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November, 2005
Alumni Update...
ROGERS '93 TAKES OVER KNOX CAGE POSITION
By Lindsay Shafer
Sports Information Office
This past June, Eastern alumnus Wendy Rogers was named the head women’s 
basketball coach at Knox College. A small Division III school located in Galesburg, Illinois, the Prairie Fire are ecstatic to have Rogers on board. Her positive attitude and enthusiasm for the game of basketball should help the team to improve on last years 2-21 record. She also just wrapped up the fall season, where she served as the assistant women’s soccer coach for the school.
Rogers during her 2004 Hall of Fame induction
Rogers attended Eastern from 1989 through 1992. She joined the Warriors after spending one year at Bridgewater State College. As a three year starting point guard, Rogers was a catalyst behind Eastern’s back-to-back NCAA Division III Tournament Final Four appearances. In October of 2004, she was inducted into the Eastern Connecticut State Athletic Hall of Fame. 
At Knox, Rogers’ women’s basketball team will be entering the season with ten players on its roster, five of them seniors. Last years’ leading scorer and rebounder, Liz Grana, will be returning, along with her 11.8 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. Other key returnees include Andie Allison, Becca Drummond, Carly Colgan, Megan Perkins, Jenna Finley, Jenny Golz, and Jess Berrands. Each will look to add experience to a relatively small team. They will be collaborating with two incoming freshmen -- Hayle Gosnell and Abena Quanno. The main focus of practice and games will be to cut down on turnovers. Rogers is beginning the season with no pre-determined expectations for her team. The team is going through a rebuilding phase and she is excited to begin recruiting and watch her
Rogers' coaching career is pointing up
team develop. She is going to make the experience
the best that it can be by asking her players to compete as she did every time out at Eastern – as hard as she could.
Prior to the appointment at Knox, Rogers had spent the past three seasons in her home state of Massachusetts as assistant women’s basketball coach and assistantdirector of athletics at Salem State College. While there, she assisted legendary coach Tim Shea in guiding the Vikings to a 68-17 record and three NCAA Division III tournament appearances. Prior to t Salem State, she served as headwomen’s basketball coach at Regis College in Weston, Mass.
Praised Knox Director of Athletics Dan Calandro upon announcing Rogers' appointment last June: "We are very excited to add Wendy not only to our coaching staff, but to the Knox community as well," offered Calandro. "Ultimately, it was Wendy's overall positive and enthuasiastic attitude, her basketball knowledge, and eagerness and desire to help us to develop a strong, competitive program that set her apart (from the other candidates)."
While Rogers will be leaving family in New England, she will be moving closer to younger sister Jody, a 1993 Eastern graduate who lettered under former coach Floretta Crabtree for two seasons in the Eastern volleyball program. Jody, 14 months Wendy's junior, is wrapping up her ninth season as head women’s volleyball coach at Division II University of Indianapolis (IN).
As a senior at Eastern under Eastern Hall of Fame Coach Dr. Bob Miller, , Rogers was named Eastern College Athletic Conference Player-of the-Year, as well as WBCA/Kodak honorable mention All-America. The Newton, Mass. native led her teams in points, three pointers, assists, and/or steals a total of nine times. In her three years, Rogers averaged 12.0 points, 5.1 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 2.5 steals. In her final two seasons, she averaged 32 minutes per game.
Rogers is more excited than ever to get begin coaching basketball at Knox. Although she may eventually turn her sights to athletic administration, she is firmly set upon a coaching career at present.
“Coaching has always been my passion and it always will be… I couldn’t imagine doing anything else because I’m doing what I love to do.”
The Knox College Prairie Fire will get their season underway November 22 at home against MacMurray College.
