CYPRESS – Serenity De La Garza finished her high school wrestling career Saturday with a second consecutive state title, the first Valley girl to be a two-time repeat champion, and Valley 11 wrestlers – one boy and 10 girls – took the podium as one of the top six grapplers in the state at their respective weight classes.

De La Garza ended her spectacular career with back-to-back undefeated seasons, a combined 72-0, and eased her way through Friday and Saturday’s UIL State Wrestling Meet at the Berry Center in Cypress, Texas.

De La Garza toyed with her semifinal opponent, easily claiming an 18-3 victory, setting up her match with Frisco’s Destiny Sims,who entered the match at 43-2 and earned three pins on her way to the finals.

The senior jumped out to an 8-4 lead before a reversal by Sims tightened the match at 8-4.

Seconds later, De La Garza went for a fireman’s carry, which helped her jump out to that first period lead, but Sims sprawled to counter. Somehow, De La Garza still managed to flip her opponent and secured her title at the 3:39 point of the match.

“It’s a little overwhelming right now,” Memorial head coach Eddie Gonzalez said. “We knew it was possible at the beginning of the year but it was a brutal year with so much competition but Serenity once again proved what kind of athlete that she is.”

The two finals opponents met last year in the second round, with a similar outcome.

De La Garza talked little throughout the year of winning a second title. She talked less of the arm injury she suffered during the regional tournament, not mentioning it until after her semifinal match.

None of that, however, proved to be a hindrance for her. Even though Sims’ offensive spurt took De La Garza by surprise.

“I got scared for a minute when she turned things around on me and I knew I had to to something, to keep moving,” De La Garza said. “I was scared but I pushed through because I can still fight.

“She kept butting me hard and I was like, ‘OK, I don’t want to do this anymore,’ so I had to do something to get her down andkeep it my match. She got it at hers and one point and I needed to turn it back to mine.”

Other podium finishers included Edinburg High’s Cassandra Medrano (100 pounds, fourth), Rio Grande City’s Vivien Canales (107, fifth), Edinburg Vela’s Danielle Silva (114, fourth), Juarez-Lincoln’s Brooklyn Garza (126, fourth), Edinburg High’s KeniaIslas (132, sixth), McAllen Memorial’s Eternity De La Garza (165, fourth), Juarez-Lincoln’s Yamilex Hernandez (fifth, 185),Edcouch-Elsa’s Amaya Lopez (sixth, 185), Palmview’s Yvette Rojas (fifth, 235) and Rio Grande City’s Greg Vela (sixth, 150)

Canales pinned her opponent in 1:14 to capture fifth place. The RGC junior had a busy two days, wrestling six times before her final pin. She finished her junior campaign with a 39-4 record.

“Theres a good amount of really tough competition, but going into this match I believed that I deserved it. she was a toughopponent but the top five or six are going to be tough,” Canales said. “She was very tough but I caught her in something I’ve never done in a match before.”

During the match she heard her coach yell out “armbar.” The move was something Canales said she had practiced for years, but never had the chance to use it – until Saturday.

“I’ve never had the chance to use that and when my coach yelled it out, and I thought to myself what’s the worse that can happen,” Canales said. “I did it and it worked on my last high school match (this season) I was very happy with that.”

It was another step in the positive direction for especially girls wrestling in the Valley. Last year, four Valley girls reached the podium, including state champions Serenity De La Garza and PSJA High’s Jessica Villanueva.

Medrano is only a sophomore while Silva and Islas are both juniors.

[email protected]

Valley girls wrestlers once again were the highlight of the Texas UIL Region 4-5A wrestling championship Saturday at the AISD Delco Activity Center in Austin.

Valley boys also put on a show, and the RGV will be well represented Friday and Saturday at the Texas UIL state championships at the Berry Center in Berry, Texas.

A year ago, McAllen Memorial’s Serenity de la Garza and PSJA High’s Jessica Villanueva returned with state titles. De la Garza is set to defend her title after winning another regional title and has a lot of regional champions, runners-up and other Valley qualifiers as company.

Girls won the regional title in seven of the 12 Class 5A weight classes and three of those champions – La Joya Juarez-Lincoln’s Brooklyn Garza (126 pounds), and McAllen Memorial twin sisters Serenity de la Garza (138) and Eternity de la Garza (165) kept their undefeated seasons intact.

Garza improved to 41-0 with a pin over Comal Canyon’s Xen Reddell (29-16) at the 5:30 mark. Serenity de la Garza, the defending Class 5A state champion at 138 pounds, won a 16-0 technical fall over PSJA North’s Graciela Juarez to improve to 32-0. A senior, Serenity hasn’t lost a match since her sophomore season.

Eternity de la Garza upped her record to 38-0 with a pin in 4:33 over Rio Grande City’s Lia Gutierrez. It was the third time those two wrestlers have met in a tournament final at 165 this year. Eternity finished second in the state last year.

Other regional champions include Rio Grande City’s Vivien Canales at 107, Edinburg Vela’s Danielle Silva at 114, Juarez-Lincoln’s Yamilex Hernandez at 185 and Valley View’s Mia Diaz at 235. Mission Veterans’ Allie Salinas (132), McAllen High’s Arsyn Sadlier (145), Edcouch-Elsa’s Amaya Lopez as well as PSJA North’s Juarez and RGC’s Lia Gutierrez also advanced to the regional finals and earned their ticket to the state meet.

The top four wrestlers from each regional advance to the state tournament.

“This just shows that girls wrestling continues to get stronger,” McAllen Memorial wrestling coach Eddie Gonzalez said. “Ever since wrestling started with girls, the Valley has been competitive. These girls (like Brooklyn Garza, Serenity and Eternity) are inspiring the rest of them. They realize that being a champion is doable, and they are working harder and harder to emulate what these girls are doing.

“They are creating a powerhouse for the Valley.”

In Class 6A, Cassandra Medrano also remained undefeated, upping her record to 37-0 and capturing the 100-pound Region 4-6A title. Medrano, a sophomore, defeated San Marcos’ Jesyka Banda with an 8-6 decision. Banda, a senior, is now 41-2.

Edinburg Economedes’ Marla Jimenez claimed the 185-pound regional title with a pin of Los Fresnos’ Katie Reyes at the 6:16 mark to also remain with an unblemished record at 15-0. The Region 4-6A tournaments were being held at the Littleton Gym in San Antonio.

Five Class 5A boys also won their respective regional titles. Sharyland High’s Aiden Baker, a freshman, captured the 106-pound crown with a fall at 4:50 over Comal Pieper’s Ethan Cobarrubias. Grappling teammate Paolo Miranda improved to 39-3 at 126 with a 4-3 decision over PSJA Memorial’s Erik Duran, and Sharyland Pioneer’s Sebastian Contreras moved to 25-2 with a 12-8 decision over Corpus Christi Veterans’ Luis Morales-Vela.

The record of Rio Grande City’s Greg Vela is now 48-1 after pinning Comal Smithson Valley’s Carson Deike in 2:37 at 150 pounds, and McHi senior Salomon Arroyo won the 190 weight class with another all-Valley final against Mission Veterans’ Joaquin Cordero with a 43-second pin.

[email protected]

EDINBURG – Kevin Burleson kept telling his team they would make a run soon – that the shots would start falling and the wins would start mounting.

After starting the NBA G League regular season with a dismal 2-7 record, the RGV Vipers – the defending G League champions – are looking, and playing, like the team fans have come to enjoy and expect. Like the team Burleson has believed in since the season opened.

Saturday’s 126-110 thrashing of the Austin Spurs was a dominant performance from a team with just eight dressed players, one of them putting on the Vipers jersey for the first time. The Vipers led by as many as 33 points and were in control from the jump ball, never trailing en route to their fifth win in the past six games.

The recent surge has moved RGV to 7-8 on the season, one game behind Sioux Falls for sixth place in the Western Conference. The top six teams from each conference advance to the postseason. The Vipers look to keep the hot streak with a pair of games today and Wednesday against the Ontario (Calif.) Clippers, sitting in third place with a 9-5 record in the Western Conference. The Vipers then close out the first half of the season at Salt Lake City before the all-star break.

RGV returns home Feb. 22 and 23 against the South Bay Lakers.

The Vipers led by 7 after one quarter, 21 at the half and 25 entering the fourth quarter Saturday. Seven of their eight players scored in double digits, led by Darius Days with 29 points and Trevor Hudgins with 22. Most impressively, the Vipers dished out a season-high 33 assists. Shawn Occeus led the way with seven, while Willie Cauley-Stein and newcomer Jarrett Culver each tallied six assists.

Culver, in his Vipers debut, finished with 18 points and seven rebounds. It was an impressive start for the Texas Tech product.

“I knew he was tired. He hasn’t played in two and a half weeks so he’s been doing some personal workouts,” Burleson said. “I told him to just breathe, don’t worry about the misses and makes. Just keep playing until you get your rhythm.

“He had a big dunk to get us going and I believe he kind of sparked us in a sense. The guys are gonna like him.”

While the offense performed with a purpose, under control and moving as a team, it was a higher level of defensive intensity, and the ability to keep turnovers low (just 11) that helped the Vipers jump out early and remain out front.

“We needed to come out to a good start, especially defensively. I think all of them were super hyper actie on the defensive end and of course we made shots, which helps,” Burleson said. “But they mastered the defense and that got us that early lead. In this league, it’s hard to play up hill and we kept them on their heels the whole game.”

Ray Spalding, Trhae Mitchell, Jalen Lecque and Josh Reaves were all inactive for the game but are expected to return for the road trip. That’s what made Culver’s performance so necessary. His posterizing dunk electified the crowd and his team.

“I was just making reads, drove the ball and saw it was high enough,” Culver said. “(Jalen Lecque) didn’t play tonight and they were out of wristbands so he gave me his wristband. I know JQ has bounce. It must’ve been the wristband he gave me.”

[email protected]

The Monitor’s All-Area superlatives and teams are selected by Monitor staff writers with input from coaches and other volleyball officials.

The Monitor’s 2022 All-Area teams and superlative winners:

Kenisha Martinez, Sharyland High, Player of the Year

Gabby Estringel, McAllen High, Newcomer of the Year

Amare Hernandez, McAllen Memorial, Hitter of the Year

Mia Mata, McAllen Rowe, Utility Player of the Year

Kassandra De La Garza, Sharyland High, Setter of the Year

Jacky Niño, Mission Veterans, Libero of the Year

Raul Castillo, Sharyland High, Coach of the Year

Anilu Guerrero, Hidalgo, Sub 5A Player of the Year

All-Area First Team

Leah Garcia, McAllen Memorial; Kassandra Falcon, McAllen Memorial; America Hernandez, Sharyland High; Mia Dominguez, Edinburg High; Etsel Ramirez, Edinburg North; Mariana Treviño, Sharyland Pioneer, Sidni Alvarez, Edinburg Economedes, Fey Vasquez, Edinburg Vela, Katherine Williamson, McAllen High; Serenity Lopez, PSJA High

All-Area Second Team

Leah McClenny, McAllen High; Madison Amaya, McAllen Memorial; Nicole Cavazos, Sharyland High; Elaiza Martinez, Roma; Emily Carranco, Edinburg High; Josselyn Mendez, Hidalgo; Victoria Gonzalez, PSJA High; Alisa Ramirez, McAllen Rowe; Alicia Zieglar, McAllen Memorial; Samantha Villalobos, Edinburg Vela

Amare Hernandez

McAllen Memorial, Jr.

Hitter of the Year

There were times during the season when junior hitter Amare Hernandez jumped that it looked like for a quick second she had reached her peak.

But she kept going. When she finally made contact, the sound was almost patented. Thunder struck and everyone knew it.

The junior outside hitter helped lead McAllen Memorial to a 39-10 record and a Sweet 16 appearance. Her dominance – among a team of big hitters – and ability to strike fear into defenses has earned her The Monitor’s 2022 All-Area Volleyball Hitter of the Year award.

Hernandez said training with RGV Venom coach Todd Lowery made a huge difference not just in her game, but, maybe more importantly, to her game approach.

“He changed my whole perspective and I become a smarter player and seeing things from a leader standpoint,” said Hernandez, who led the Mustangs with 3.9 kills per set. “How you are on the bench and on the court he would tell me. I said to myself, ‘OK, I’m not a little girl anymore. I have two more year and then, hopefully, off to college.’”

Hernandez said it was a “crazy season of ups and down,” but that early on they all looked at a poster that shows how previous teams had performed … dotted with Sweet 16 appearances.

“We thought this was a team where we could continue to get back there. The last time was 2019,” Hernandez said. “We would talk every week and that was important – not just be good on the court but to be connected and trust each other. There are six on the court and six more on the bench so it’s important to trust each other.”

Mia Mata

McAllen Rowe, Sr.

Utility Player of the Year

When high school coaches gave their 2022 preseason assessments, one comment came from nearly every coach: “As long as Mia Mata is there, Rowe will be a threat.”

Mata was a do-everything player with a fierce competitive nature for the Warriors. Twenty years ago, a utility player was someone who did multiple jobs at an OK level. Mata did every job on the volleyball court at an elite level. Because of that, she has been named The Monitor’s 2022 All-Area Volleyball Utility Player of the Year.

“A lot of games depended on how I played so I felt a lot of pressure at times,” said Mata, who averaged 4.6 kills per set for the 27-15 Warriors, who captured fourth place in district for a playoff berth. “At the end of the year I was proud of the team that we became to make the playoffs, especially being less experienced that the rest of the district.”

Mata also led the team in digs and oftentimes could be seen sacrificing limbs to attempt a save. While she was the clear go-to on offense, she also followed head coach Magda Canales’ constant preaching the importance of defense.

“Without defense we don’t have an offense,” said Mata, who brings the same tenaciousness on the soccer field, being moved around like a pawn to wherever her team needs her, including in goal during PKs.

Mata added that maybe the biggest change this year for her was learning patience, not letting one bad point turn into multiple points.

“Messing up would take a toll on me; one point was important,” Mata said. “I had to learn to let go of my mistakes. It made it easier for me. Getting over the mentally helped me as a person in general.

Jacky Niño

Mission Veterans, Sr.

Libero of the Year

Jacky Niño was born to be a libero. But, she was much more than that for the Patriots during the 2022 season.

“It’s a position I’ve wanted to stick with since I first played,” Niño said. “I’ve been playing it a while, since on my 13U team.”

She led the 33-6 Patriots (16-0 in district) with nearly six digs and one ace per set. However, it wouldn’t be unusual to see her play as a setter or an outside hitter and blocker. But her greatest strength was her ability to seemingly always be in the right place for a dig to start the Patriots’ potent offense. For that, she has been named The Monitor’s 2022 All-Area Volleyball Libero of the Year.

Just like she knew at a young age that she wanted to be a libero, she also knew since she was in eighth grade when she met a Prairie View A&M volleyball coach during a showcase that she wanted to be part of the Panthers volleyball team.

Last month she signed her letter of intent to continue her volleyball career, and pursue a kinesiology degree at Prairie View A&M.

That ability to know and plan for what she wants has only helped her in school and on the court, making split-second decision to kick start the offense.

“We all had the mindset of wanting to go far in the playoffs and we had so much potential,” Niño said. “It was a fun season and I grew a lot as a teammate and as a person in general.”

Gabby Estringel, Fr.

McAllen High

Newcomer of the Year

There’s a mutual respect between McHi’s Gabby Estringel and McAllen Memorial’s Amare Hernandez.

“She is just so good,” Estringel said. “I really look up to her and the way she plays.”

Likewise, Hernandez voiced her encouraging words about the McHi freshman.

“I can’t believe how good she is as a freshman,” Hernandez said early in the season. “We weren’t that good as freshmen.”

It’s only ironic that Estringel had maybe her best match of the season in a powerfully dominant performance and five-set upset of McAllen Memorial during the second time through district play.

“That was the best game ever,” the left-hander right side hitter said. “It really boosted my confidence.”

For her high performance on one of the most successful programs in the Rio Grande Valley, Estringel has been named The Monitor’s 2022 All-Area Volleyball Newcomer of the Year.

“What she brings on the court is just a product of who she is and what she brings off the court,” McAllen High head coach Michael Smith said. “She will do whatever she has to do to help her team win.”

As testament to that, Estringel moved from middle hitter – where she played since she began her volleyball career – to right side.

“She never really played there but just moved over there and you could see her come alive as the season progressed,” Smith said. “She’s an awesome person and so very well grounded with a team-first attitude. I couldn’t be any more proud of her.”

“I’m very excited for next year,” said Estringel, who finished second on the team with 313 kills. “It’s only going to get better from here.”

Kassandra De La Garza, Soph.

Sharyland High

Setter of the Year

The more hectic things became on the volleyball court this past season, the more calm and collected was Sharyland High setter Kassandra De La Garza.

The team’s setter easily transitioned to whatever offense head coach Raul Castillo wanted, and that offense was tweaked often, especially during the early part of the season. Her soft touch, versatility and ability to make lightning-quick decisions helped lead the Rattlers to the District 31-5A championship, a 44-5 record and a trip to the Sweet 16.

For her performance this past season, De La Garza has been named The Monitor’s 2022 All-Are Volleyball Setter of the Year.

Learning that offense, however, didn’t just begin during the school year. De La Garza was tasked with being standout hitter Kenisha Martinez’s setter and required plenty of work between the two sophomores.

“I needed them to work with each other, figure each other out,” Castillo said. “We also wanted Kassandra to attack the ball, even when she’s not hitting.”

De La Garza performed admirably. She finished the season with 926 assists, 159 kills (third on the team from an offense that ran a 5-1 primarily) and 272 digs. She also tallied 37 total blocks, 78 aces and a 95.3% serving success rate.

“Her serves were amazing,” Martinez said of her teammate. “She would always get us points from there.”

De La Garza also had a 98.4% ball-handling success rate, meaning that whenever the ball reached her, they were in great hands.

Raul Castillo

Sharyland High

Coach of the Year

It’s been hard to wipe the smile off Raul Castillo’s face since the 2022 season ended.

Not only did he guide the Sharyland Rattlers to a whopping 44-5 record, but he also brought home an elusive district title, other tournament championships and a trip to the Sweet 16. Those accomplishments have earned him The Monitor’s 2022 All-Area Coach of the Year.

To top it off, two of the key pieces to the Rattlers’ dominant season – setter of the year Kassandra De La Garza and player of the year Kenisha Martinez – return next year, as juniors.

“Big smile on my face,” the ninth-year head coach said. “It was a great year. We put in so much work after not making the playoffs last year. We revamped everything this year and the girls competed at a high level.

“But taking home the (District 31-5A) title was definitely not a walk in the park.”

Castillo said one of the biggest changes was a mindset.

“We had to see that yeah, we’re good but just because we’re good, that doesn’t mean everyone else is not good,” he said. “We were playing good teams. We were good – so were they. We worked hard, so did they.

“I told the girls that we’re an outsider. The McAllen schools always expect to win district. They don’t just let anyone in.”

The offense changed, the defense changed and, maybe most important, the coaching approach changed.

“Sometimes we over coach and it doesn’t always go our way,” Castillo said. “This year we made it simple – accomplish the easy, then go from there. Sometimes we went faster, sometimes we needed to slow it down.

“It came down to the girls trusting me. And they did, whatever we asked of them. That’s what made this year so special.”

The Monitor’s All-Area Awards are chosen by the sports staff of The Monitor, with input from coaches and other volleyball officials.

MISSION – Kenisha Martinez wanted to push the memory of not making the 2021 playoffs as far away as possible.

Cranking up 44 wins (just 5 losses), a title in arguably South Texas’ most competitive district, numerous accolades and a trip to the Class 5A Sweet 16 was remedy for a perfect cure. Because of her dominance on the court and her role in turning the Rattlers into a state power, Martinez, a sophomore, has been named The Monitor’s 2022 All-Area Volleyball Player of the Year.

Whether it was scoring on her thunderous attacks, her missile launching serves of her deft footwork and passing, Martinez put together an impressive season, both individually and with a team that, up until its Sweet 16 loss, led the UIL in victories across the state. The Rattlers at one point were 7-3 on the season before going on a 33-match win streak. In the playoffs, they won their first three matches in 3-0 blowouts before getting beat by Liberty Hill.

Martinez’s numbers were jaw-dropping on a team that fielded more than just one superstar. She led the team in kills per set (4.6), digs per set (3.2), serving aces (98), aces per set (0.8), total digs (406), total kills (584) and was second in receptions (389).

Even during the final match of the season, against a Liberty Hill squad that fielded a nonstop front row of 6-footers and taller, Martinez led her Rattlers with 12 kills, 15 digs and 11 serve receptions without an error.

“You knew she was special as a freshman, and with Kassandra right next to her,” Sharyland High head coach Raul Castillo said of his two sensational sophomores. “It hurt to have that talent and know they head high expectations and not be able to get over the hump last year. But this year, this year was great.”

Martinez said her freshman year was a whirlwind filled with pressures – not only to fight for a playoff spot in South Texas’ most difficult district, but also with self-inflicted pressure as one of the new kids on the court.

“My mentality was different last year. I was new to it. Everybody wanted to make the playoffs and we didn’t,” Martinez said. “As a freshman, I wanted to do everything. I wanted to prove to my team that I deserved my spot and I wanted to earn it.”

Also as a freshman, the tiniest things can turn into distractions and that’s an area Martinez overcame this past season.

“Not a lot of small things got into my head,” she said. “I was more mature on the court this year.”

With distraction aside, Martinez said her plan is to continue working on her serves, and her vertical.

“I didn’t do a lot of vertical workouts the previous year but the started to add jump squats and weights and started to see the improvement. The higher you can jump, the more vision you have to see where to hit,” said Martinez, who was also invited in March to try out for the U19 Mexico national team. “I also want to improve my serves. I don’t sometimes serve consistently to help us and that’s something we can control.”

[email protected]

The path to the NBA continues to make its way through Edinburg and the RGV Vipers — for players and coaches alike.

Most recent Vipers head coach Mahmoud Abdelfattah became the latest to transition from G League NBA on Tuesdays as the Houston Rockets named Abdelfattah as an assistant coach for the 2022-23 season

Abdelfattah guided the Vipers to a league-best fourth G League Championship and becomes the fifth head coach in Vipers franchise history to be called up to an NBA team joining Joseph Blair, Matt Brase, Nick Nurse and Chris Finch. Nurse was the first head coach to win a G League title and an NBA championship, doing so with the Toronto Raptors.

“For me, it means another part of a successful year. I take joy in the organization’s success and his success,” RGV Vipers General Manager Travis Stockbridge said. “Part of our job is to develop coaches and staff for the future.

“For Mahmoud, it means continued credit to the work he’s done and his path moving up. He learned a lot through rough first year and the success he’s had and what he’s learned he will now take to that next level.”

Abdelfattah led RGV to the number one spot in the Western Conference with a 24-10 record. Under his direction, the team led the league in points per game (124.5), free throws made (12.4), offensive rebounds (16.5) and total rebounds (51.4).

Additionally, Abdelfattah was the recipient of the Dennis Johnson Trophy as the 2021-22 NBA G League Coach of the Year making him the second head coach in Rio Grande Valley history to earn that honor.

“I think it’s confidence,” Stockbridge said about Abdelfattah’s growth while with the Vipers. “He’s always confident, but he’s been experiencing and seeing different situations. This game is fast in every area, whatever it is, things like building relationships – he did a great job of that, of all of it.”

During the 2020-21 season, Abdelfattah clinched his first playoff berth as Vipers head coach after finishing the season with a 9-6 record in the NBA G League bubble. In 2019, Abdelfattah became RGV’s eighth head coach and the first Palestinian-American head coach in both G League and NBA history.

Abdelfattah served as assistant under Blair during the 2018-19 championship season. During his time as assistant coach, the Vipers finished with a 34-16 record, ranking first in the Western Conference and Southwest Division. RGV also led in three different league categories; points (128.4), rebounds (56.2) and 3-pointers made per game. Originally, Abdelfattah joined the Vipers staff in 2017-18 as an operations assistant under former head coach Brase.

“He’s not getting this opportunity because of tradition, but because he earned it,” Stockbridge said. “But at the same time, it’s a testament to what the Vipers organization is about, moving coaches through the ranks, the same way we try to develop players. We’ve had a special run of coaches.

“It’s another coach going on to bigger and better things. He’s leaving the Vipers in a really good place. It’s awesome for the Vipers and it’s awesome for Mahmoud.

In addition to working on the staff in RGV, Abdelfattah has also served as an Assistant Coach for the Jordanian National team in 2018. Prior to RGV, Abdelfattah worked as an assistant coach at his alma mater St. Cloud State for four seasons, where he oversaw the player development program and led the recruiting efforts for the Huskies. Abdelfattah began his coaching career as a student assistant coach at St. Cloud State in 2010.

He was also an assistant coach at Perspective Charter School throughout 2011-13. Abdelfattah additionally coached with Team NLP, 17-U AAU team since the summer of 2009 where his 17-U team won the National AAU Tournament in Orlando, Florida with an 8-0 record.

Abdelfattah played basketball two years at St. Cloud where his team advanced to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight. Furthermore, he also played at Wilbur Wright College in Chicago where he was named the team’s most valuable player, region MVP, first team All-Region, second team All-American, All-Star game nominee and participant and All-Conference first team in 2008.

[email protected]