Ten of Pepperdine's Female Greats Honored by WCC
2/11/2010 12:00:00 AM | General
In honor of the fact that this is the 25th season that the WCC has sponsored women's athletics, the conference took nominations from each of the schools and a panel then voted on the top 50 female athletes in the league's history.
Pepperdine's 10 selections come from women's basketball (Rasheeda Clark), women's golf (Katherine Hull, Carolina Llano and Lindsey Wright), women's tennis (Ginger Helgeson, Janna Kovacevich and Angela Lawrence) and women's volleyball (Julie Rubenstein, Nicole Sanderson and Katie Wilkins).
"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.
Pepperdine and Portland led all schools with 10 selections apiece. San Diego had eight, Loyola Marymount and Santa Clara had six apiece, Gonzaga and Saint Mary's had four each and San Francisco had two.
Following is information about each of Pepperdine's honorees:
Rasheeda Clark, Women's Basketball, Guard, 1998-99 to 2000-01
- 2000 WCC Player of the Year
- First-ever WCC player drafted by a WNBA team
- Three-time All-WCC selection (twice on first team)
- Ended career ninth on school's all-time scoring list (1,191)
- Also finished sixth in scoring average (14.2), seventh in assists (332)
- Two-time WCC All-Tournament Team
- Helped team to postseason all three years (2 WNIT, 1 NCAA)
- Won silver medal at 1999 World University Games with USA
Ginger Helgeson, Women's Tennis, 1986-87 to 1989-90
- Three-time All-American
- Won three consecutive WCC singles tournament titles
- Ranks #1 in school winning pct (.837) in singles, #2 in wins (77)
- Ended senior year ranked #4 in the country in singles
- 23-1 in dual singles matches in 1988 and ranked #11 in nation
- Team won three WCC titles, made NCAA quarterfinals twice
- Played on the pro tennis tour from 1987-98
- Inducted into Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame (2008)
Katherine Hull, Women's Golf, 1999-00 to 2002-03
- 2003 NGCA National Player of the Year
- 2003 Dinah Shore Award (national athletic/academic award)
- Three-time All-American (twice 1st team), four-time All-WCC 1st team
- Won seven career tournaments, set NCAA record with score of 200
- Team won three WCC titles, four NCAA appearances (2nd in 2003)
- 2003 NGCA All-American Scholar, two-time WCC All-Academic
- Member of LPGA Tour since 2004
- Inducted into Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame (2009)
Janna Kovacevich, Women's Tennis, 1987-88 to 1990-91
- First women's tennis four-time All-American in WCC history
- Won two WCC doubles tournament titles, made singles final three times
- Ranks #1 in school singles wins (78), #2 in winning pct. (.830)
- 25-1 in dual singles matches in 1988, ranked #16 in nation
- 24-2 in dual singles matches in 1989, ranked #18 in nation
- 16-5 in dual singles matches in 1990, ranked #17 in nation
- Made semifinals of 1991 NCAA doubles tournament
- Team won four WCC titles, made NCAA quarterfinals three times
Angela Lawrence, Women's Tennis, 1995-96 to 1998-99
- Pepperdine's second four-time women's tennis All-American
- Made All-WCC singles twice and doubles three times
- Final national doubles ranking in top 10 all four years (#5 in 1996)
- Made quarterfinals of 1996, 1999 NCAA doubles tournaments
- #25 in final 1999 singles rankings, #30 in final 1998 rankings
- Won doubles titles at 1997 Riviera event, 1996 Rolex Regional
- Team won four WCC titles, made NCAA Round of 16 three times
- Four-time WCC All-Academic selection
Carolina Llano, Women's Golf, 2002-03 to 2005-06
- Three-time All-American (twice on second team, once honorable mention)
- Only person to be three-time medalist at WCC Championships
- Four-time All-WCC 1st team, 2003 WCC Freshman of the Year
- Posted three top 20 individual finishes at NCAA Championships
- Ranks #3 in school history in scoring average (73.95)
- Team won four WCC titles, had three top four finishes at NCAAs
- 2006 NGCA All-American Scholar, three-time WCC All-Academic
- Member of the LPGA Tour since 2008
Julie Rubenstein, Women's Volleyball, Outside Hitter, 2005 to 2008
- 2009 AVCA All-American third team
- Four-time All-WCC honoree (three times on first team)
- Ended career #3 in kills (1,743), #5 in aces (116), #10 in digs (973)
- Team went to four NCAA Tournaments, 2005 Round of 16
- Played with USA A2 and Select teams while at Pepperdine
- Two-time CoSIDA Academic All-District, three-time WCC All-Academic
- 2009 NCAA Woman of the Year semifinalist
- WCC and NCAA national SAAC representative
Nicole Sanderson, Women's Volleyball, Outside Hitter, 1994 to 1997
- One of only three players to earn All-WCC first team honors four times
- WCC's all-time leader in kills (2,028)
- Also holds school records in aces (147) and points (2,380.5)
- Led Pepperdine in kills all four seasons
- Team made 1997 NCAA Tournament and ranked #24
- Played for Australia's national indoor team while at Pepperdine
- Competed at the 2004 Olympics for Australia in beach volleyball
- Inducted into Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame (2008)
Katie Wilkins, Women's Volleyball, Outside Hitter, 2000 to 2003
- Three-time AVCA All-American (2003 1st team, other two on 2nd team)
- Three-time AVCA All-Pacific Region
- Three-time WCC Player of the Year, three-time All-WCC 1st team
- Ranks #2 in points, #4 in kills (1,672) in Pepperdine history
- Eight-time WCC Player of the Week (most in Pepperdine history)
- Won three WCC titles, made four NCAA Tourneys (2002 Elite Eight)
- Trained with U.S. National and A2 teams while at Pepperdine
- Still playing professionally
Lindsey Wright, Women's Golf, 1999-00 to 2002-03
- Only four-time women's golf All-American in school history
- 2003 NGCA All-American 1st team, two-time second team
- Medalist at 2000 and 2002 WCC Championships
- Four-time All-WCC 1st team, 2000 WCC Freshman of the Year
- Holds school record for career scoring average (73.44)
- Posted three top six individual finishes at NCAA Championships
- Team won three WCC titles, four NCAA appearances (2nd in 2003)
- Member of LPGA Tour since 2005
