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Jessica
Vanco
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Jessica Vanco, a 1999 graduate of St. Bonaventure University, enters her third season as head coach of the women’s basketball program at Presbyterian College. Vanco is the school’s fifth head coach in program history.
Last season, Vanco and the Blue Hose flip-flopped their 2004-05 record and concluded the season at 21-7. The team advanced to the quarterfinals of the South Atlantic Conference tournament.
In her first season at the helm, Vanco led the Lady Blue Hose to a record of seven wins against 21 losses and finished seventh in the South Atlantic Conference regular season with a 4-10 mark. The team lost in the first round of the 2005 Food Lion/SAC Tournament to eventual tournament champion and NCAA DII “Sweet 16” participant, Carson-Newman, 70-52.
Vanco, a native of Garfield Heights, Ohio, spent the previous two seasons as an assistant coach with the women’s basketball program at Furman University in Greenville, S.C. During the 2003-04 season, she helped lead the Lady Paladins to an 18-11 overall record and a 14-6 mark in the Southern Conference regular season, good for a second place finish. In addition, the team advanced to their fifth straight semifinal appearance in the Southern Conference Tournament before falling to Western Carolina University.
Prior to her tenure at Furman, Vanco served as an assistant coach at the United States Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., during the 2001-02 season. Vanco was the recruiting coordinator and assisted with scouting, practice preparation, budget organization, and served as an academic coordinator. Prior to her stint at West Point, she served as an assistant coach at Salem International University in Salem, W.Va., during the 2000-2001 season.
Vanco graduated from St. Bonaventure University in Saint Bonaventure, New York, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology in 1999. She earned her Masters in Education with specialization in Counseling and Sport Psychology in 2000 from Boston University in Boston, Mass. During her playing career, she was a four-year letterwinner at St. Bonaventure. She was the team’s most improved player as a junior and was a captain during her senior season.