Wittenberg Names Sarah Jurewicz Women's Basketball Head Coach
A member of the Wittenberg University women's basketball family is returning to her roots as Sarah Jurewicz, class of 1998 and the program's all-time leading scorer, takes the head coaching reins at her alma mater for the 2007-08 season. She replaces one of her mentors, Pam Smith, a 1982 Wittenberg graduate and the university's women's basketball head coach for 21 years who passed away in June after a long bout with cancer.
Sarah Jurewicz
Springfield, Ohio — A member of the Wittenberg University women's basketball family is returning to her roots as Sarah Jurewicz, class of 1998 and the program's all-time leading scorer, takes the head coaching reins at her alma mater for the 2007-08 season. She replaces one of her mentors, Pam Smith, a 1982 Wittenberg graduate and the university's women's basketball head coach for 21 years who passed away in June after a long bout with cancer.
"We are very pleased to have Sarah come back to take on the head coaching responsibilities on an interim basis this year," said Wittenberg Director of Athletics and Recreation Garnett Purnell. "I'm confident that she will do a marvelous job taking over the program of her mentor and former head coach. As one of the most decorated student-athletes in the history of Wittenberg women's athletics, she has a vision and the passion to keep this program moving forward."
Jurewicz returns to Springfield after four years as an assistant coach at Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Colo. She was involved in all aspects of the program, including post player development, scouting, community outreach programming and coordinating team travel. During her four seasons with the program, Colorado College improved from 2-20 in 2003-04 to 15-10 in 2005-06 before slipping back below .500 a year ago.
"My dedication to Wittenberg started as a student-athlete under Coach Smith's guidance and that now extends as I step into the coaching position," said Jurewicz, who earned a bachelor's degree in art from Wittenberg and also holds a master of fine arts from Savannah College of Art and Design. "I feel it is an immeasurable privilege to elevate the team toward the next phase of success.
"It's an amazing feeling to bring my passion and knowledge of college basketball back to my alma mater. Much optimism surrounds the program right now during this naturally sensitive transition."
Prior to her stint at Colorado College, Jurewicz was an assistant in the women's basketball program at Savannah College of Art and Design from 2000-03. Again involved in all aspects of the program, including practice preparation, post development, recruitment and game strategy, Jurewicz helped the team to two winning seasons in her three years, including a 19-7 record in 2001-02.
A native of Shakopee, Minn., Jurewicz is one of the all-time greats in Wittenberg women's basketball history. Her teams posted a four-year record of 85-24 overall, including a phenomenal North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) record of 59-5. The Tigers won NCAC regular season and tournament titles and advanced to the NCAA Division III Tournament three times during Jurewicz's career - in 1995, 1996 and 1998.
Jurewicz earned team Most Valuable Player honors three times in her Wittenberg career, and she garnered All-NCAC awards all four years of her collegiate career, including first-team designations in 1995, 1996 and 1998 and Newcomer of the Year honors in 1995. A post player by trade, Jurewicz holds the school record for career points with 1,297, and she also ranks ninth in career assists and second in career rebounds. Her name appears numerous times in the history books for game and season records, and in 2004 she was one of two Wittenberg alums selected to the NCAC All-Second Decade Team.
A three-year captain for the Tigers, Jurewicz also earned varsity letters in track and field in 1995 and 1996. Wittenberg's NCAC female scholar-athlete award-winner in 1998, Jurewicz even earned All-NCAC honors for her performance in the discus in 1996.
A 2006 Shakopee High School Athletic Hall of Fame inductee, Jurewicz has also served her previous educational institutions in an academic capacity, teaching a variety of art classes at both Savannah College of Art and Design and the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.
Jurewicz inherits a team with high expectations in 2007-08 after the Tigers posted records of 15-11 overall and 11-5 in the NCAC a year ago. Led by post players Katie Gregorevich, class of 2008 from Northfield, Ohio, and Ali Rohlfs, class of 2008 from Cincinnati, Ohio, Wittenberg figures to be one of the favorites again in the NCAC. The Tigers have never finished lower than third in the conference since joining in 1989 and are riding a streak of 17 consecutive winning seasons.
"We have a unique situation on our hands," Jurewicz said. "And when given unique situations, you discover special outcomes. I am anxious to reveal those outcomes here at Wittenberg."
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