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Kate
Bowes has been named the new head coach of the Rutgers-Camden women’s
basketball team. She replaces Jean Gyurics, who resigned for personal
reasons, after one year with the Lady Raptors program during the 2006-07
season. Rutgers-Camden posted an 8-17 record last season during a
rebuilding year, an improvement of two wins over the 6-19 club from
2005-06.
“I’m very excited,” said Bowes, who has served as an assistant coach at
Albright College for the last three seasons. “It’s a blessing and an
opportunity. I’m excited to show them, from my standpoint, the winning
tradition I’d like to start here.”
Bowes becomes the fifth head coach in five years for the Lady Raptors,
beginning with the last season of a five-year run by Jackie Trakimas
during the 2003-04 campaign. The Lady Raptors haven’t had a winning season
since Trakimas led the team to a 22-7 record and the New Jersey Athletic
Conference championship during the 2002-03 season, when Rutgers-Camden
earned the lone NCAA tournament berth in its program’s history.
Ironically, that same season was Bowes’ senior year at King’s College,
capping a four-year run in which the Lady Monarchs posted a combined 92-21
record, earned four straight NCAA tournament berths, two Freedom
Conference championships and one overall Middle Atlantic Conference title.
The 2001-02 King’s College team went 25-4 and made the NCAA Elite Eight,
while the 2002-03 team was 24-4 and reached the NCAA Sweet 16.
During her playing career as a point-guard and off-guard at King’s, Bowes
played in 106 games, making three starts, and earning the reputation as a
tenacious defender. She averaged 3.3 points, 1.5 rebounds and 15.4 minutes
played per game in her career. She finished with 188 assists and 106
steals in a Monarchs uniform.
“I believe in defense,” said Bowes, who also played intramural street
hockey in college. “I wouldn’t mind if our team scored 10 points, as long
as the other team scored only nine.”
Bowes earned All-Catholic League basketball honors in each of her last
three seasons at
Arch
Bishop
Prendergast
High School.
She also was a three-year letter-winner in softball and served as
president of the Community Service Corps. That track record for service
led Bowes to serve with AmeriCorps following her 2003 graduation from
King’s College, where she majored in Communications and Marketing.
Bowes’ year-long stint with AmeriCorps was spent in New Orleans. During
that time, she also served as the head boys’ basketball coach at Bishop
Perry Middle School for the 2003-04 school year. Her team captured the
city championship, making Bowes the first female head coach to lead a
boys’ team to the
New Orleans
title.
Returning from
New Orleans,
Bowes started a three-year run as an assistant women’s basketball coach at
Albright
College. The Lady Lions improved steadily, posting a 5-20 record the first
year (2004-05) and a 14-11 mark during the 2005-06 campaign. They capped
Bowes’ stay at Albright with a school-record 18-10 mark last season,
reaching post-season play for the first time in 10 years and competing in
the program’s first ECAC Tournament ever, where they advanced to the
semifinals.
Over the years, Bowes also has coached numerous basketball camps,
including the Albright College Camp (three years), Keystone State Camp
(three years) and the West Chester University Camp (two years). Now she’s
counting on all that experience and success to turn around the Lady
Raptors’ fortunes.
“It’s a great opportunity for me and the team to grow,” Bowes said.
“Although we have seniors, I still feel we’re young. We’re still growing.
We’re both learning. For the first year, it will probably be a learning
process for all of us.”
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