With the semester winding down and spring sports over, some athletes are looking to continue their careers at the National Collegiate Athletic Association level.Softball players Amber Frame, Marissa Rangel, Lupita Contreras and Tiffany Rubin are all looking to play at the next level. With a batting average of .342 between the four of them for the 2010 season, these stand-out athletes should have no trouble finding a school.
Frame, Contreras and Rubin are all considering their options while two-time All-South Coast Conference Second Team center fielder Rangel has committed to the University of Arizona. But Rangel will be opting for the court instead of the field; she will be using her two-time All-SCC First Team talent to try out for the Wildcats’ volleyball team.
“My main focus is that I love volleyball,” said Rangel about her decision to stick with the fall sport. “What I love about the entire PCC athletic program is that all the sports are supportive of one another. All the other teams, like the baseball, volleyball and football teams, they all came to our games and we went to theirs.”
In PCC’s Aquatic Center, members of the diving, swimming and water polo teams are also considering their futures in the athletic arena.
Swimmers and water polo players Merry Sanders and Jade Wilia have committed to Occidental College and California Baptist, respectively.
“Just getting into Occidental College is the big thing,” said Sanders, before she had been accepted. “If I get in, I’m basically on the team as a utility player because I can play anywhere.”
Head Coach Terry Stoddard believes his athletes will fit in perfectly at their respective schools.
“[Wilia] comes to every practice purpose-driven,” said Coach Stoddard. “I will miss her determination to train well, be better than she is today, her desire to be at her best and to be the best tomorrow!”
As for Sanders, Stoddard believes that she “is only willing to do something if she is able to do it right.” She has also competed in three sports (diving, swimming and water polo) at the top eight level of the conference, according to Stoddard.
According to PCC’s official website, 1,825 students transferred to University of California and California State University campuses from PCC in the 2007-2008 academic year (the most recent data available). With statistics like that, it is no surprise that many of the college’s elite athletes will find a home at NCAA institutions around the nation.
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