prior they will be honored and inducted during the Wildcat Club’s annual Hall of Fame Banquet.

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