Women's Basketball at Pitt Greensburg

The 2002-2003 University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg Lady Bobcats will have a tough act to follow as they try to improve on last season’s AMCC runner up finish.  The Lady Bobcats surged to the finish winning 13 of their last 17 games and advancing to the AMCC championship game.  This season UPG will look to build on last season’s second half success and jump out of the gates early in hopes of claiming their first AMCC crown.

“We enjoyed our second half success last season; however with the experienced players that we have returning, we are expecting to get off to a much faster start this season,” said fourth year head coach Carol Gelet.

With the top eight players from last year’s squad returning and the addition of a few impact players to the roster, Gelet certainly has reason to be optimistic.  Included amongst the top eight returnees are three all-conference performers.  Senior forward Erin Arnold (Leechburg/Kiski Area HS) is the top returnee for the Lady Bobcats.  A 1st Team All-AMCC selection a year ago, Arnold, led the Lady Bobcats in scoring (12.5 ppg), rebounding (6.9 rpg), and blocked shots (26).  She is the school’s all-time leading scorer with over 900 career points.  Junior guard Annie Sral (Altoona/Bishop Guilfoyle HS) joined Arnold on the All-AMCC first team.  Sral averaged 12.4 points per game, while leading the Lady Bobcats in three-point percentage (37%), field goal percentage (49%), and steals (63).  Rounding out the “Big Three” is junior point guard Torey Auld (Zelienople/Seneca Valley HS).  A team leader on and off the court, Auld was selected as a Honorable Mention All-AMCC for the second consecutive season, leading the Lady Bobcats with a school record 168 assists.

“Those three certainly represent a strong nucleus for our team.  Their experience and talents are hard to match, but fortunately for us, we have many other retuning players as well as several newcomers who will help add depth and competition for our squad,” Gelet said.

The returnees include returning starters, Jordan Fox (New Stanton/Hempfield HS), a junior guard who led the team in three point field goals with 36, and sophomore forward Becky Joyce (Pittsburgh/Carrick HS) who averaged 6.1 rebounds per game.  Other returning contributors include a trio of sophomores, guard Abbey Cunningham (Stafford, VA/Brooke Point HS) (8.7 ppg), forward Amy Ploskunak (Murrysville/Plum HS) (8.4 ppg), and guard Jen Sutlic (Harrison City/Penn Trafford HS) (31 assists).

Among the additions for Pitt Greensburg will be forward Jess Porter (Clearfield/Clearfield HS), a transfer from conference rival Pitt-Bradford.  In two seasons, Porter scored over 500 points and was twice named 2nd Team All-AMCC.

Freshman contributors should include guards Tish Hines (Clairton/Clairton HS), Jamie McCluskey (Pittsburgh/Baldwin HS), Jess Phillippi (Rockwood/Rockwood HS), and Jen Smith (Carnegie/Carlynton HS), as well as forward Amy Bandzuch (Uniontown/Laurel Highlands HS).

“These freshman come from solid programs, that have been a part of District and State playoffs,” Gelet commented.

Others looking to compete for playing time will be freshman Carly Chmill (Pittsburgh/Carrick HS), Bria Dalpiaz (Sunbury/Shikellhamy HS), Jaymie Myers (Washington/McGuffey HS), Lindsay Rodgers (West Mifflin/West Mifflin HS), and Blair Smith (Felton/Kennard-Dale HS).

Pitt Greensburg also welcomes a new status for their program.  Following four seasons as a provisional member of NCAA Division III, they will start their first season as a full member of the NCAA Division III.  A charter member of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference, Pitt Greensburg will be eligible for the NCAA Tournament as a Pool B selection, until the AMCC gains their automatic bid in 2004-05.

“It is an exciting time to be a part of Women’s Basketball at Pitt Greensburg,” Gelet boasted.

The Lady Bobcats will open against Russell Sage College at the St. John Fisher Tournament on November 22.  Besides the difficult AMCC schedule, UPG’s schedule will be highlighted with games against NCAA qualifier Bethany (WV) and Division II Clarion University.

CAROL GELET: Coach Gelet enters her fourth season at the helm of the UPG Women’s Basketball Team.  After struggling to only seven wins in her first season, Gelet has led the Bobcats to program highs of 15 and 14 victories the past two seasons, including an appearance in the AMCC Championship game last season.  For her efforts, Gelet has been named AMCC Coach of the Year during each of the last two seasons.  Her career record at UPG stands at 36-42.  “Carol has been the driving force behind the improvements of our women’s basketball program,” stated UPG athletics director Dan Swalga.  Prior to joining the UPG Athletic Department, Gelet had tremendous success at the High School level.  She led the Clairton High School boys’ team to back-to-back WPIAL Class A Championships in 1996-97 and 1997-98.  In 1998-99 Gelet pulled a rare ‘double duty’ as she simultaneously served as head coach for both the boys’ and girls’ programs.  While at Clairton, Gelet earned several individual honors including being named AP Pennsylvania Small Schools Coach of the Year and Pittsburgh Post Gazette Coach of the Year in 1997.  Her three-year record as the boys’ coach was 51-26.  In one season as the girls’ coach it was 11-10.  Gelet began her coaching career as an assistant boys’ coach at Clairton, serving as head ninth grade coach during the 1994-1995 season and assistant varsity coach during the 1995-1996 season.  Gelet remains an employee at Clairton where she has been teaching special education since 1993.  She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Work from Seton Hill College and a Masters of Science degree in Education from Duquesne University.

MARK KATARSKI: Coach Katarski enters his third season as an assistant for the Women’s Basketball Program.  His work with the Bobcat offense, as well as game preparation and recruiting have proven invaluable.  Before coming to Pitt Greensburg, Katarski served as the head junior varsity and assistant varsity boys’ coach at Derry Area High School for the 1999-2000 season.  He also served as assistant middle school girls’ basketball coach at Derry for three seasons from 1997-1999.  Prior to his tenure at Derry, Katarski was the head ninth grade boys’ basketball coach for Coach Gelet during the 1998-99 season at Clairton High School.  Coach Katarski also coached AAU basketball for both boys and girls from 1998-2001 and has worked at numerous summer basketball camps.  Katarski is a full-time employee at Pitt Greensburg serving as sports information director and assistant baseball coach.  He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Education from California University of Pennsylvania and is working towards a Masters of Science degree in Education from the University of Pittsburgh.

ANDY GETER:  Coach Geter returns for his second season as an assistant coach for the Women’s Basketball team.  He has proven to be a vital part of the staff with his valuable input and work with the post players.  Geter has been coaching various sports at the youth, recreational, and high school levels for nearly 40 years.  Before coming to Pitt-Greensburg, he served as the junior varsity girls’ basketball coach at Franklin Regional High School.  A native of Latrobe, Geter has been married 34 years to his wife B.J.

 

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