Renola named to NCAA 25th Anniversary Women's Soccer team
INDIANAPOLIS -- Texas soccer volunteer assistant coach Jen Renola was named to the NCAA 25th Anniversary Division I Women's Soccer team, announced by the governing body of collegiate sport late last week. The team late recognizes 11 former student-athletes and one coach for their outstanding achievements while participating in NCAA competition. "It's definitely a big honor," said an elated Renola. "Being named to the team is definitely something that I am proud of and very excited about. It is hard to swallow because this is an elite group. Even though I haven't played in ten years, this was just a nice way to be recognized." "At Notre Dame, I was surrounded by great teammates and a great coach (in UT's Chris Petrucelli)," continued Renola. "I was very fortunate to have been in the right place and the right time and on a team with great athletes. The 1996 National Collegiate Women's Soccer Player of the Year and a former Academic All-America goalkeeper at Notre Dame was an assistant coach on University of Texas head coach Chris Petrucelli's staff from 1999-2003. She returned this season as a volunteer working with the Longhorns' goalkeepers. Renola, who served as Petrucelli's starting goalkeeper at Notre Dame (1993-96), had a decorated career as a superb scholar athlete. The 1996 National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Player of the Year, Renola earned NSCAA All-America laurels during three of her four seasons (1994-96), was named to the Soccer America All-Freshman Team in 1993, was an all-conference selection in each of her four years, and garnered NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region first-team accolades from 1994-96. She was also an NCAA All-Tournament Team selection in 1994, 1995 and 1996 in helping lead Notre Dame to three NCAA national semifinal appearances as the Irish placed second nationally in both 1994 and 1996 and won the NCAA title in 1995. The Los Gatos, Calif., native concluded her career as the most proficient goalkeeper in Notre Dame history, finishing with an 87-8-3 overall record while posting 32 solo and 30 shared shutouts. Excelling in the classroom as well, Renola also became the first Notre Dame student-athlete ever chosen as the recipient of the prestigious NCAA Today's Top VIII Award in January of 1997, honoring excellence in athletics, academics and leadership. She was also named the 1996-97 Big East Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year and the GTE/CoSIDA Fall/Winter At-Large Academic All-American of the Year as a senior. Renola graduated magna cum laude from Notre Dame with a final 3.696 grade point average from the College of Arts and Letters with degrees in English and computer applications in May of 1997, and was the first Notre Dame women's soccer player to be awarded an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. After graduating from Notre Dame, Renola served as the West Coast promotions manager for adidas America from 1997-99. Renola received her master of education degree in kinesiology (Specializing in sport management) from the University of Texas in December of 2002 and earned an NSCAA National Coaching Diploma as well as a USSF National C Coaching License during the spring of 2003. She served as the goalkeepers coach for the Under-17 U.S. National Team at the 2003 U.S. Soccer Festival in July 2003. In 1981, the NCAA began sponsoring women's championships, which opened the door to increased athletic and academic opportunities for female athletes. Today, the NCAA sponsors 44 women's championships in 20 sports, providing more than 150,000 women with an opportunity to compete for national titles each year. An expert panel affiliated with soccer selected the NCAA Division I Women's Soccer 25th Anniversary Team. The panel, which consisted of soccer historians and athletics administrators, used historical data and results from online public voting at to make its decision. The NCAA Division I Women's Soccer 25th Anniversary Celebration event will be held, Thursday, November 30 at 7 p.m. at the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts. The 25th anniversary celebration is a free event which will commemorate the history of the NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship and showcase former and current collegiate women's soccer student-athletes, coaches and key moments throughout the evening. The 2006 championship will be held December 1 and 3 at the SAS Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina. Members of the 25th Anniversary team will be honored at the tournament on Friday December 1. North Carolina State University, the Town of Cary, and the Capital Area Soccer League will serve as hosts. NCAA 25th Anniversary Team
|
|
