George Washington University Athletics
Women's Basketball Names Ali Jaques Assistant Coach
4/21/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
April 21, 2006
WASHINGTON, DC -- The George Washington University women's basketball program has hired Ali Jaques as an assistant coach, head coach Joe McKeown announced Friday. Jaques, who served as an assistant coach at the University of Dayton last season, will assist in all phases of the Colonials' women's basketball program. She replaces former Colonials assistant Lisa Cermignano who recently accepted a similar position at Vanderbilt University.
"Being part of a championship program at George Washington is very exciting to me," Jaques said. "Add to that the opportunity to work with [coach] Joe McKeown and this is my dream job."
As an assistant at Dayton, Jaques helped lead the Flyers to a 17-12 overall record during 2005-06 campaign, which marked the program's first winning season since the 2000-01 season. Jaques (pronounced "Jacks") also was responsible for organizing the Flyers' recruiting plan efforts.
Prior to joining Dayton's staff, Jaques was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Furman University for three seasons. She joined the staff in the summer of 2002 and helped the Paladins to 52 victories during her tenure.
Before making the move to Furman, Jaques spent three seasons at Sacred Heart University after a year as an assistant at Rider University in Lawrenceville, NJ.
A `98 graduate of New York University, the Rosemont, NJ, native was a four-year letter winner and led her squad to four appearances in the NCAA Division III Tournament, including a National Championship in 1997. Jaques earned the Coach's Award twice and also was selected as a team captain for the 1997-98 season. She graduated with a double major in broadcast journalism and German.
"We are very excited to have Ali as part of our staff," McKeown said. "She brings a great energy and enthusiasm to our program, as well as a strong knowledge of the game. Her recruiting philosophy fits into the GW student-athlete mold and she will be a great fit to our staff."
The Colonials (23-9, 13-3 A-10), defeated Old Dominion in the NCAA Tournament first round at Norfolk, VA, before falling to six-time national champion Tennessee. GW was ranked No. 25 in the final USA Today/ESPN Coaches Top 25 college basketball poll and returns four starters next season.
