Melanie Ditzler Weber was a standout defensive player for the Shippensburg University field hockey team for four years. She also lettered in tennis for two seasons.
Weber was captain and Most Valuable Player of Shippensburg’s 1976 field hockey team. The Lady Raiders compiled a 9-2-3 record, and Weber was instrumental in helping Shippensburg limit the opposition to just 1.07 goals per game for the year. Shippensburg shutout five opponents, and finished with a flourish, going undefeated in its last eight games. That accomplishment began a streak that extended for 27 games and ended the fall of 1978.
In 1975, the Lady Raiders went 4-5-2 but Weber played a key role in a major upset when Shippensburg tied Division I power Penn State 1-1. That tie served as revenge for the year before when Weber and her teammates won the first seven games of the season only to have the streak broken with a 1-0 loss to Penn State. The Lady Raiders finished the 1974 season with an 8-3 record. During her freshman season Shippensburg had a 3-5-1 record.
In tennis Weber was noted for her doubles skill. She played at number one doubles and in the spring of 1975 compiled a record of 7-1. It is unfortunate the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference did not have women’s championship tournaments then.
A native of Lititz and a graduate of Warwich High School, Weber was a standout in the classroom as well as on the playing field. She had a 3.9 academic average and was the recipient of the Jesse S. Heiges English Award. She also won the Helen B. Kraiss Award for outstanding contributions to women’s athletics. Weber was an officer in both the Tau Kappa athletic sorority and the Women’s Athletic Association.
After graduation Weber lived in Lewisburg where she was the Head of Adult Services at the public library for Union County.
