Vanguard Scores a Recruiting Coup

Jill Trader of Brea Olinda High has committed to play women’s basketball at Vanguard, Lion Coach Russ Davis said.

Trader, a 6-foot forward, tore her anterior cruciate ligament in early February but is expected to make a complete recovery. A deft passer inside, she will join former Ladycat teammate Jerri Armendariz, a guard who transferred from Long Beach State to Vanguard earlier this spring.

Davis said he believes the Lions will be an NAIA preseason top-10 pick and that getting a commitment from a player the caliber of Trader solidifies their status.

“We’ve won three consecutive conference titles and now I have higher goals,” Davis said. “I want to win a national title.”

Davis has big plans for the next six months. The annual high school summer Tournament of Champions begins Thursday at Vanguard and Davis is tournament director. Vanguard’s week-long summer camp, which is limited to 40 high school players by invitation only, will be the last week of July, and Davis said he has commitments from more than a half-dozen NCAA coaches who plan to attend as spectators.

In September, Davis will host a coaches’ clinic and said he has received a commitment from Stanford Coach Tara VanDerveer to be one of the guest speakers.

In December, the Vanguards will host a holiday tournament that Davis hopes will attract several NAIA powers, including the Lions.

HONORS

Vanguard’s Olli Helminen was named to the NAIA men’s tennis All-American first team and teammate Stefan Johansson was selected to the second team.

Helminen and Johansson, who played No. 1 and No. 2 singles, helped Vanguard to a third-place finish at the NAIA tournament.

Vanguard seniors Monica Landa and Valerie Vanaken were named NAIA scholar-athletes.

Landa, who had a 3.68 grade-point average in liberal studies, ran track and field and cross-country. This is the third consecutive year she has received the award.

Vanaken, who played first base on the Lions’ softball team, had a 3.5 GPA and graduated with a degree in sports science.

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