Anne Tierney ’03 M’04 knew exactly which jersey number she wanted when she started at Lehigh in the fall of 1999: 34, just like her NBA idols Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal.
There was just one problem.
“The only jersey that was big enough to fit me was 41,” says Tierney, who stands 6 feet tall. “But obviously it did very well for me, and it’s become very near and dear to my heart.”
The number holds such strong meaning for her that each year during Giving Day + March Mania, she offers a matching challenge of $4,141.41 for the women’s basketball program. (A matching challenge means she pledges to donate that amount if other people collectively contribute the same amount.)
The pledge is a tribute to her now-beloved number and the Lehigh academic and athletic experience that shaped her life in ways she hopes future Mountain Hawks will experience as well.
A Record-Setting Career
Despite her career ending 23 years ago, Tierney remains one of the greatest women’s basketball players in Lehigh history and among the best ever in the Patriot League.
She still holds the school record for most career points with 1,807 (108 ahead of the runner-up) and rebounds with 1,129 (189 ahead of the runner-up), underscoring her dominance. The former forward was also the first woman to earn First Team All–Patriot League honors four times.
She matched her success on the court with academic achievements. Tierney double-majored in economics and finance, finishing with a 3.90 GPA, and knocked out her master’s degree in economics in just one year.
“As a member of our basketball program, Anne truly embodied what it meant to be a student-athlete in our university, excelling at everything she did in the classroom, on the basketball court, and as a leader in the Lehigh community,” said Sue Troyan, Tierney’s head coach and now the deputy director of athletics, upon Tierney’s induction into the Roger S. Penske/Lehigh Athletics Hall of Fame in 2010.
Tierney’s fondest memories from her time at Lehigh include being with her teammates and playing at Navy, where she scored her 1,000th career point and whose campus she still appreciates.
“I just loved to play,” Tierney says. “I loved everything about it.”
Reaching the NBA
After graduating, Tierney headed to New York City to work long hours as a financial analyst for Standard & Poor’s. She began helping coworkers stretch after long days of sitting when trainer Steve Sierra, whom she met while completing her master’s degree, reached out. He needed help working with a player on the New York Knicks.
The opportunity eventually led Tierney to quit her corporate career and launch her own business with Sierra, Innovative Body Solutions. She’s worked with MLB and NFL athletes and Olympian Dara Torres leading up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. With Tierney’s help, Torres became the oldest Olympic swimmer ever and won three silver medals.
Torres’s record-setting age at those Games? 41.
Tierney now has just three clients: Devin Booker and Royce O’Neale of the Phoenix Suns and Donovan Mitchell of the Cleveland Cavaliers. She spends the NBA season flying from city to city, helping them perform at their best by improving their flexibility and mobility. She credits her experience as a student-athlete with helping her manage it all.
“I’m super organized, super time-oriented,” Tierney says. “When I was in college, I would get up at 5 or 6 a.m. to shoot at the gym and then do my homework early in the morning so that nobody would bother me. I think it paid off because I can get a lot done in a day.”
“I still feel like I’m a student-athlete,” she continues. “I still work out an hour and a half to two hours every day, so I always make time for everything, especially being a mom and running a business. Time management, organization, and being able to balance everything and the resiliency of having to do it all are obviously crucial.”
Giving Back
Even with her busy schedule, Tierney follows the women’s basketball team closely and loves what she sees.
The Mountain Hawks qualified for the NCAA Tournament last season for the second time in five years, and they’ve also played in two consecutive Patriot League championship games for the first time since 2009–10.
“Coach Addie [Micir] has done an incredible job,” Tierney says. “I’m super proud. It’s amazing to be able to turn the TV on and they are on. It’s always fun this time of year to see Lehigh in a bracket.
“Winning last year [and being] in the championship game again this year [with] some really outstanding players — some solid first-years — and being able to recruit high-level student-athletes is incredible.”
Through her Giving Day + March Mania match challenge, Tierney is helping ensure the next generation of Mountain Hawks has the same opportunity to succeed.
“At a place like Lehigh, where you have to balance academics and athletics, giving is exponentially helpful,” Tierney says. “That money goes a long way toward providing an experience and getting a higher-level athlete, which is what’s needed to compete and stay at the top of the league and get to March Madness, which obviously pays dividends for the school.”
