Keira E. Heggie (2024) - Hall of Fame - Brown University Athletics

Keira E. Heggie

Induction:
2024
Class:
2004

Miami native Keira Heggie’s impact on the Brown Women’s Water Polo program was genuinely historic. As a high school athlete, Keira played for Brown’s current Director of Water Polo, Felix Mercado’s club team.

After entering Brown, Keira became a four-year starting goalkeeper. Her head coach, Todd Clapper, said that one of her defining moments came in her freshman season when the Bears faced Michigan in the first round of the Eastern Championships in 2001. Clapper stated, “She was clearly the most impactful player on the team. She led us to an Eastern Championship, an NCAA Final Four finish (No. 12 nationally) in her first year, and another Eastern Championship as a junior.” In the Michigan game, trailing 4-1 at the half, Keira was unhappy with her performance and told her teammates that she didn’t play well but not to worry; Michigan would not score in the second half. True to her word, she blanked the Wolverines from that point on as the Bears triumphed 7-4 on their way later to winning Brown’s first-ever conference championship. In addition, Keira was named tournament MVP.

Heggie’s performance in Brown’s 11-10 double overtime win over Princeton was highlighted by Sports Illustrated (Faces in the Crowd). She was a four-time all-conference player and two-time All-American while leading the league in saves three times.

It is not often that opposing coaches sing the praises of an athlete from a rival team. Hartwick College’s head coach Alan Huckins said, “Keira was one of the toughest goalies I have coached against in my career... in 2004, when my team won the conference championship, it was not Indiana or Michigan who had the Olympic Team goalie that we feared most; it was Brown because they had Keira in goal! When playing against Keira, you would do everything right and have an open shot, and yet, somehow, she made the save. She made every save she was supposed to make and most of the ones she wasn’t! This made it so hard to play and coach against her and her teams. I am not the only coach who lost sleep the night before playing Brown!”

Keira is the first women’s water polo player inducted into the Brown Athletic Hall of Fame.

Keira and her wife, Ruth Lindberg ’04, have two children, Reed and Graham.