Jenni (Rasmussen) Kammer
Jenni (Rasmussen) Kammer was an outstanding athlete for both Swan Valley High School and Central Michigan University. While in high school, Jenni earned nine varsity letters in basketball, volleyball, and softball from 1995-1999. As a junior on the varsity basketball team, she started in the 1997 MHSAA Class B State Championship game where the Lady Vikings ultimately came up short against Detroit Country Day. During the 1998 season, she averaged 12 points per game and hit 60% of her shots. Jenni earned All Area and All Conference in both 1997 and 1998 for basketball as well as the team’s defensive MVP in 1998.
When she got on the volleyball court, she was a starting varsity middle hitter for two seasons. In 1999, she was named to the Saginaw News Volleyball Dream Team when she had 542 kills (best in Saginaw area), 240 digs, 73 aces, and a whopping 91% serving percentage. That season, she was named the team’s MVP. Accolades received for volleyball include All-Region in 1999 and All-Tri Valley Conference in 1998 and 1999. Other accolades she collected include Top Scholar Athlete by the Detroit Free Press and Outstanding Female Athlete by the U of M Alumni Club.
It was on the softball diamond that Jenni gained her most recognition. She was the 1999 MHSSCA’s Miss Softball award winner. In that season, she recorded four perfect games, six no hitters, and seven one-hit games. During her junior and senior year, she helped lead the Lady Vikings to the state semifinals. In the quarterfinals of her junior year, she threw a no-hitter against fellow Class of 2023 inductee Coach Larry Graf. Her high school pitching records included 34 wins in a season (90 in a career), 412 strikeouts in a season (979 career), 12.5 strikeouts per game, .06 ERA in a season (MHSAA record lowest) and 1.6 hits per game. Her career high school batting average was .409 and she tallied 74 hits her senior season to set yet another school record in a place known for softball players. Throughout her high school softball career, Jenni also earned All Conference (1996-99), All District (1996-99), All Region (1997-99), All State (1998-99) and Academic All State (1999).
Rasmussen was recruited by universities in all three sports. In the end, she decided to play softball at Central Michigan University for legendary coach Margo Jonker. While playing for the Chippewas, she earned four varsity letters and helped her squad win Mid-America Conference regular season championships in 2000 and 2002 as well as three MAC Tournament Championships from 2000-2002. During the 2002 season she went a perfect 8-0 in conference games with a 1.15 ERA and four shutouts earning All MAC honors. In her senior season, she finished with a 1.17 ERA in MAC play. Additional accolades earned at Central Michigan include MAC Female Scholar Athlete of the Week in 2002 and MAC Pitcher of the Week in 2002 and 2003. Jenni was also part of the Academic All-MAC team in 2001, 02, and 03 and earned Academic All District in 2003.