Always a Flyer.
The University of Dayton athletics communication department is writing feature stories on former Flyer student-athletes. If you or someone you know is an alumni and competed for a Flyer varsity team, please email formerflyers@udayton.edu with the person's name, sport played and current professional position.
Our third Flyer alum feature is on Dr. Kim (Sacher) Grannis, former UD women's soccer player and current trauma surgeon. Read below on her experiences as a Dayton Flyer, and how her current role is impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
SACRAMENTO – There is nothing quite like the calm before a soccer match on beautiful October evenings at Baujan Field on the campus of University of Dayton –under the lights and listening to the cicadas. And then the whistle blows. The calm builds to the graceful and tactical movements of the teams competing. And then Red Scare and the Flyer Faithful go crazy when UD puts a goal in the back of the net.
Fall nights at Baujan Field is the location of some of the best memories for Dr. Kim (Sacher) Grannis who played for the University of Dayton women's soccer team from 2005-09. She was the first recruit from California to sign with the Flyers.
Dr. Grannis was a pre-medicine major at UD. The midfielder from San Diego, Calif. was a regular on the Atlantic 10 Commissioner's Honor Roll. In 2006 she led the Flyers in assists. She then suffered two consecutive ACL tears, but fought back for her senior year and was named a co-captain and starter.
She's traded in her UD uniform and the beautiful nights playing on Baujan Field for scrubs and performing trauma surgery in operating rooms (ORs).
Following graduation from UD she attended the Wright State Boonshoft School of Medicine and completed her residency at UCSF Fresno. She's currently an orthopaedic trauma surgeon fellow at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, a nationally-recognized academic medical center. The COVID-19 pandemic has made an impact in her life. There have been 22,348 confirmed cases in California and 687 deaths.
"We continue to operate however all elective cases have been cancelled. There is lots of fear and uncertainty in the hospital as to whether or not we are protected enough and how other specialties may be recruited to practice ICU care," said Dr. Grannis. "There are concerns about running out of PPE. We find out daily about colleagues who are testing positive. It's a scary time."
Despite the fears and uncertainty, Dr. Grannis has a foundation and community from her time at University of Dayton.
"Being a college athlete was like immediately having a family. We were working hard towards a common goal, how we are now in fighting COVID-19," said Dr. Grannis. "Living in the student neighborhood was a community in of itself and a I had a wonderful college experience.
"I learned leadership, time management, how to perform under stress," she added. "It has helped me with strength for difficult surgeries. It has also helped working in a team environment and managing others."
From the under the lights at Baujan to under the OR lights, Dr. Grannis feels right at home.
Previous Always A Flyer Stories:
Former Flyer Isaac Kissi Helping Fight COVID-19
Dr. Lauren (MacCormick) Tatman Attributes Time As A Flyer To Her Success As A Surgeon
