Former Senior Class Thriving
August 06, 2011 07:36 PM | General
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia women’s basketball coach Mike Carey experienced his largest graduating class at the close of the 2010-11 season with five seniors all earning degrees.
Successful on and off the court during their time as Mountaineers, the graduates continue to make plans for the next chapter in their lives.
Former co-captain and all-American standout Liz Repella will begin preseason camp on Sept. 1 with Club Universitario de Ferrol in Ferrol, Spain. Club Universitario de Ferrol is a part of the LF2, which stands for League Feminine two, which is comprised of 14 teams. The team that is first at the end of the regular season wins an automatic bid and will host the championship final four.
“I am excited,” Repella says about the next step. “It will be a great experience and I feel very blessed to be able to continue my basketball career.”
Vanessa House returned home to Fresno, Calif., after graduation in Morgantown. The first to attain a four-year college degree in her family, House had plans to continue her education in a graduate program until a change of plans in June.
“I was trying to go to school to get my master’s before I found an agent and I sent out an email to see where we were in the process,” House explains. “Within two weeks I had a team I was connected with. I’ve been working out all summer just in case and I’ve increased it as I received information about possibly getting a team.”
House leaves the West coast for Forssa, Finland on Aug. 15. She has signed a one-year contract to play for the Forssan Alku for head coach Jari Marjamak, which is a DI team.
“There are two other Americans on the team that I’ll be rooming with so I won’t be by myself. I have also exchanged emails with the coach and he seems nice,” House says. “Pat (Biondo, WVU Video Coordinator) helped me with my highlight tape and the coaching staff helped me get my feet wet with agents and put me in a position where I could contact people. They did whatever they could do to help me out. Coach Carey still encourages me to get the master’s degree I wanted to get.”
In addition to her American roommates, House feels a little more at ease knowing that a former teammate and friend of hers will be only hours away as Madina Ali has also signed a one-year contract with a team in Finland.
Also a former co-captain with Repella, Ali has been working out in Morgantown to stay conditioned for the next level. She has signed a one-year contract with Aanekosken Huima for coach Nurmi Mervi in Finland, also a DI team.
“WVU has helped me in many different ways, not only on the court, but also off the court,” Ali says. “Coach Carey and his staff, along with my teammates, have taught me a lot about life and a lot about myself, which definitely helped me to get where I’m going now.
“If you can survive the big guy (coach Carey) and his staff, you can survive through anything,” jokes Ali. “But seriously, I’m really excited for this next level, and will always be grateful to the people at West Virginia.”
The regular-season schedule for each player overseas runs from the end of September and closes out in early March, with a chance at playoffs.
Fellow graduates Korinne Campbell and Sarah Miles have been working with agents and continue to weigh options on what the future will hold.
Around the same time Carey’s former players are heading overseas to continue their careers, his 2011-12 squad will embark on a European experience. The Mountaineers leave for Paris, France on Monday, Aug. 8. The team will travel from Paris to the South of France and enter Italy halfway through the trip.
With four newcomers and seven returning players, the team will have their first opportunity to take the court for a game on Saturday, Aug. 13 against a French professional team in Como, Italy. The second and third games of the trip are against the Dutch National Team in Rome on Aug. 16 and 17. Stay tuned to MSNsportsNet.com for more information and updates on the women’s basketball trip overseas.
Successful on and off the court during their time as Mountaineers, the graduates continue to make plans for the next chapter in their lives.
Former co-captain and all-American standout Liz Repella will begin preseason camp on Sept. 1 with Club Universitario de Ferrol in Ferrol, Spain. Club Universitario de Ferrol is a part of the LF2, which stands for League Feminine two, which is comprised of 14 teams. The team that is first at the end of the regular season wins an automatic bid and will host the championship final four.
“I am excited,” Repella says about the next step. “It will be a great experience and I feel very blessed to be able to continue my basketball career.”
Vanessa House returned home to Fresno, Calif., after graduation in Morgantown. The first to attain a four-year college degree in her family, House had plans to continue her education in a graduate program until a change of plans in June.
“I was trying to go to school to get my master’s before I found an agent and I sent out an email to see where we were in the process,” House explains. “Within two weeks I had a team I was connected with. I’ve been working out all summer just in case and I’ve increased it as I received information about possibly getting a team.”
House leaves the West coast for Forssa, Finland on Aug. 15. She has signed a one-year contract to play for the Forssan Alku for head coach Jari Marjamak, which is a DI team.
“There are two other Americans on the team that I’ll be rooming with so I won’t be by myself. I have also exchanged emails with the coach and he seems nice,” House says. “Pat (Biondo, WVU Video Coordinator) helped me with my highlight tape and the coaching staff helped me get my feet wet with agents and put me in a position where I could contact people. They did whatever they could do to help me out. Coach Carey still encourages me to get the master’s degree I wanted to get.”
In addition to her American roommates, House feels a little more at ease knowing that a former teammate and friend of hers will be only hours away as Madina Ali has also signed a one-year contract with a team in Finland.
Also a former co-captain with Repella, Ali has been working out in Morgantown to stay conditioned for the next level. She has signed a one-year contract with Aanekosken Huima for coach Nurmi Mervi in Finland, also a DI team.
“WVU has helped me in many different ways, not only on the court, but also off the court,” Ali says. “Coach Carey and his staff, along with my teammates, have taught me a lot about life and a lot about myself, which definitely helped me to get where I’m going now.
“If you can survive the big guy (coach Carey) and his staff, you can survive through anything,” jokes Ali. “But seriously, I’m really excited for this next level, and will always be grateful to the people at West Virginia.”
The regular-season schedule for each player overseas runs from the end of September and closes out in early March, with a chance at playoffs.
Fellow graduates Korinne Campbell and Sarah Miles have been working with agents and continue to weigh options on what the future will hold.
Around the same time Carey’s former players are heading overseas to continue their careers, his 2011-12 squad will embark on a European experience. The Mountaineers leave for Paris, France on Monday, Aug. 8. The team will travel from Paris to the South of France and enter Italy halfway through the trip.
With four newcomers and seven returning players, the team will have their first opportunity to take the court for a game on Saturday, Aug. 13 against a French professional team in Como, Italy. The second and third games of the trip are against the Dutch National Team in Rome on Aug. 16 and 17. Stay tuned to MSNsportsNet.com for more information and updates on the women’s basketball trip overseas.
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