Graw was a talented player who won several awards, including the 1958 Women’s Falls City Championship as a teenager. In 1960, Don Kaiser, UofL’s men’s tennis coach, needed more athletes to compete, so he invited Graw, a then-18-year-old freshman, to tryouts. Two other women, Liz Crady and Nancy Butler, also tried out for the team. All three made it. Ěý

According to Graw’s husband, Paul, also a former UofL athlete, Kaiser wanted to harness Graw’s championship energy for the team. In fact, Kaiser offered her a partial athletic scholarship for joining the team, making Graw the first woman at UofL to receive such an honor.

“Coach Kaiser thinks so highly of (Graw’s) potential that she was given a partial scholarship,” wrote Marvin N. Gay, Jr. in a 1960 sports column in the Courier Journal. “Athletic director Peck Hickman said (Graw) is the first girl in the school’s history to receive aid because of athletic ability.”

At the time of Graw’s scholarship, most financial aid was based on academics or need rather than athletic ability, said Nancy Worley, associate sports information director for the Cardinal tennis teams.

It would take many years before other women had the opportunity to follow in the shoes of Graw, Crady and Butler.

“Officially, we did not have women’s athletics until 1975 when Title IX was interpreted to include sports for women,” Worley said. “The NCAA did not offer women’s sports until 1982.”

Tennis led to love off the court for Graw, too. She met Paul, a former track athlete, in the summer of 1962. Paul loved Martha’s exceptional talent for the sport and how happy tennis made her no matter where she was. The pair became engaged their senior year, in 1963. That year, both also lettered in varsity sports.

When Paul left for Texas to attend Officer Training School, Martha taught tennis in the Louisville Public Parks program. The couple married upon his return and Martha took a step away from tennis to have two children. After moving to Wright Patterson Air Force Base during Paul’s service, Martha found there was an incredible tennis program, and she even got Paul to share in her passion.Ěý

“Marty (Martha) and I played singles together a lot. It was an awful long time before I won a set from her, but eventually I could win a set every now and then,” Paul said. “We liked to play mixed doubles. Over the years, that became really important. We, through her, got to be a part of the local tennis scene.”

Graw was a natural athlete who took pride in her athletic victories and shared her love for the sport that helped pay her way through college with anyone who was willing to learn. She died in 2014 after a battle with cancer, but her legacy lives on in the hundreds of women who have taken the courts, fields, tracks and pools for UofL since Graw’s first serve

Conway is a pitcher with the University of Louisville’s baseball team. He played baseball during his undergraduate career at Indiana State University, where he injured his shoulder in his junior year and sat out the majority of that year. After playing his senior year, he learned that he would likely qualify for a medical hardship waiver. He applied for that waiver, which was approved in July 2017, granting him one last year of eligibility to play.

By that point, Conway had committed to attending the Brandeis School of Law, and the powerhouse baseball team at UofL also was attractive to him. Coach DanĚýMcDonnell spoke with Conway’s summer league coach and a few of his formerĚýteammates, who were able to speak to Conway’s skills andĚýcommitment.

ConwayĚýdecided toĚýspend one more year as a student-athlete.

“I keep getting to play the sport I love,” he said, adding that he also saw a position on the team as a networking opportunity. “DanĚýMcDonnellĚýjust was theĚý, so having the opportunity to work with him throughout Louisville when I want to practice law in Louisville and being able to have him vouch for me on a professional level would be extremely beneficial when it comes time to apply for jobs.”Ěý

As a double major in legal studies and political science at Indiana State, Conway had his eye on law school for years.Ěý

“I like challenging myself. Obviously, physically with athletics, but also academically,” he said. “I wanted a career that wasn’t the same every day. The law is always changing, and every case is different. I felt like I could challenge myself every day — and I like to argue.”

Balancing life as a student-athlete is a challenge, but Conway credits support from both the law school and the baseball team in helping him maintain his hectic schedule. Conway’s law professors have been supportive, as has Jennifer DiSanza, Brandeis’Ěýassistant dean for student services and law chief of staff. AndĚýMcDonnell has told him that academics are a priority for all his players.

McDonnell praised Conway’sĚýcommitment to success as a baseball player and as a law student.

“Austin has displayed impressive maturity and focus in the way he’s managed both baseball and law school since he arrived on campus. From the moment we first talked about the challenges of balancing those demands, his excitement for embracing the opportunity has helped him in the process. He did his own research on how many Division I student-athletes have been able to also attend law school and that has helped him have a realistic set of expectations,” McDonnell said. “He has respected the challenge and has never felt a sense of entitlement. At this point in his career, he fully understands college academics and athletics and he knows he has to earn everything he gains in the classroom and on the field.”

Conway is thinking of pursuing a career in corporate law and is looking forward to becoming more involved with law school extracurriculars when his baseball career ends this year. In the mean time, he is spending this year working hard.

“It’s not easy for the people who aren’t into it. I really, really want to practice law and it’s something that I enjoy doing, so it’s easier for me to open the book,” he said. “It’s hard, but it’s easy because I enjoy it.”