Current W&J center Valerie Dunlap isn’t just a special player on the court for the Presidents, but a special person off of it as well.
Not only has Dunlap excelled in the paint for W&J, but she has also excelled in the classroom as well.
This week, the senior and Greater Latrobe native, was honored by being named the first Academic All-American in W&J women’s basketball history.
Dunlap was listed as a Third-Team Academic All-American, an award presented by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) and is sponsored by Capital One.
She also was a First Team Academic All-District selection for the second-straight year earlier this season.
Dunlap balances her basketball career by double-majoring in both Economics and German, where she has boasted a 3.91 GPA.
“I owe a lot our coaches,” said Dunlap. “They are very understanding, not just with me, but the rest of the team as well in helping us balance academics and athletics. That’s why I chose W&J, because of their great academics. It’s just really great that all of the hard work I have put in has paid off.”
On the floor, Dunlap has been a force in the middle for the Presidents for some time now.
After her freshman season where she only averaged 3.7 points and 4.2 rebounds per game in limited playing time, Dunlap has been a model of consistency from het sophomore season until now, averaging 12.2 points and 9.6 rebounds per game over the course of the last three seasons.
“When I got here as a freshman, you could look at me and tell I had a lot of work to do,” said Dunlap. “I wasn’t much of a scorer in high school. I owe it to the coaching staff for helping me put the work in to become a pretty good inside player.
As a senior this season, Dunlap is averaging a double-double with 11.2 points and 10.9 rebounds per contest.
More impressive is the fact that Dunlap was the only PAC player, men or women, to average a double-double through the regular season.
“I have taken that as my role,” added Dunlap. “I know I am in there to rebound and I am going to go out there and give it my all. Everyone on this team has their certain roles and we just go out there and get it done.”
Dunlap is the 44th W&J athlete in history to be named Academic All-America by CoSIDA. Overall 32 different student athletes have received the honor with 12 of them being honored multiple times.
The W&J women are back in action Friday night as they take on Saint Vincent in the semifinals of the PAC Tournament. It is the third time in the past three years that the Presidents have made it to the conference semi’s.
If W&J advances they will likely get a crack at the No. 1 team in the nation, undefeated Thomas More, with a berth in the NCAA Tournament on the line.
For W&J to pull off an upset like that, Dunlap will have to play a major role, something she has done for the past three years.
“We have all put in a lot of hard work, from the players to the coaches,” said Dunlap. “Three years and three straight trips to the semis. We will just go out and play hard and see what happens.”
While her playing career on the court may be winding down, if her college career both on and off the floor is any indication, Dunlap is headed towards big things down the road.
Photo Credit: Washington and Jefferson College
