In this installment of Where Are They Now presented by Avenger Logistics, we look back at the to women's soccer program's first-ever signee.
 
Gretchen Cross Hammel never saw herself as a pioneer, but she was willing to be one.
 
The 2000 graduate of UTC was the first signed to play soccer for the Mocs women's team when it was formed in 1996. She would go on to be on the first women's team for the Chattanooga Football Club in 2014 and later become the general manager of the first Lady Red Wolves team, a position she still holds today. The Lady Red Wolves just completed their first year in the USL-W league.
 
Hammel played for Grace Academy in Chattanooga and credits Les Compton, her high school coach, in instilling a leadership quality in her.
 
"He was very inspirational," Hammel said. "He invested a lot into making women leaders. I learned a lot from him about leadership. He taught us about more than just the sport so I wasn't intimidated to be the first."
 
Her name is sprinkled throughout the Mocs record book. She ranks in the Top 10 in multiple categories including games play, points scored and goals. She was named to the Southern Conference All-Tournament team in 1996 and earned female athlete of the year honors in 2000.
 
She holds a degree in nutrition from UTC and earned her registered dietitian degree from Oakwood College in Huntsville, Ala. She and her husband Thomas Hammel have two daughters.
 
After being a player manager for the CFC, she had the chance to move on to a new opportunity with the Red Wolves. Her job these days is all the behind the scenes things that most people don't think about when they're buying tickets and merchandise.
 
"I handle the business side of things, the money, travel and player housing, but I'm also the one who fills a lot of water jugs and keeps the stats," she laughed. Sometimes she even gets her mother to help.
 
 
Did you understand what it meant to be the first signee for Chattanooga?
I was super excited about the opportunity. I did know that this was the first year of the program. I'm the first player. I had no other teammates to say 'I want to play on that team.' As the first player, you're like 'Are we going to be good?'
 
I had offers at other places, but I was excited about the opportunity of being part of the new program, a Division I program in my hometown. It was just a good fit. I felt honored and excited to do so. You had to be willing to be a pioneer yourself. I was like 'Okay. I can do this.'
 
 
Despite the struggles of your team, you stayed all four years. What led to that loyalty?
There were some discouraging moments and times, but we also pioneered the program. I loved the coach [Linda Whitehead]. I didn't want to leave her. I didn't want to leave my teammates. I wanted to stick it out to the end and see it through. That's what I committed to. I didn't think I was better than everyone else either. I was grateful to play Division I.
 
I don't even know when she signed me if I was a Division I player at that point. I think she took a big risk to sign me. I think by my junior and senior years I was a full blown Division I player at that point.
 
We were a team of freshmen, walk-ons and transfers. Many of the walk-ons were starters for us. It was difficult but as the years progressed we got better. We kept chugging along and working together. There weren't a lot of girls who left.
 
 
Do any road trips stick out in your memory?
We went to New Orleans for a tournament and after a game decided that we were going to eat in the French Quarter. We didn't know that there was a festival going on at the time. We saw people in some pretty wild outfits. She changed directions pretty quickly and we ate somewhere else!
 
 
While you didn't win many games, what are some that you remember?
We played Wake Forest in the spring one year and we lost 3-1, but we were so happy that we had a good game.
 
Our first game of the season several years was Tennessee. I didn't realize that they would pay us to come beat us up until my junior year. That was always tough to start out that way. It's hard being the underdog team. One year we were beating them at halftime. They ended up coming back and beating us, but it was like we had won the World Cup!
 
 
Do you still keep us with your teammates?
Barbara Wallace and I were in each other's weddings. Tiffany Gee. We grew up together and we have daughters the same age. She live in Atlanta.
 
 
Do your daughters play soccer?
No. We tried that when they were younger. I don't think they liked the running and physical aspect of it.