Inducted 2008

When Wendy Oakes arrived on the Baylor campus as a junior in 1988, she provided just the spark the women's swimming program needed to rise to the top of the state swimming scene and into the national limelight. Wendy excelled in the 50 free and 100 fly and was Baylor's first individual girls' state champion in any sport. She was the first individual All American for the girls' team, and she was the first female to qualify for the USA Swimming National Championships. A state champion in each of her four years of high school, Wendy held the school and state records in 1989 and 1990.

Her incredible work ethic and enthusiasm for the sport inspired Wendy's teammates to believe they could win the title, and they proved it in 1990. "In my 30 years of coaching, Wendy stands out as one of the all-time performers, hardest workers and leaders," said Joe Goeken, Baylor's head swimming coach from 1989-96.

A true scholar-athlete, Wendy was a member of the Cum Laude Society, the Mu Alpha Theta Honor Society, and was named an Academic All American. She graduated summa cum laude from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville with a degree in biology, earned a doctorate in dentistry from Meharry Medical College, and received her orthodontic certificate from Vanderbilt.

She joined the Baylor Board of Trustees in 2006.