Warrior Hall of Fame
Back To Hall of Fame
Back To Hall of Fame
1985 and 1987 Member of NAIA National Championship
1985-86 and 1987-88 Academic All-American
1984-85, 1986-87, 1987-88, NCAA Regional Competitor
For teams to be successful, athletes need to find their place on the team that will help along with that success. Such was the case with Laura M. (Robillard) Tripicchio.
During her four years of competition as a gymnast at Winona State University, Tripicchio found her spot and fought through a knee injury in her junior season that kept her from competing at her top form in all-around competition. Her effort helped push her Warrior squad through some of the most successful season in WSU history.
Tripicchio was an integral part of the Warriors’ climb to the NAIA national championship in the 1984-85 and 1986-87 seasons—the first team national championships ever won by WSU. Those national titles were just the beginning of what Tripicchio and the Warriors would accomplish, as Winona State placed third in the 1985-86 NAIA nationals and fourth in the 1987-88 season.
It was a time when the Warriors could hold dual affiliation and also competed on the NCAA level. The Warriors defeated a number of Division I teams during Trippicchio’s career and placed second in the 1985-86 NCAA national championships after coming in third in the 1984-85 championships.
After completion of her collegiate career, Tripicchio kept her hand in gymnastics, serving as a high school and YMCA coach and also as a Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association gymnastics official.
The drive and determination she learned as a Warrior gymnast has helped her as a home school educator and in the roles as a Christian Community home volunteer and marriage ministry team leader.
She and her husband, Tony, who was a football player at Winona State, have two sons.
Back To Hall of Fame
