WCC announces 25th anniversary list

SAN BRUNO, Calif. - To commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the West Coast Conference sponsoring women’s athletics, the WCC announced a 25th Anniversary Team. The team is comprised of the top 50 former female student-athletes to have ever competed in the conference.

With a tradition that includes national championships, All-Americans and countless NCAA Tournament appearances, the West Coast Conference has established itself as a national force in collegiate women's athletics. The 2009-10 school year marks the 25th anniversary of when the WCC began sponsoring women's athletics.

“The West Coast Conference and its member institutions take a great deal of pride in the tradition of success that we have shared in women’s athletics,” said WCC Commissioner Jamie Zaninovich. “Countless outstanding female student-athletes have competed in the WCC, establishing it as one of the premier conferences in the nation for women's athletics. These 50 individuals represent the elite of their respective sports at the collegiate and international levels.”

The WCC began sponsoring women's athletics in 1985 with volleyball, cross-country, basketball, and tennis entering their first years of conference competition. The WCC added women's soccer as a conference sport in 1992, followed by women's rowing and women's golf in 1997.

Members of the WCC Women’s Athletics 25th Anniversary Team represent all seven of the Conference’s sponsored women’s sports with multiple representatives from all eight league schools. The WCC will honor one representative of the Women’s Athletics 25th Anniversary Team from each school at the 2010 Zappos.com <http://Zappos.com/> WCC Basketball Championships. The WCC will also spot light each member of the 25th Anniversary Team through the spring sports season.

The 25th anniversary team was selected by a voting panel consisting of institutional and conference staff and select media members. In addition to the 50-person anniversary team, the Conference recognized the next 29 highest vote-getters as honorable mention.

In 25 years, the WCC has established itself as one of the premier women's soccer conferences in the country, winning three national titles. In women's volleyball, the WCC is one of the most competitive conferences in the nation, sending the highest percentage of teams from one conference into the NCAA Tournament in 2008. Women's basketball has been equally as impressive sending multiple teams into the postseason for 10 consecutive seasons. In women's tennis, San Diego's Zuzana Lesenarova won the NCAA singles championship in 1999, while in women's golf, Pepperdine has established itself as a perennial national power with four top five finishes in the NCAA Championship. In women's rowing, Gonzaga has won 12 of the previous 13 WCC Championships, while Portland has dominated the WCC Cross Country Championships, winning 19 of the 25 conference titles.

25th Anniversary of WCC Women’s Athletics Team
Jill Austin - LMU (ROW)
Susie Barosso - USD (BASK)
Justi Baumgardt-Yamada-POR (SOC)
Mandy Bible - SMC (VB)
Kim Blankinship- LMU (VB)
Maria Bokulich - GON (ROW)
Anja Bordt - SMC (BASK)
Brandi Chastain - SCU (SOC)
Rasheeda Clark - PEP (BASK)
Mandy Clemens - SCU (SOC)
Anna Cmaylo - SCU (VB)
Ali Cox - USD (ROW)
Kelly Cunningham – GON (VB)
Jermisha Dosty - SMC (BASK)
Chris Enger - USD (BASK)
Cheska Fairbanks - GON (XC)
Valerie Gillon – USF (BASK)
Stephanie Hawk - GON (BASK)
Ginger Helgeson - PEP (TEN)
Tracy Holman- LMU (VB)
Lindsey Huie – POR (SOC)
Katherine Hull - PEP (GOLF)
Melissa King Fisher - SCU (BASK)
Devon Forster - USD (VB)
Nicole Karr - POR (XC)
Janna Kovacevich - PEP (TEN)
Deanna Lansing - POR (BASK)
Angela Lawrence - PEP (TEN)
Zuzana Lesenarova – USD (TEN)
Brittany Lindhe - USF (BASK)
Carolina Llano - PEP (GOLF)
Stephanie Lopez-Cox - POR (SOC)
Shannon MacMillan - POR (SOC)
Julie McKeon - USD (TEN)
Sarah McFarland - LMU (VB)
Tiffeny Millbrett - POR (SOC)
Tracy Morris-Johnston - SMC (BASK)
Kate Murray - LMU (BASK)
Sarah Noriega - LMU (VB)
Lauren Orlandos-Hanson - POR (SOC)
Leslie Osborne - SCU (SOC)
Amanda Rego – USD (BASK)
Julie Rubenstein - PEP (VB)
Nicole Sanderson - PEP (VB)
Martha Sheldon - POR (BASK)
Christine Sinclair - POR (SOC)
Aly Wagner - SCU (SOC)
Katie Wilkins - PEP (VB)
Lindsey Wright - PEP (GOLF)
Petia Yanchulova - USD (VB)

Honorable Mention
Bryn Britton – LMU (BASK)
Brittanie Budinger – USF (VB)
Ynez Carrasco – SCU (VB)
Dominique Carter – USF (BASK)
Kim Donohue – SMC (SOC)
Jerkisha Dosty – SMC (BASK)
Lori Hokerson – SMC (SOC)
Melanie Kaiser – USF (VB)
Susie Laing – USF (GOLF)
Christine Limbers – SCU (TEN)
Noelle Lopez – SCU – (XC)
Laura Mickelson – LMU (XC)
Ruth Montgomery – SMC (SOC)
Jennifer Mountain – GON (BASK)
Mary Kate Morgan – GON (GOLF)
Emma Murphy – USD (TEN)
Edit Pakay – LMU (TEN/WXC)
Lisa Petticord – GON (VB)
Allegra Porter – SMC (XC)
Becky Potter – SCU (VB)
Jessica Potter – USF (GOLF)
Toni Russell – USF (BASK)
Ivy Safranski – GON (BASK)
Jamie Shadian – USF (BASK)
Tracy Sharp – LMU (SOC)
Kelly Steinhaus – GON (ROW)
Sara Streufert – GON (SOC)
Cheree Tappin – SMC (BASK)

Purplegeezer wrote: Still the list doesn't seem complete without Michelle French and Laura Sale, among others

A_Fan wrote:Laura Sale definitely belongs on the list.