Jess Rheinheimer Bishop ’16 chose 91���� because of its people. The Manheim, Pennsylvania, native appreciated head women’s basketball coach Kevin Griffin’s persistence in recruiting her, but it was 91����’s diverse community that ultimately set it apart.

“I wanted something a little different,” she said. “I appreciated all the different backgrounds and the people I knew I was going to be playing with.”

A nursing major, Bishop became one of the most decorated women’s basketball players in program history. She helped lead the Royals to an 84-26 record and two ODAC Tournament championship game appearances during her four-year career.

After earning All-ODAC Second Team honors as a sophomore, Bishop exploded onto the national stage in 2014-15. She was named ODAC Player of the Year, VaSID State Player of the Year, a D3hoops.com First Team All-American, and the recipient of the Jostens Trophy, awarded annually to the top NCAA Division III basketball player for excellence in athletics, academics, and community service. She also earned Co-91���� Female Athlete of the Year honors.

As a senior, Bishop repeated as ODAC Player of the Year, was named D3hoops.com South Region Player of the Year, and earned another D3hoops.com All-American selection. She also received the Co-91���� Female Athlete of the Year and Co-91���� Female President’s Award. She finished her career with 1,567 points, the third-most in program history.

Today, Bishop has spent a decade as an oncology nurse at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. She credits Coach Griffin with teaching her that effective leadership requires more than setting an example.

“Not just leading by example, but offering encouraging words … and being a mentor.”

She and her husband, Jonny ’17, have two children, Turner and Aven.

Bishop will be honored at a ceremony at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 9, during Homecoming 2026. For a full schedule of Homecoming events and activities, visit . 

Hensley had one of the best women’s basketball careers in ODAC history. A four-year standout for 91����, she played in Harrisonburg from 1988-92. During that time, she was named a Kodak All-American Honorable Mention (1992) and a Kodak Regional All-American (1992). At the time of her graduation, she was the ODAC’s all-time leading scorer and would hold that honor for six years. She currently sits fourth all-time in the ODAC for total points with 2,163. That number is also tops in the 91���� record book, along with being the Royals’ all-time leader in scoring average at 22.5 points per game. She led all of Division III in scoring when she averaged 29.8 points per game during the 1992 season.

She was a two-time All-ODAC First Team member and a two-time All-ODAC Second Teamer. She was also named to the VaSID All-State First Team in 1992. Hensley had her jersey retired in 1992, becoming the first women’s basketball player to have that honor. She was also inducted into the 91���� Hall of Honor in 1992.

After leaving 91����, she earned her master’s degree from James Madison University. She was an administrator in Shenandoah County for 15 years, including serving as the principal at Central High School from 2012-19. During that time, she was named the 2016 Virginia Secondary Principal of the Year and Central was named a 2015 National Blue Ribbon School. In 2019, Hensley was named the principal at Harrisonburg High School. 

Hensley, along with 91����’s three other ODAC Hall of Fame inductees, will be celebrated on Saturday, Feb. 7, at the men’s basketball game against Roanoke inside Yoder Arena. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.����

A pioneering coach, co-athletic director, and professor at 91���� in the 1960s and ’70s—and the youngest daughter of John R. Mumaw, 91����’s fourth president from 1948-65—Miriam “Mim” Mumaw ’61, of Arlington, Virginia, passed away on Dec. 5, 2025.

During her tenure at 91���� (then known as Eastern Mennonite College or EMC), Mumaw coached the school’s first women’s basketball (1966-75), women’s volleyball (1968-79), and field hockey (1970) teams. She achieved the most success with the volleyball team, winning a state championship over James Madison University in 1973 and posting a perfect 21-0 season in 1976. Her overall record with the squad stands at 151-99. Mumaw was inducted into the in 2002. Only three other coaches share that distinction.

Those who were fortunate enough to cross paths with Mumaw, either on 91����’s campus or at Washington Community Fellowship (WCF), describe her as a people person who greeted everyone she met with warmth. They speak highly of her meticulous attention to detail, which shone brightly in her volunteer service to WCF and in her career at Gammon & Grange Law Offices, where she worked for more than 40 years. They also remember her for her love of baseball, particularly the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals, and her generosity in sharing her season tickets with others.

Mumaw was a beloved mentor, leader, and friend, known by many for her deep commitment to 91���� and her congregation.

“She was a titan, a fierce advocate for women in athletics and for 91���� in general,” said Carrie S Bert, the first woman to serve as 91���� athletics director.

Dave King ’76, 91����’s athletics director for 17 years before Bert, agreed. 

“Mim advocated for the expansion of women’s sports at a time when that wasn’t supported by many in the institution, including her father who had been president of the college,” said King. 

During one of her visits to the 91���� Athletics Suite, Bert recalled, Mumaw had shared with her how her father, likely reflecting the feelings of the wider church, had opposed the growth in women’s physical activities at 91����. “Mim just laughed and said, ‘Well, that wasn’t going to stop me … we just had to agree not to talk about it,’” shared Bert. 

“Mim was always so encouraging of me, both in words of affirmation and in the wonderful way she would squeeze my hand while we chatted,” Bert said. “I could feel her positivity and enduring support in those moments.”

King told the that he first met Mumaw when he arrived as a student in 1972, but “had no idea of the trailblazer she was and the impact she had on women’s sports” until he returned as director of athletics in 2005. “Besides coaching women’s sports and teaching PE classes, her involvement with the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) exposed EMC athletics to the broader collegiate athletic community and elevated the EMC sports programs,” King said.

Growing up in a glass bowl

Mumaw was born on Jan. 14, 1938, in Harrisonburg, the youngest of five daughters, to John R. and Esther Mosemann Mumaw. She was 10 years old when her father, a professor and ordained minister, took office as president, succeeding John L. Stauffer. He would serve in that role for the next 17 years.

“That was an important part of her growing up,” said Byron Peachey, a nephew of Mumaw and longtime 91���� staff member. “She lived down the road on College Avenue and EMC was an even smaller community than it is now. Everybody knew everybody else’s business. And so for her and her four older sisters, there was a spotlight on them and a set of higher expectations for what they did and how they conducted themselves.”

Mumaw graduated from 91���� in 1961 with a degree in business education. She then taught business education classes at Iowa Mennonite School for four years.

“That would’ve been an opportunity for her to spread her wings, outside of this glass bowl at 91���� where everybody knew her,” Peachey said.

In 1964, while Mumaw was in Iowa, her mother died “very suddenly,” Peachey said. She returned to Harrisonburg to care for her father (in 1965, he married Evelyn King, former dean of women for 91����, and resigned as president).

Hired by 91����’s fifth president (1965-80) Myron S. Augsburger, Mumaw coached the school’s first women’s intercollegiate athletic teams, including women’s basketball, volleyball, and field hockey. 

“That was groundbreaking for EMC,” Peachey said. “She was a real innovator. ‘Trailblazer’ is an overused word, but she truly was one.”

In 1968, after completing her master’s degree at the University of Iowa, Mumaw began teaching accounting and physical education courses at 91����. She also served as co-athletic director and co-chair of the physical education department.

Sandy Brownscombe, coach of 91���� women’s basketball (1978-89), field hockey (1978-93), and men’s volleyball (1991-98) also in the Hall of Honor, said that Mumaw held significant roles at the state, regional, and national levels within the AIAW, which governed women’s college athletics before the NCAA took over in the 1980s.

“Mim was a foundational figure for women’s athletics in Virginia through the AIAW,” Brownscombe said. “She started volleyball in the state of Virginia.”

A life of balance

Brownscombe was finishing her master’s degree coursework at Washington State University in 1978 when she was hired to teach physical education classes and coach the field hockey and women’s basketball teams at 91����. Mumaw interviewed her for the job, and was tasked with finding a place for her to live.

“There weren’t any apartments available,” said Brownscombe, “and so that’s how I ended up sharing her house with her that first year I was here.”

“That was, in my opinion, probably the best thing that ever happened to me,” she added, “because we spent many nights talking with each other, and she would explain to me what it meant to be a Mennonite female athlete. At that point, I was the first non-Mennonite full-time faculty member at 91����, so it really was my introduction to Mennonites and to EMC, and she shared that whole faith experience with me. She was like a big sister to me.”

Less than a full year later, in 1979, Mumaw left for a sabbatical year in D.C. at The Fellowship Foundation. It led to her permanent move to the area.

“She felt like she had taken 91���� athletics to the next stage,” Brownscombe said.

“91���� women’s sports experienced much success in the 1980s, which I believe was a direct result of Mim’s commitment to developing and expanding sports activities for women,” said King.

Mumaw was a founding member of , a Christ-centered faith community started by President Emeritus Augsburger (its first pastor) and his wife, Esther, in 1981 and affiliated with Mennonite Church USA. Mumaw was an active member of WCF for 43 years and served in many roles, including as presiding deacon, elder, and on the Finance, Human Resources, and Building committees.

“Any time students from WCF were attending 91����, Mim always made sure I knew about it,” said Tim Swartzendruber, senior regional advancement director for 91����. “She was an admissions ambassador for us, no question.”

In 1982, Mumaw began a long career at Gammon & Grange Law Offices in Tyson’s Corner, where she served as accountant, office manager, and assistant to senior partner. She worked at the firm for more than 40 years.

She often returned to 91���� and continued to love and support the university. She served on the 91���� Board of Trustees from 1988-96.

“When I think of Mim, I think of balance,” Brownscombe said. “Her whole life was balanced. She was great as a coach, administrator, teacher, and yet she was so involved in the church, in leadership there, and in her care for people. She was one of those well-rounded people who had it all together.”

“She was always positive, always optimistic,” shared Peachey. “She wanted sports to be fun for young women and for it to be a team experience. I think that was an important value she cultivated, that student-athletes experience team success rather than individual excellence.”

Clockwise from front center: Miriam “Mim” Mumaw ’61, Liz Chase Driver ’86, David Driver ’85, former Orioles player Larry Sheets ’83, and Stephanie Rheinheimer ’13 attend an Orioles baseball game in August 2022. Sheets told writer David Driver for the Augusta Free Press: “Mim was, first and foremost, a wonderful Christian woman, a huge fan of 91����, and a huge supporter of my career and then my son’s (Gavin Sheets’) career.” (Photo courtesy of David Driver/AFP)

A connector of people

A devoted fan of the Orioles and Nationals, Mumaw was known to invite family, friends, and anyone else within her orbit to baseball games. While there, she recorded the action with a pencil and paper scorecard. “It was in her DNA to keep track of details,” Peachey said.

As a student, David Driver ’85, former Weather Vane sports editor, narrowly missed the window when Mumaw was on campus. But he and his family became acquainted with her as longtime members of WCF beginning in the late 1980s.

“She was never one to talk about the role she played as a pioneer for women’s athletics at 91����, but her love of sports was contagious,” said Driver. “I’m happy to say she made WCF a church with a lot of baseball fans.”

“I know that Carrie Bert benefited greatly from having Mim as a mentor,” Driver added. “Without Mim, there may not have been a Carrie as the first woman to serve as 91���� athletics director.”

Long after leaving 91����, Mumaw continued to invest in its mission and its students. According to Swartzendruber, Mumaw included 91���� in her estate plans, directing support to two funds established by her parents: the Esther Mosemann Mumaw Memorial Endowed Scholarship, which benefits upperclasswomen of any major, and the John R. Mumaw Endowed Scholarship, which benefits teacher education students.

In 2018, Mumaw coordinated a fundraising effort among past and present members of WCF to increase the ongoing student impact of the Myron S. and Esther K. Augsburger Endowed Scholarship for Urban Ministry. The scholarship, valued at more than $400,000, benefits students at Eastern Mennonite Seminary who plan to serve in an urban setting. 

“Mim tried her hardest to attend every alumni gathering, homecoming, you name it,” Swartzendruber said. “She adored 91����. I always got the impression that 91���� felt like home to her.”

In addition to her parents, Mumaw was preceded in death by her four sisters: Helen Peachey, Grace Mumaw, Catherine Mumaw, and Lois Martin. She is survived by six nieces and nephews, and many beloved great-nieces and great-nephews. 

“She was a single woman, never had children, never married, and so she created a community around her,” Peachey said. “She knew lots of people in lots of different walks of life. When she went to baseball games, people noticed how all the attendants knew her. She knew them all by name. She was always looking for ways to connect people together.”

Thanks to Simone Horst, special collections librarian, for providing the archival images of Mumaw included in this story.

See her bio at: http://www.emuroyals.com/sports/wbkb/2014-15/bios/rheinheimer_jess_rlra
See more about 91���� athletics at: http://emuroyals.com

Earlier this winter, the Royals’ 5-10 forward was named Academic All-District in District 5, which includes much of the southeastern states in the U.S.

Rheinheimer studied in Honduras in the summer of 2013 as part of 91����’s . She is on the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) All-Academic Team and the Royals All-Academic Team, as well as Eastern Mennonite’s dean’s list.

Just as talented on the basketball court as she is in the classroom, Rheinheimer enters this week’s ODAC Tournament averaging a league-best 19.6 points along with 7.4 rebounds, 10th in the ODAC. Rheinheimer also tops the conference in field goals (183) and is second in three point percentage (42.2%), sixth in field goal percentage (51.0%), seventh in blocks (24) and 12th in steals (40).

An All-ODAC Second Team selection last spring as a part-time starter, Rheinheimer has taken off this year. She was named the USBWA National Player of the Week after scoring 29 points with 12 rebounds against Christopher Newport on Dec. 30 followed by 41 and 10 against Washington on Jan. 3. Rheinheimer has also earned ODAC Player of the Week and D3hoops.com National Team of the Week honors twice each this year.

Eastern Mennonite’s women’s basketball team, coached by in his 10th season at 91����, is the top seed in the ODAC Tournament this week, carrying a record of 21-3 overall and 15-1 in the ODAC. The women are also riding a 10-game winning streak and they look for their third consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament.

The win pushes Eastern Mennonite women to 8-1 overall and 5-1 in the ODAC.

After 91���� got the first bucket of the game, the Hornets took over and led by as many as ten in the first half at 25-15.  Sophomore (Manheim, PA/Lancaster Mennonite) then canned a three pointer to start the women on their comeback.

Lynchburg got a bucket but (Fishersville, VA/Wilson Memorial) nailed a triple and (Conestoga, PA/Penn Manor) followed with a three-point play to slash the lead to three points.  An offensive putback and another layup capped a 13-2 run as the Royals took the lead for the first time since the opening minute.

The Hornets settled down and retook the edge, heading into halftime on top 38-37.

91���� pushed the tempo to start the second and skipped back in front.  A Young layup made it 58-52 with 12:28 to play.

The visitors slowed the game down, but couldn’t get their offense going.  With 3:49 remaining, the Royals called a timeout.  The defense then earned back-to-back steals to quickly balloon the lead to 73-64.

Lynchburg got within three after a three-point play with 1:38 to go, but the Royals forced three straight turnovers and turned each into a score to ice the 81-72 decision.

Coach Kevin Griffin said the Hornets’ record is deceiving.

“That’s the best 1-8 team in America,” he said.  “They execute well, they play really hard, and have a bunch of kids that can shoot the ball.”

Both teams hovered around 40% in shooting for the game, but 91���� earned the win by getting to the free throw line in the second half and forcing turnovers down the stretch.  The Royals were 17-27 from the line compared to just 5-9 for Lynchburg.  The women also had a 19-11 edge in turnovers.

Ygarza led a balanced attack with her second straight double double – 19 points, 13 rebounds and three steals.

“Bianca was amazing tonight, especially with no turnovers,” Griffin said.  “But I thought it was big that we had five kids in double figures.  In the first half Marla was the spark for us.  In the second Raiven was the spark.”

Young hit a pair of three pointers in the first and finished with 10 points and three assists.  (Pulaski, VA/Pulaski) had 11 points and three steals, all in the second half.

(Bristow, VA/Brentsville District) had 10 points, five rebounds and five assists.  Rheinheimer finished with 10 and (Portsmouth, VA/Forest Park) added nine counters.

Katie Crump led Lynchburg with 16 points.  Shannon Allan charted 14 points and 10 rebounds.

The women, now 8-1 for the season, have a week off before traveling to Washington & Lee next Tuesday.

The classic will be two of the Royals’ 14 home games in their 24-game schedule, which was released today.  91���� hosts York (NY), Stevenson and Mary Baldwin at the classic, playing Stevenson at 8:00pm on Nov. 18 and York at 4:00pm on Nov. 19.  MBC will play the other team beforehand each day.

After the season-opening weekend, the women jump right into their 20-game Old Dominion Athletic Conference slate, playing at last year’s champion, Randolph-Macon, on Nov. 22.  The tough start continues with a Nov. 28 game at Bridgewater, which tied R-MC for the regular crown, and then a Nov. 30 hosting of Roanoke, which finished third.

The Royals play five of their eight pre-Christmas games at home, wrapping up with a non-conference contest with Shenandoah on Dec. 17.

Lynchburg comes to Harrisonburg on Jan. 3 to start the 2012 half of the schedule.  The women play seven home games in the month of January, including rival Bridgewater on Jan. 24.

The final home game of the year is Feb. 11 when Virginia Wesleyan visits.  Eastern Mennonite then closes with games at Randolph, Emory & Henry and Guilford.  The ODAC Tournament starts Feb. 23.

The Royals finished 15-11 in 2010-11 with a 13-7 mark in the ODAC, making the conference tourney for the tenth straight year.

…