Augsburg University Athletics

Melynda Belde was a dominant defender for Augsburg’s women’s hockey team, earning All-M-I-A-C honors her sophomore, junior and senior seasons, while earning all-conference honorable mention honors her first year. She played in 103 games in her Auggie career, finishing with 11 goals and 66 assists for 77 points, the most points by a defender in school history. Her 66 assists are second-most in school history. She also played softball for four seasons as an outfielder and catcher, collecting 31 hits and scoring 25 runs, and also played soccer for two seasons. Melynda was a health and physical education major at Augsburg. After graduating, Melynda and her family moved back to her native Anchorage, Alaska, where she taught middle school physical education for 13 years, and also coached girls’ hockey for three seasons. Her husband, former Auggie men’s hockey player Steve Belde, coached boys’ hockey at South Anchorage High School for nine years, winning three Alaska state championships. The family recently moved back to Minnesota, where Melynda now teaches middle school physical education and wellness at St. Paul Academy and Summit School. Melynda and Steve have two children, Stephen and Grant, and live in Lake Elmo, Minnesota.

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In hockey, All-MIAC defender in 2002-03, 2003-04 and 2004-05, All-MIAC Honorable Mention in 2001-02 … Played in 103 career games, finishing with 11 goals and 66 assists for 77 points … Currently 6th in school history in career points (most by a defender) and 2nd in assists ... Teams went 49-45-10 in her career, with appearances in the MIAC playoffs her last 3 seasons … Had 21 assists in 2004-05, ranking 10th among NCAA D-III players nationally in assists per-game (0.81) … In softball, played 4 seasons as an outfielder and catcher, finishing with a .178 career batting average (31-of-174) with 25 runs scored … Hit career-best .263 (20-of-76) in 2005, scoring 12 runs … Also played soccer in 2002 season, with 1 goal and 1 assist in 9 games.