Teams: Women's Basketball: Press Releases

Thursday, February 28, 2008

MEET TUFTS UNIVERSITY WOMEN'S BASKETBALL SENIOR CO-CAPTAIN JENNA GOMEZ

MEDFORD -- The Tufts University women's basketball program has enjoyed its best season ever this winter, and it's not over. The Jumbos compete in the NESCAC "final four" this weekend at Amherst College. They are looking to make their second straight appearance in the conference championship game, which will be played on Sunday at noon at Amherst. Tufts then hopes to receive the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament invitation on Sunday night.

Senior leadership has been a key component to this season's success. Senior co-captain Jenna Gomez (Norfolk, MA/Noble & Greenough School) has helped the 2007-08 Jumbos to a school-record for victories with a 22-2 record and a #15 national ranking. Tufts won its first 12 games for another school record and beat seven-time defending conference champion Bowdoin College for the first time since 1994 on the last weekend of the regular season. Coach Carla Berube says that Gomez and fellow senior co-captain Khalilah Ummah (Litchfield, ME/Waynflete School) have lifted their performances on and off the court all season.

"In Jenna's four years as a Jumbo, she has evolved into the emotional leader on this team," Berube said. "Her contributions on the court have been invaluable and have added to the success of this program in so many ways. Her athletic ability and intuitive sense of the next play is unparalleled. She is a caring and respected teammate. Her energy, her heart and her dedication to the Jumbos has been amazing."

With those credential coming from the coach, the Tufts Athletics Website figured it was time to find out more about the leaders of the best women's basketball team in 36 years at Tufts. We put Jenna Gomez In Focus:

The progress in the two years since has been amazing. What are the factors that you attribute to the team's success over the past two seasons?

JG -- I think our success is attributed to a number of things. For one, we have a number of great newcomers this year like Colleen Hart and Katie Tausanovitch, who add tremendously to our offensive and defensive game. I know our team has stressed a lot about team chemistry, but it has been so important to our team. Especially with a group of girls, how well a team gets along is vital, and we get along great. We hang out not only on the court, but off the court.

You showed what you can do offensively in the games against Bowdoin and Colby (Feb. 15-16), but usually your contributions to the team don't always show up on the stat sheet. What's your game plan heading into each contest?

JG -- I think my role on the team has been to gather and motivate the team and get us all on the same page. Defensively I try to play my hardest, stay in the passing lanes, look for steals and set the tempo on the defensive end. This weekend (at NESCAC's) I hope to continue to be able to motivate my team and work hard on defensive, but also become an offensive threat. Just overall if I give it my all and lay it all out on the court I will be happy.

The team will have to be road warriors if it earns an NCAA Tournament berth, due to the short court at Cousens. Does this team approach things, or play any differently on the road? What are the challenges?

JG -- I think we played extremely well at road games this year, with the exception of our loss at Williams. We know that we have to work extra hard to get up for road games especially after the long bus ride, but we meet the challenge and look forward to upsetting teams.

What are the non-sports related things that you like best about Tufts?

JG -- I love having my little brother on campus as a freshman and having the privilege to see him whenever I want. Over the last four years I have developed a close relationship with members of the police department, specifically Officer Roche, and also the dining staff. It's these relationships that are under the radar that I appreciate the most. These members of Tufts community are who I am going to miss most because they make the day to day experience much more pleasant.

As a child development major, what are your post-graduation plans at this point?

JG -- At this point I'm not exactly sure what I will be doing after college, but I know that I want to work with children and help the impoverished. My passion is children and I hope to make a difference as much as I can.

Gomez scored a career-high 19 points in the milestone victory against Bowdoin on February 15. She does a little bit of everything for the Jumbos, averaging 6.9 points and 4.1 rebounds while adding 46 assists and 41 steals in 23 games. She and the rest of the Jumbos look to extend their school-record 22 wins and truly make a mark in the post-season to remember.

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