Augustana College Athletics

From 2003-07, Samantha Knox excelled at Augustana not only in two sports, but in the classroom as well. An Academic All-American and NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship winner for the Vikings, she still holds no fewer than 10 school records in softball and volleyball.
 
Although she was an All-CCIW performer in both sports and came to Augustana as a volleyball recruit, Knox probably left a bigger impact on the softball diamond. The third baseman was a four-time all-region and first team all-conference selection and owned six school records when she graduated, five of which still stand. Her 172 games played and started are both school records and the Vikings compiled a 128-44 record in contests that she played, making her the winningest player in program history. She helped lead Coach Kris Kistler’s squads to a pair of CCIW titles and three NCAA Division III Tournament appearances.
 
As a freshman in 2004, Knox hit .353 and led Augustana in doubles (10), triples (three), homers (four), RBI (31), total bases (76) and slugging (.559) as the Vikings posted a school-record 36 wins against just nine losses. Augustana captured a share of the conference crown with an 11-3 record and made its first NCAA tourney appearance in eight years.
 
Knox hit .331 for a 33-12 club as a sophomore before putting together a huge season in 2006. She posted career highs in batting (.385), hits (52), doubles (13), homers (five), RBI (a school-record 44), total bases (80) and slugging (.593) as the Vikings went 33-10, won the CCIW with a 13-1 mark and made it back to the NCAA Tournament.
 
Knox’s senior season yielded a .348 average and career bests in runs (31), walks (15), on-base percentage (.413) and stolen bases (six) as Kistler’s outfit went 30-14 and made another NCAA appearance. In addition to games played and started, Knox set Augustana career records for at-bats (527, since broken), doubles (42) and RBI (131). Her RBI total is still 21 more than any other player’s in the history of the program.
 
After earning All-State honorable mention in volleyball at United Township High School in East Moline, Illinois, Knox joined Coach Betsy Knott’s Vikings in the fall of 2003 and finished second on the team with 309 kills.
 
The outside hitter’s breakout season came as a sophomore in 2004 when she set school records for kills (592)—including a school-record 32 versus Grinnell on September 11—kills per game (4.66) and points per game (5.24) on her way to second team All-CCIW recognition. She also led Augustana with 46 service aces and a .274 attack percentage.
 
Knox again led the Vikings with 376 kills as a junior in 2005, but an arm injury limited her to just 14 matches and 44 games in her senior season.
 
Knox finished her career with the highest average of kills per game (3.28) in school history and, if not for the injury, would likely be Augustana’s career leader in kills and points. As it is, her respective totals of 1360 and 1604.5 rank third and fourth all-time. She also owns five of the top ten single-match kill totals in school history.
 
A pre-medicine and biology major at Augustana with a minor in Spanish, Knox graduated in 2007. She earned her M.D. from the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine and served her residency in internal and pediatric medicine at Ohio State University and Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. After a fellowship in allergy and immunology at Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, she recently started practice as a pediatric allergist and immunologist.
 
Samantha and her husband, Eric Sengpiel, live in Onalaska, Wisconsin with their son Quinn, who was born in 2016.
 
“I loved my time at Augustana,” said Knox. “But college was not easy. Classes were hard and sports were demanding. Augustana, however, was the exact right place for me to tackle both. It gave me all the necessary skills to get into and succeed in medical school. Balancing a grueling academic schedule with two sports laid the foundation for my time management skills, which I need more than ever these days. I met some of my very best friends at Augustana, people whom I couldn’t imagine NOT having in my life these days.”