WBB Continues Standard of Academic Excellence
The VC women's basketball team continued to be the most recognized academic achieving community college women's basketball program in the country as a state-leading six members of the 2019-20 team were named Academic All-State by the California Community College women's Basketball Coaches Association in a press release Friday. The Pirates had three sophomores named to the state-wide list: Madison Kast, Cece Quintino and Emma Larson, while three freshmen also earned the honor: Yasmine Ahllamara, Alanna Jackson and Kimora Pooler.
The VC women's basketball team continued to be the most recognized academic achieving community college women's basketball program in the country as a state-leading six members of the 2019-20 team were named Academic All-State by the California Community College women's Basketball Coaches Association in a press release Friday. The Pirates had three sophomores named to the state-wide list: Madison Kast, Cece Quintino and Emma Larson, while three freshmen also earned the honor: Yasmine Ahllamara, Alanna Jackson and Kimora Pooler.
Kast, who now plays at West Texas A&M University, was one of 14 players recognized who carried a perfect 4.0 grade point average throughout the 2019-20 academic year. Ahllamara was one of ten additional student athletes who recorded a GPA above 3.9. Quintino and Larson both earned the honor for the second time, making them the 10th and 11th VC players to make the list twice (Eda Graham '12 & '13, Hanna Burge '12 & '13, Madison O'Donnell '14 & '15, Micaela Pericone-Kapp '14 & '15, Carolyn Ruffino '15 & '16, Felicia Magana '15 & '16, Mary Shirley '16 & '17, Celeste Salazar '17 & '18, Avery Brunk '17 & '18). The Pirates have had 43 players on the Academic All-State Team since 2009-10.
A total of 116 student athletes from 41 schools around the state, the organization's largest group of honorees ever. Ventura College, along with Western State Conference foe Allan Hancock College, listed the most players on the CCCWBCA Academic All-State team with six each, while three had five, including Los Angeles Valley College which is coached by VC alumna Monica Hang '02.
To qualify for Academic All-State recognition student-athletes had to compete for a year at their college, earn at least 24 units of credit and maintain a minimum 3.5 GPA.
This is the latest academic honor for VC women's basketball as it placed second in the nation on the 2019-20 Women's Basketball Coaches Association Academic Honor Roll with a program record 3.544 GPA for the academic year. VC is the only community college women's basketball team in the country to be recognized on the WBCA Academic Honor Roll in 15 of the past 16 years.