PORT ANGELES — Peninsula College women’s basketball coach Alison Crumb went to familiar turf to fetch one of her latest recruits.
Gabrielle Fenumiai of Juneau-Douglas High School in Juneau, Alaska, recently signed a letter of intent to play for the Pirates.
Fenumiai, a 6-foot post, joins a long line of Peninsula players from Alaska, and will be the sixth Juneau-Douglas standout to play for the Pirates.
“Gabi is yet another great player out of Alaska who is going to help us,” Crumb said.
“Not only is she a very talented post, wherein she has had some 30-point games in her career, but also because she is just a great kid.
“She works hard, she cares about her teammates, she enjoys school, and she will be a good person to be around.”
Fenumiai was a two-year All-Conference standout for the Crimson Bears, and twice named to Alaska’s All-State team.
She averaged 14 points and eight boards per game as a senior, and she led her team to the state tournament. She was also selected to the Alaska Senior All-Star team.
Crumb said Fenumiai also fits into her plan of recruiting high-character athletes.
“Part of our culture at Peninsula College is that we have quality athletes with great citizenship, and I think Gabi matches that expectation,” she said.
“I’ve been hearing about her for a while now, through some of her past teammates, and I’m genuinely excited to work with her. It is going to be a fun year.”
Fenumiai and her new teammates at Peninsula will be expected to step up and fill the shoes of five departing starters, all of whom hailed from Alaska, including Juneau-Douglas alumni Taylor Larson and Karli Brakes.
Larson, who has signed to play next year at Central Methodist University in Missouri, owns the Peninsula records for points in a game, season and career. She was named the NWAACC North Division co-MVP this past season.
Brakes, meanwhile, holds the Pirates’ all-time, season and game assists records.
Another former Crimson Bear, Danielle Larson (Taylor’s sister), who played at Peninsula College from 2003-05, holds the school’s career rebounding mark.
Point guard Olivia Henderson, who will be a sophomore next season, also prepped at Juneau-Douglas.
Despite facing the prospect of replacing five starters with a record of success for the Pirates — the outgoing sophomores finished in the top 12 in each of their seasons — Crumb is optimistic about the upcoming season.
“The 2013-2014 Pirate team will have a different look than the past two years, but we are excited to bring in some new faces to help bring the pirates back to the NWAACC championship,” Crumb said.
Fenumiai joins Madison Pilster of Blackfoot, Idaho, as Peninsula’s recruiting class so far this offseason.
Pirates playing on
NWAACC champions are in high demand at the next level, as evidenced by the 13 members of the Peninsula College women’s and men’s title teams that have committed to play at colleges and universities across the country next year.
Ashlyn Frizzelle of Wasilla, Alaska, landed a Division I opportunity with St. Mary’s College of California.
Frizzelle started at outside back the last two seasons and displayed a knack for scoring from long range.
She will play in the Women’s Premier Soccer League in California this summer in preparation playing for the Gaels.
“St Mary’s is getting a special player and a special person,” Peninsula women’s coach Kanyon Anderson said of Frizzelle.
“She can’t be replaced.”
Three other Pirates will remain teammates.
Aubrey Briscoe, Krystal Daniels and Kendra Miner will all play forthe Montana State University Yellowjacket in Billings, Mont., a Division II program.
Briscoe, an All-Conference defender from Juneau, Alaska, and Miner, an All-Conference forward also from Wasilla, were a big part of the 2012 championship run.
Daniels of Kent, played keeper for the Pirates during their inaugural season in 2010 and also in 2011 when they placed second in the NWAACC.
She earned All-Conference honors with 10 shutouts, and then stayed at Peninsula this year to finish up her associates degree and serve the program as a student assistant coach
This past season’s goalkeeper, Denae Brooks of Spokane, is bound for Southwest Minnesota State, a Division II program in Marshall, Minn.
Brooks will long be remembered as the keeper who saved the penalty kick that won Peninsula College its first NWAACC championship.
Emilia Stefanko of Leavenworth will continue her collegiate career at Division II Humboldt State University in Arcata, Calif.
The midfielder was slowed by a knee injury her freshmen year, but came back strong as a sophomore to help the women’s team win a championship in its third season of existence.
Morgan Atchley (Ridgefield) will see her next action at Benedictine University, a Division III college in Chicago.
Atchley was Peninsula’s second leading scorer this year, but suffered a pinched nerve in her back and was unable to participate in the postseason.
She is now healthy, and, according to coach Anderson, “playing some of her best soccer.”
Also for the women’s team, Jordan Dinneen of Anchorage, Alaska, made the Seattle AC Women’s Premier Soccer League team and plans to walk on at the University of Washington in the fall.
“Her passing skills and top notch fitness make her an excellent candidate to crack the roster in the Pac-12,” Anderson said.
The women’s team’s class of 2013 leaves as the most successful class, in any sport, to have ever played at Peninsula College.
The outgoing sophomores were two-time NWAACC West Division champions, never lost a home game, and they followed a second-place NWAACC finish in 2011 with an NWAACC championship.
Their combined record was 40-4-3. They finished 2012 with a Top 10 national ranking.
Coach Anderson was equally proud of what they did off the field.
“Their combined GPA of 3.2 is a testament to their intelligence and hard work,” he said, “and their connection to the community and to the youth players is a testament to their quality as people.
“To say they that they have established a high standard is a massive understatement. My only regret is that I don’t get to coach them for another two years.”
Men moving on
Five members of the men’s championship team — Guilherme Avelar, Irvin Somera, Omar Ambrocio, Parker Vacura and Henrique Noujeimi — will see action at the Division I and II levels this fall.
Avelar, Peninsula’s All-Conference sophomore goalkeeper from Brazil who led the NWAACC with 11 shutouts, will play his junior season in a warmer climate at Winthrop University, a Division I program located in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
Somera (Reno, Nev.) is also joining a Division I program.
Following an outstanding freshman season as a midfielder for the Pirates, Somera signed with the University of Nevada-Las Vegas Runnin’ Rebels.
Ambrocio (Leavenworth), and Vacura (Anchorage, Alaska) — both All-Region sophomores last fall — will join the three members of the women’s team at Montana State University.
Finally, Noujeimi, an All-Conference freshman forward, will jump the Pirate ship a year early to play at Bethany College, an NAIA college in Lindsborg, Kansas.
Avelar, Ambrocio and Vacura were part of a team that placed third in the NWAACC their freshmen year, and then won a title their sophomore year.
They won back-to-back West Division titles and posted a two-year record of 40-2-3 and a No. 7 national ranking.
“These gentleman have worked very hard during the season, and the offseason, to make this happen,” Peninsula men’s coach Andrew Chapman said.
“They bought into our program and listened to what was needed to move on to the next level, and went out and accomplished it.
“We are very proud of everything they did, and are very excited about their future.”