Casper College ~ Education For A Lifetime ~ Casper, Wyoming

TALL ORDER: VETERAN T-BIRDS LOOK FOR A THREE-PEAT IN REGION IX NORTH

It really shouldn’t come as a surprise that Casper College is ranked among the top 15 volleyball teams in the country.

Coaches in the National Junior College Athletic Association know that Angel Sharman and her T-Birds bring a lot of talent back from last year’s 32-18 campaign that landed them in their second straight national tournament.

The T-Birds will finally hit the ball at someone else Friday and Saturday at the New Mexico Military Invitational tournament in Roswell, N.M. Garden City (Kan.) and Frank Phillips College (Texas), two perennial NJCAA powers, are among the teams in the tournament bracket, so Sharman expects a stiff challenge on opening weekend.

Sharman knows her team has a lot to live up to. Last year with only two sophomores on the roster, few expected it to be a banner year. But the T-Birds improved all year long and by tournament time they were ready. Fans remember a memorable and stirring march through the loser’s bracket: three consecutive match victories in one day to capture the title.

Sharman loses just three players off the ‘08-‘09 squad. Trouble is, all three players will be difficult to replace. Savannah Searle, a two-time all region setter, and Vanessa Muir, the all-region middle blocker and North Player of the Year, have departed. Replacing those two up the middle will be a tall task. On the back row Kristen Getter, who helped lead one of the stingiest defenses in the region, decided not to play her sophomore year.

“Savannah and Vanessa will be very hard to replace,” Sharman said Tuesday as her squad prepared for Friday’s season opener. “Savannah was such a hard worker, and Vanessa was the best player in the region.”

Sharman says Tasha Bauer (Riverton) has been setting the ball well, and could also move to the back and fill the void left by Getter. Freshman setter Marja (pronounced Maria) Joanavic is a 6-footer from Serbia and gives Casper a nice dimension at the net, according to Sharman.

This might be the tallest team Casper has ever fielded. Joanavic is listed at 5-10 but grew over the summer. Eight other T-Birds are 5-10 or taller.

This might be one of her most veteran teams, with eight sophomores returning. Still, Sharman knows how tough the road will be. “They know we have to step it up,” she says. “I feel like we always have a target on our backs, but maybe more so this year. It will take a lot of hard work to get back where we need to be.”

Konefesi Vaisigano (Salt Lake City) and Kristin Glisczinski (Casper Kelly Walsh) return on the outside. Sharman says both came into camp in good shape, and both have been hitting the ball well. Vaisigano was all region and all tournament a year ago. Katya Kopanarova (Sofia, Bulgaria) makes it a trifecta on the outside. Kopanarova might have been the most improved player on the team a year ago. Freshman Heather Perry (St. Mary’s, Kan.) will back up the outside hitters.
Katie Young (Casper Natrona) was expected to start on the right side, but an injury to her shoulder this summer will sideline her for two or three more weeks.

Cami Miller (Pocatello, Idaho) has recovered from off-season knee surgery and should be ready to go in the middle. Katie Patterson (Powell) also returns in the middle. Newcomers Kaja Raczynska (Lubuskie, Poland) and Sierra Hook (Phillip, S.D.) will also back up Miller.

Brianna Wood, last year’s Region IX North Libero of the Year, is back to anchor a defense that has become Sharman’s hallmark. Wood was one of the region’s leaders in digs and serving last season.

Sharman enters her ninth season on the hill. She’s been around long enough to know that a roster full of talent isn’t enough. The recipe also calls for chemistry and a little bit of luck.

If the mix is right, a three-peat is certainly not out of the question.

HEAD COACH:
Angel Sharman
Head Coach

307-268-2335
307-268-2887 - fax

If you do things the right way, wins and records take care of themselves.
That’s an adage Angel Sharman lives by. Sharman is among the top 10 active winningest coaches in the NJCAA, having passed some significant milestones in her 14 years of coaching. At Casper College, she has celebrated four regional championships and her 300th victory along the way.

Sharman enters her ninth season at Casper, and has no plans to slow down. Her career mark is 382-308; her record at Casper is 272-147 (.649). She has been named regional coach of the year three times. Her 2003 team, which captured the college’s first championship, still holds the record of 43 match victories.

She grew up in rural Nebraska, where you get there early and you stay late. There is no substitute for hard work, she says.

Sharman has always been player focused. It shows in the success of her T-Birds: she has coached four NJCAA All Americans, 10 academic All Americans and 24 all-Region IX performers. Her teams have won three of the last five Region IX North championships.

Off the court, her players have really shined. Two of her Casper College teams earned academic honors.

Sharman’s teams win primarily because of defense. She believes in aggressive play at the net, and a tough defense behind the blockers. Her defense annually ranks among the best in the country statistically every season. She has coached the likes of Kylie Peck, Trisha Clark, Whitney Schilling, Katie Bird and Brianna Wood – some of the best defensive players in the history of Region IX volleyball.

Ask her about priorities, and Sharman will talk about the classroom. “I want my players to graduate,” she says. “I want them prepared for life after volleyball.”

Sharman serves as an instructor and physical education department chair at Casper College. She was an outstanding basketball and volleyball player at Mid-Plains Community College (North Platte, Neb.) and Fort Hayes State (Kan.). She played for NJCAA Hall o Famer Sally Thalken at Mid Plains. Prior to coaching in Casper, she coached for five seasons at Colby College (Kan.), where she led her teams to two Region VI playoff appearances.

Sharman earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Fort Hays State.

Portrait Katie Boulter
Assistant Volleyball Coach

307-268-2335

Katie returns this fall to T-Bird Gym, where she starred as one of the all-time greats. Katie earned honorable mention All America honors in 2002. A native of Cokeville, she was twice voted to the all Region IX North team. She is married to Mike, and they have a daughter, Annali.

Bill Landen
Athletic Director

(307) 268-2667

Bill Landen took over as athletic director two years ago, but he is not new to those who have been around Casper College and its athletic programs.

Bill has spent the past 22 years at Casper College. Prior to accepting his current role, Bill served as Director of College Relations for 18 years.

Bill’s commitment to the T-Birds dates back to his student days at Casper College, where he wrote about Swede Erickson’s T-Birds as editor of the campus newspaper. He later covered Casper College as a professional journalist for the Casper Star-Tribune and KTWO Radio.

Since his arrival in the athletic department, his focus has been on community and student involvement in the college’s four sports programs. Bill has worked with the T-Bird Booster Club to establish a permanent endowment for athletics, and that fund hit the quarter million dollar mark this year.

T-Bird fans may recognize Bill from his days as the radio play-by-play voice of the T-Birds in the 1980s and ‘90s. Along with serving as the voice of the T-Birds, Bill spent 18 years in marketing and information for the college. He has earned numerous awards during his professional career, including twice being named Wyoming’s Sportswriter of the Year by the national association of sportswriters and sportscasters. He was named Rosenthal Outstanding Administrator at Casper College in 1997. In 1993 he was honored by his peers as Communicator of the Year by the National Council for Marketing and Public Relations.

Along with his duties at Casper College, Bill was recently elected to the Wyoming Legislature as State Senator for District 27.

Bill’s wife, Robyn, is the Director of Financial Services/Controller for Casper College. They have three children: Nick, Zack and Hailey.

Kay Demaree
Administrative Assistant, Athletics

307-268-3000

Kay joined the athletic department team after serving the past year as the academic assistant for the Business Division. Kay coordinates all the athletic office duties, including season ticket sales and corporate sponsorships.

#	NAME	BIO	HT.	YR.	POS.	HOMETOWN
2	Katie Patterson	[BIO]	6’0”	SO	MH	Powell, WY
3	Cami Miller	[BIO]	5’10”	SO	OH/MH	Pocatello, ID
4	Marija Jovanovic	[BIO]	6’1	FR	S	Subotica, Serbia
6	Kristin Glisczinski	[BIO]	5’8”	SO	OH	Casper, WY
7	Tasha Bauer	[BIO]	5’6”	SO	S	Riverton, WY
8	Konefesi Vaisigano	[BIO]	5’10”	SO	RS/S	Salt Lake City, UT
9	Heather Perry	[BIO]	5’9	FR	OH/MH	St. Marys, KS
10	Brianna Wood	[BIO]	5’5	SO	L	Casper, WY
12	Kaja Raczynska	[BIO]	6’1	FR	MH	Lubuskie, Poland
13	Sierra Hook	[BIO]	6’0	FR	MH/OH	Philip, SD
14	Katie Young	[BIO]	5’9”	SO	OH	Casper, WY
15	Katya Kopanarova	[BIO]	6’0”	SO	OH	Sofia, Bulgaria

COACH: Angel Sharman
COLORS: Red and White
MASCOT: Thunderbird
ATHLETIC DIRECTOR: Bill Landen
PRESIDENT: Dr. Walter Nolte

| PRINTABLE SCHEDULE | TICKET PRICES |

Month	Date	Opponent	Location	Time	Webcast
August	28-29	NMMI Classic	Roswell, NM	TBA
September	4-5	Roughrider Classic	Prescott, AZ	TBA
September	9	Central Wyoming College	Riverton, WY	7 p.m.
September	11-12	Central Tournament	Columbus, NE	TBA
September	15	Eastern Wyoming	Casper, WY	7 p.m.	WEBcast
September	17	Northwest College	Powell, WY	7 p.m.
September	19	Sheridan College	Sheridan, WY	5 p.m.
September	22	Western Nebraska CC	Casper, WY	7 p.m.	WEBcast
September	24-26	Wyo/Braska Tournament	Torrington / Scottsbluff	TBA
September	29	Laramie County CC	Casper, WY	7 p.m.	WEBcast
October	2	Dawson College	Glendive, MT	7 p.m.
October	6	Western Wyoming CC	Rock Springs, WY	7 p.m.
October	13	Eastern Wyoming	Torrington, WY	7 p.m.
October	15	Northwest College	Casper, WY	7 p.m.	WEBcast
October	17	Sheridan College	Casper, WY	5 p.m.	WEBcast
October	20	Laramie County CC	Cheyenne, WY	7 p.m.
October	22	Western Nebraska CC	Scottsbluff, NE	7 p.m.
October	24	Dawson College	Casper, WY	3 p.m.	WEBcast
October	27	Central Wyoming College	Casper, WY	7 p.m.	WEBcast
October	29	Western Wyoming CC	Casper, WY	7:30 p.m.	WEBcast
November	4-7	Regional Tournament	Riverton, WY	TBA
November	19-21	National Tournament	Council Bluffs, IA	TBA

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