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For
Immediate Release: Monday, June 24, 2002
FABIANA DE ABREU HIRED AS UTPA’S ASSISTANT VOLLEYBALL COACH
EDINBURG, TX-The University of
Texas-Pan American has a new assistant volleyball coach. Fabiana de Abreu will assist Head
Coach Dave Thorn this season. She replaces Christine Phillips, who
resigned recently. De Abreu joins the Lady Broncs from
the University of Iowa, where she served as a student assistant coach
last year after completing her playing career. A native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, de
Abreu has been involved in volleyball since her early years. Her mother
was a volleyball player, and de Abreu and her older sister were exposed
to the sport as youngsters. She played for both her school (Colegio
Objetivo) and various clubs in Brazil. A setter and a hitter in a 6-2
offense, de Abreu played for the Brazilian National Team, earning
recognition for being the best hitter at both the South American and
World Championships and earning first team All-Tournament honors at the
South American Championships. The assistant coach at the College
of Southern Idaho was a native of Brazil, and when she called, de Abreu
agreed to head north. She had a stellar career playing for the Golden
Eagles under head Coach Ben Stroud, leading them to the National Junior
College Athletic Association championship as a freshman. De Abreu was
named NJCAA Player of the Year twice, was twice named a first team
All-American, was named to the All-Tournament team at both the Region 18
and NJCAA Championships, and was named Most Valuable Player of the NJCAA
Championships in 1998 and of the Region 18 Tournament in 1999. She was
also selected as one of the members of the NJCAA Volleyball Team of the
Century. At Iowa, de Abreu was named Big Ten
Co-Player of the Week, was selected as Most Valuable Player of the Iowa
Tournament, and earned All-Tournament Team honors at the Hawaii
Tournament. She then served as an undergraduate assistant coach under
Head Coach Rita Crockett, working with the setters while assisting with
practices and the general operation of the program. She earned a
Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Studies in May. “I’m very excited to have
someone with Fabiana’s experience coming to The University of
Texas-Pan American,” said Thorn. “Fabiana has played and coached at
the highest levels of the game, and has been successful everywhere
she’s been. Her knowledge of setting and training setters will be an
immeasurable help to our offense. Fabiana will make an immediate,
positive impact on our program.” De Abreu is looking forward to joining the staff at Texas-Pan American. “I’m excited, and I’m ready for the challenge of being an assistant coach,” said de Abreu. “When I came to UTPA, I liked everything about it, the community, the weather, and the program. I’m looking forward to working with Dave Thorn. I like the fact that it’s closer to Brazil, so my family can fly there. As a coach, I’m looking to give back what volleyball gave me.” |