It looks like former volleyball players are again leading the way in local alumni news — with new items aboout former Griffin volleyballets Crissy Jones (LAHS ’14), Geena Urango (’07) and Rachel Fattal (’12). yeah, we know Fattal is best known for her many accomplishments in the water polo world, but let’s not forget she was a starting setter on Los Al’s 2011 CIF championship volleyball team (she shared setter time with another future Olympian, Justine Wong-Orantes in Los Al’s 5-2 set up).
Anyway, on to the Alumni news.
Crissy Jones named head coach at UC Berkeley Womens Volleyball.
Crissy Jones Schoonderwoerd (LAHS 14), the former All-America outside hitter at Los Al and Washington, has been named the head coach at UC Berkeley.
Jones had joined the Cal Bear staff in February but was suddenly moved up to the head coaching role when coach Sam Crosson suddenly resigned to take a head coaching job at a local junior college. Jones Schoonderwoerd was a key figure on two Griffin CIF championship teams, spent four years with the Huskies in Washington and a graduate year playing beach volleyball at Cal Poly SLO.
Jones also had a good run in the traveling beach volleyball circuit, but after marriage she migrated into a coaching role.
She told BVM Sports last week that she is excited about its mix of talented newcomers and hungry veterans. The team will introduce several new players, including four talented freshmen and redshirt sophomore Paige Morningstar, who transferred from Louisville. With their sights set on a successful season, the Golden Bears will kick off their campaign with an exhibition match against San Francisco before facing Army in their season opener.
View Jones Schoonderwoerd Cal Bear website bio here.
Geena Urango now hosting “Bet on Her” sports podcast
How Geena Urango, (LAHS ’07) who was also a star on a Griffin CIF championship volleyball team and then at USC, somehow manages to fit anything new in between her busy pro beach volleyball schedule is hard to imagine, but she is now a cohost on a new podcast series called “Bet on Her.” Urango is partnering with Dana Drambarean (of Buzzle media) and Kelly Reeves (UCLA, pro beach volleyball) on the podcast which they describe as “creating a vibrant community of women brought together by the common bond of sports. Bet on Her provides a platform for women to share their stories, bring down barriers, and celebrate the person beyond the athlete.”
The podcasts, which are available on Spotify, Apple, and Youtube recently completed its 24th episode. Of particular interest to Los Al area folks might be their interview in July with Urango’s fellow Griffin alum Rachel Fattal. Fattal, the two time Olympian and current US National water polo team member, talks about “the challenges she faced, the sacrifices she made, and the relentless determination that propelled her to the pinnacle of her sport.”
Griffin Alum Mary Rominger gets job as Texas TV station first full-time sports anchor
Not all Griffin alums in sports are makiing their names on the field of play. Los Al grad Mary Rominger (LAHS ’15) has been hired as a general sports reporter and first full-time sports anchor, for San Antonio TV station KSAT. Rominger joined the KSAT team in July after a four-year stint in Mankato, Minnesota, where she learned the TV news ropes at KEYC.
Mary’s time in southern Minnesota was highlighted by her coverage of the Minnesota State men’s hockey team’s Frozen Four run in Boston, Minnesota Vikings training camp, as well as a wide range of high school sports championships. She graduated from Iowa State University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communication along with minors in sports and rec., women’s and gender studies and leadership.
While at Los Al, Rominger was a captain on the lacrosse team and a member of the ASB.
Check out her KSAT bio here, or her Linked in resume here.
If you have the inside scoop on some news about local alumni, let us know.
