Hall of Fame
The Quincy Herald-Whig once described this dazzling duo as, "College Tennis Antiques," when they first strode onto the courts to take on the Quincy College tennis team. Yet, in reality, all they were doing was setting the trend for the adult students of today, who have flocked back to colleges and universities over the past 5-10 years to work towards furthering their education. Today, the tandem still smiles just as brightly about the moniker as they did when they came away with their numerous victorious sets that they brought home both in singles and doubles play against their much-younger counterparts. In all, the duo teamed up to capture 38 victories against only 13 defeats in three seasons at the #1 doubles spot, including a 15-2 mark in their junior campaign. That was one of two seasons in which they finished second at the Small College State Tournament. In singles action, Watters held a slight edge over her teammate posting a 28-11 mark in the #1 position due primarily to back-to-back eight-win seasons against only three and two defeats, respectively, in her first two years donning the Brown & Gold. Karges, meanwhile, authored a respectable 23-16 mark at #2 singles. Prior to their arrival at St. Francis, both players helped lead the Joliet Junior College tennis team to its first-ever berth in the Junior College National Tournament via capturement of the Illinois Junior College doubles title. Unfortunately, the two were paired up against the #1-seeded doubles team down at the nationals in Midland, Texas and were eliminated in the first round. Still, the feat alone of reaching the elite field later led to induction into the Joliet Junior College Athletic Hall of Fame back in 1989 for both of them. Off the court, they had no equals, either, recording straight set victories in the books with their perfect 4.00 grade point averages, which led to both Dean's List and Summa Cum Laude honors upon graduation. And, like two former CSF Hall of Fame inductees, along with Baumgartner in this year's class, both Watters and Karges were named as the Alumni Association's Scholar-Athletes for 1980. To top it off, they both were chosen to give the homily to their senior class at the graduation mass. Watters, who lived in California during the first 20 years of her life and 10 years in Washington prior to a 13-year stay in Joliet, has settled into La Jolla, California, with her husband, Jim for the past three years. Together, they work at the Vista Community Clinic in Vista, California as Family Practice Physicians. In fact, upon completion of her degree in Biology at St. Francis, she went on to train as a Medical Technologist for one year at St. Joseph's Hospital before moving to Guadalajara, Mexico to continue her medical study which concluded with a five-year residency in the state of New York.
