LARAMIE – The final match of Jil Robins Thomason's legendary career at Wyoming was in the NCAA Tournament.
 
That was the expectation for Cowgirls volleyball during her playing days in Laramie. Thomason, a member of the 2024 UW Intercollegiate Hall of Fame, redshirted as a freshman in 1990 and was a senior in 1994.
 
UW hasn't made the NCAA Tournament field since those two appearances.
 
The program has been knocking on the door – former head coach Chad Callihan posted five 20-win seasons from 2013-19 and Kaylee Prigge has the Cowgirls on the rise again after a 23-9 record in 2023 as a first-year head coach – but the drought has lasted for 30 years since Thomason graduated.
 
"I can't believe that. Every now and then I look at that and I'm like, really, is that true?" Thomason said. "They'll get there. But, I mean, it feels great to know that I left my mark, and I made an impact on that program. Obviously, I wish it would have carried forth into future success and I wish they were still in the top 25 or at least going to the NCAA Tournament. Hopefully they'll get there."
 
How did Thomason, one of the greatest setters to ever play at UW, get to Laramie? After growing up in Maryland and New York she wanted to leave the East Coast and to play for a coach she respected.
 
Mike English, who led the Cowgirls to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 1986 and to the Regional Final in 1989 when Thomason was in high school, recruited her to be part of the memorable ride.
 
"That's another funny story," Thomason said of her recruiting visit when asked about adapting to the climate and culture at 7,220 feet. "I came out the first weekend in October, and it was one of those glorious fall weekends in Laramie. It was like 70 degrees, not a cloud in the sky the whole time, football game, it was beautiful."
 
Thomason was sold and spent her first Wyoming winter learning the ropes from all-WAC players Dailene Glenn, Judy Peck and Kim Smith. The Cowgirls finished 19-10 overall in 1990 but six of their losses were to ranked opponents, including No. 1 Nebraska in September and No. 3 Stanford in the NCAA Tournament.
 
"I just kind of took that time to adjust to school and adjust to life. That was a great year," Thomason said. "I remember going and watching in '90 and being a part of all of the stuff that was happening and all the big games that we played, and thinking, you know, this is what I want to do. My senior year, we got back there, and that was pretty amazing."
 
The next generation of young stars were developing together during the next three seasons. Thomason was named the most valuable player of the 1993 team.

In December of that year, English was in a tragic car accident on U.S. 287 between Laramie and Fort Collins. He suffered traumatic injuries and never coached again before his death on Nov. 20, 2000.
 
Assistant Beth Kuwata was elevated to head coach before the 1994 season.
 
The Cowgirls played inspired against a daunting schedule that fall, defeating No. 10 Arizona State in a five-set classic, losing at No. 3 Nebraska and defeating No. 23 Georgia in another five-set marathon. A loss to Washington and a win over North Carolina also went the distance during non-conference play.
 
"It just felt like every night was a big match," Thomason said. "It made the season go faster because there was no letdown and no thinking we can take tonight off."
 
On Sept. 20, 1994, UW hosted No. 1 UCLA at the Arena-Auditorium. The home crowd of 4,081 is still the largest in program history.
 
"We didn't go five (sets) on that one. I remember they crushed us," Thomason said of the straight set loss to the Bruins, who fell in the national championship match to rival Stanford that season. "But it was an amazing environment, and the arena had 4,000 fans or something like that. It was momentous at the time, the biggest crowd, and still is in Wyoming. It was weird because you've played against a lot of these kids, and you've seen them at the time in magazines, because there wasn't any social media, and you saw them at the Junior Olympics.
 
"Then you're playing against UCLA and some of the top players in the country, obviously UCLA being No. 1, and it was just a really fun environment."
 
The WAC was also loaded that season with BYU, New Mexico and UW all ranked. The Cowgirls won six of their final seven conference matches, with the lone defeat being a five-setter to the eighth-ranked Cougars, to earn an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament.
 
The campaign ended with a four-set loss to Washington in the first round played in Seattle.
 
"Sometimes it feels like it was just yesterday, sometimes it feels like it was a million years ago," Thomason said of her final match wearing the brown and gold. "I mean, I can remember specific serves. It was a tight game, and we couldn't miss a serve. It just was such a grind and such an opportunity, and I don't think necessarily we knew what we had in front of us, but we went out there and gave it our all. Washington was a really good team."
 
Thomason was an All-Region selection by the American Volleyball Coaches Association in 1994, one of only nine Cowgirls in history to earn that honor. She also earned all-WAC first team honors and still ranks second for single season assists (1,376, 1994) and fifth for career assists (3,592, 1991-94) in UW history.
 
The 1994 team featured some other all-time greats, including Melissa Sharp, Wende Brown and Kristina Dzelme.
 
"In hindsight looking back, there was just such a strong group of seniors that had been there and had been playing for so long, and some really good underclassmen, and just everyone seemed to gel and bond," Thomason said. "It felt good at the time. I can tell you that it was a fun thing to be a part of."
 
Thomason went on to work as an assistant volleyball coach at Utah, Denver and Colorado. She currently works in the Boulder Valley School District. One of her daughters, Josie, is a UW student.
 
(Editor's note: This is the third in a seven-part series profiling the 2024 UW Intercollegiate Hall of Fame class. Tickets to the induction banquet, which begins at 6 p.m. on Sept. 6 in the Gateway Center, are now on sale and can be purchased here: https://one.bidpal.net/wyohalloffame2024/welcome)
 
If you are interested in learning more about NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) or would like to support our student-athletes, please visit 1wyo.org. 1WYO was created out of Wyoming's culture of neighbor helping neighbor. The mission is to promote and strengthen local charitable organizations and develop Wyoming student athletes.
 
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