- Brenda Frese
College coach infobox
Name = Brenda Freese
| DateOfBirth = birth date and age|1984|30
Birthplace =
DateOfDeath =
Sport = Women's college basketball
College = Maryland
Title =Head coach
Team Record = 112-51
OverallRecord = 169-81
Awards = Associated Press National Coach of the Year (2002)
Big Ten Coach of the Year (2002)
MAC Coach of the Year (2000)
Championships = 1 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championships "(2006)"
CFbDWID =
Player = Retired
Years = 1989-1993
Team = Arizona
Position =
Coach = Head Coach
CoachYears = 1999-2001
2001-2002
2002-current
CoachTeams =Ball State
Minnesota
MarylandBrenda Frese is the current
women's basketball teamhead coach at the University of Maryland. During her four years as head coach, she reversed the team's losing record and guided it to win the 2006 Women's National Championship.Pre-Maryland Coaching Career
Frese's career started in 1994 as an assistant coach at
Kent State andIowa State and then spent three years as head coach atBall State and Minnesota. During her 2001-02 season at Minnesota, she led a one-year turnaround of 8-20 to 22-8, one of the biggest in NCAA history. Minnesota made it to the 2nd round of the NCAA Championship that year, and Frese was named the AP National Coach of the Year for 2002.College Park Renaissance
When Frese arrived at Maryland prior to the 2002-2003 season, she brought with her the buzz of a rising star in the women's hoops coaching fraternity, as well as a remarkable recruiting acumen. Her first highly coveted recruits, Shay Doron and Kalika France, marked the beginning of an ever-expanding stream of blue chip talent being funneled to College Park.
Despite winning only 10 games in her first season, Frese, the 2002 AP National Coach of the Year, has quickly returned Maryland to national prominence. As of November 2007, Frese has guided Maryland to an overall record of 116-51 (.695) including four consecutive NCAA tournament berths, three consecutive 20-win seasons, the program's fourth NCAA Final Four appearance and the 2006 NCAA Women's Basketball National Championship. Maryland received its first-ever No. 1 preseason national ranking in 2006-2007. The Terps remained in the top spot in the polls for 10-consecutive weeks. To begin the 2007-08 season, Maryland was ranked #4 in both major polls and was selected the top preseason pick for the 2007-08 Atlantic Coast Conference Women's Basketball season by a vote of the ACC media.
The 2006 Championship win
Frese coached Maryland's Terrapins to an impressive 34-4 record during the 2006 season. The team finished the season by winning the
2006 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament . In the final game, Maryland'sKristi Tolliver tied the game with a jumper over centerAlison Bales with six seconds left and forcedDuke 's team into overtime, eventually winning by a score of 78-75. She is the 5th youngest women's coach to win a national championship.Book release
In October 2006, Frese and writer Chris King released a book chronicling the Terrapins' rise to their 2006 championship win entitled "Overtime Is Our Time." The 200-page book, published by Terrapin State Publishing, earned acclaim by national TV basketball analyst Debbie Antonelli.
Post-Championship
The Terp women were ranked #1 in major preseason polls entering the 2006-2007 season, a first for the program. They were also set to debut star Tennessee transfer Sa'de Wiley-Gatewood, who was limited by tendonitis in both knees. The team, however, did not deliver a performance as stirring or convincing as in their championship year; they went 0-3 in the regular season against ACC rivals North Carolina and Duke, were eliminated by the Tar Heels in the ACC Tournament and were upset in the NCAA Tournament's round of 32 by Ole Miss. Maryland had beaten Ole Miss decisively during the regular season at a tournament in the Bahamas.
Maryland spent much of the 2007-08 season ranked among the nation's top five teams and finished the season 33-4. The Terps advanced to the NCAA's Elite Eight, where they lost an entertaining, high-scoring affair to Stanford, 98-87. During the season, Coach Frese gave birth to twin boys- Markus William Thomas and Tyler Joseph Thomas- on February 17, 2008. That same day, Maryland won on the road at Duke, 76-69, giving Maryland a sweep of the regular season series. Maryland won the preseason WNIT, defeating LSU in the championship game, 75-62.
Kristi Toliver won the Nancy Lieberman Award, which is given annually to the nation's top point guard.Crystal Langhorne was voted ACC Player of the Year. Both Langhorne and Toliver were named State Farm All-Americans. Langhorne and fellow seniorLaura Harper were top 10 picks in the WNBA Draft.Personal life
Frese married Mark Thomas in 2005.
In the 2007 offseason, Coach Frese learned she was pregnant with twins. She gave birth to twin boys, Markus William Thomas and Tyler Joseph Thomas, on February 17, 2008 [ [http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/college/basketball/womens/bal-frese0217,0,835051.story Reproduction - baltimoresun.com ] ] .
See also
[http://umterps.cstv.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/040506aaa.html AP article on Frese, her career, and the championship win]
[http://umterps.cstv.com/sports/w-baskbl/mtt/frese_brenda00.html Biographical page at UM's athletics site]References
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