EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – Head women's basketball coach Tonja Englund has announced the names of seven student-athletes who will continue their academic and athletic careers at UW-Eau Claire.

Name Pos. Ht. Yr. Hometown/High School

Elizabeth Anderson G/F 5-10 So. Rib Lake, Wis.

Sarah Bingea F 6-0 Fr. Delano, Minn.

Alexa Deacon PG 5-8 Fr. Green Bay, Wis./Burlington Catholic Central

Pippa Mansdorf G 5-8 Fr. Hastings-On-Hudson, N.Y.

Leah Rempert G 5-9 Fr. Lake Geneva, Wis./Badger

Whitney Ryan F 6-0 Fr. Wanamingo, Minn./Kenyon-Wanamingo

Brynn Salava G/F 5-11 Fr. Strum, Wis./Eleva-Strum

Pronunciations

Sarah Bingea BING ah

Brynn Salava BRINN sul AH vah

The seven recruits will join a Blugold program that went 24-6 overall last season and finished in third place in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) with a 12-4 record. For the second year in a row, the Blugolds advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III Championship and were ranked 15th in the final D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll.

The Blugolds have 12 returning letterwinners, including Hannah Mesick, who started all 30 games last season, and Jodi Lindner and Ellen Plendl, who started 16 and 13 games, respectively, last season.

With a 7-1 record in Zorn Arena last year against WIAC opponents, the Blugolds are now 23-1 over the last three seasons. The Blugolds also received recognition from the NCAA for having the second best home attendance average in the nation with 1,055 fans per game.

Elizabeth Anderson

Elizabeth Anderson, a guard/forward from Rib Lake High School and transfer from Kishwaukee College (Ill.), will attend UW-Eau Claire and play basketball next fall, Blugold head coach Tonja Englund has announced.

The 5-10 Anderson competed in volleyball for two years at Kishwaukee College. Prior to that she played basketball for coach Wayne Mann for the Rib Lake Redmen. She was a four-time letterwinner and three-year starter and co-captain. Anderson has earned a number of different honors. Her senior season she earned All-State honorable mention status, while she was a first team All-Conference selection for the second time in her career. Anderson was the Marawood North Conference’s Most Valuable Player her senior season as well. She earned her team’s Most Valuable Player honor in her final three years with the Redmen and was a second team All-Conference selection her sophomore year.

Anderson was also a four-time letterwinner in volleyball and softball, and a one-time letterwinner in track at Rib Lake High School. She earned both All-Conference and All-State honors in volleyball, while earning All-Conference recognition in softball and track.

During her volleyball career at Kishwaukee College, Anderson’s team was the NJCAA Division II national champion both seasons. Anderson was also an Academic All-American both seasons as well.

Anderson is the daughter of Barbara and Robert Anderson.

Sarah Bingea

Sarah Bingea, a forward from Delano High School, will attend UW-Eau Claire and play basketball next fall, Blugold head coach Tonja Englund has announced.

The 6-0 Bingea played for coach Tory Spainer and was a four-time letterwinner and starter for the Tigers. Bingea was a three-time first team All-Conference selection and was the team’s most valuable player her junior and senior seasons. For her career, she averaged 14 points and 10 rebounds per game while recording over 1,000 total points, and served as team captain her senior year.

Bingea was also a three-time letterwinner in softball and volleyball. In volleyball her senior year, she earned Academic All-State and first team All-Conference honors.

She was also named a Minnesota State High School League Triple “A” award winner last season. Established in 1988, the Triple “A” award recognizes and rewards high school seniors from across the state for their achievements in academics, arts, and athletics. A total of only four student-athletes from Minnesota received the award.

Bingea is the daughter of Wanda and John Bingea.

Alexa Deacon

Alexa Deacon, a point guard from Burlington Catholic Central High School, will attend UW-Eau Claire and play basketball next fall, Blugold head coach Tonja Englund has announced.

The 5-8 Deacon played for coach Henry Fleck and was a four-time letterwinner and starter for the Lady Toppers. She was a sophomore on her team that advanced to the WIAA Tournament in 2007, and she went on to earn All-State honorable mention and second team All-Conference recognition. Her freshman year she received All-Conference honorable mention status while she earned first team All-Area and All-Conference honors her junior season, in addition to receiving honorable mention WBCA recognition. Last season, which she served as team captain, she once again earned honorable mention WBCA, first team All-Area and All-Conference recognition and also went over 1,000 points for her career.

Deacon was also a three-time letterwinner in track and competed at state in 2007.

Deacon is the daughter of Barbara and Paul Deacon.

Pippa Mansdorf

Pippa Mansdorf, a guard from Hastings High School (N.Y.), will attend UW-Eau Claire and play basketball next fall, Blugold head coach Tonja Englund has announced.

The 5-8 Mansdorf played for coach Krasniqi and was a four-time letterwinner and three-year starter for the Lady Yellow Jackets. Mansdorf was her team’s most valuable player and was named to the All-Conference team while leading her team in scoring each of the last two seasons. She served as team captain this season and averaged 17.8 points, six assists, five rebounds and two steals per game. This spring she competed in the 2009 Nike Rose Classic, New York City’s premier high school basketball tournament and averaged 21.5 points and six assists per game in the tournament and was named to the All-Star team.

Pippa is the daughter of Dorothea and Arnold Mansdorf.

Leah Rempert

Leah Rempert, a guard from Badger High School, will attend UW-Eau Claire and play basketball next fall, Blugold head coach Tonja Englund has announced.

The 5-9 Rempert played for coach Mike Giovingo and was a four-time letterwinner and three-year starter for the Badgers. During her senior year, she earned Academic All-State honors. Rempert was a three-time team captain, two-time team most valuable player, two-time first team All-Conference and one-time first team All-County selection. Her sophomore year she was selected as the team’s most improved player.

She was also a four-time letterwinner and starter in softball and a two-time letterwinner and starter in volleyball. She earned second team All-Conference honors in both softball and volleyball during her career.

Rempert is the daughter of Gail and Randy Rempert.

Whitney Ryan

Whitney Ryan, a forward from Kenyon-Wanamingo High School, will attend UW-Eau Claire and play basketball next fall, Blugold head coach Tonja Englund has announced.

The 6-0 Ryan played for coach John Christianson and was a four-time letterwinner and five-year starter for the Knights. Ryan was her team’s captain during her sophomore and senior seasons and earned All-Conference recognition in each of her last three seasons. She was named to the All-Area second team her sophomore year and first team her junior and senior seasons. Ryan also led her team in scoring and rebounding her sophomore, junior and senior seasons.

A two sport athlete, Ryan was a four-time letterwinner and five-year starter in volleyball. She earned All-Conference and All-Area honors a number of times during her career and led her team in hitting three times.

Ryan is the daughter of Jeri and Kevin Ryan.

Brynn Salava

Brynn Salava, a guard/forward from Eleva-Strum High School, will attend UW-Eau Claire and play basketball next fall, Blugold head coach Tonja Englund has announced.

The 5-11 Salava played for coach Kyle Kaufman and was a four-time letterwinner and starter for the Cardinals. Salava earned All-Conference honors a number of times during her career and most recently earned Academic All-Conference honors for the fourth time. During her junior year, she led her team in shooting percentage and rebounding and was named the team’s offensive player of the year, after leading Eleva-Strum to its first ever state tournament appearance. She was a team captain at the time and went over 1,000 points for her career. Salava earned first team All-State and All-Conference, third team All-Northwest and was a top 10 All-Area player that season as well. Her freshman year she earned team most improved honors while she earned most valuable and best offensive player honors her sophomore year. Salava also earned first team All-Conference and honorable mention All-Northwest recognition her sophomore season.

Salava was also a four-time letterwinner and starter for the Cardinal volleyball team and a two-time letterwinner in track. She earned a number of honors in both volleyball and track.

Salava is the daughter of Tina and David Salava.