JULIE GABRIEL: Leading by example

Most teams wish they had one. That player that serves as a catalyst and makes everyone around them better without ever entering the limelight or being recognized as a star. That player whose contributions don't always stand out in box scores or appear on highlight reels, but are nonetheless absolutely essential. For the Penn women's basketball team, that person is senior captain Julie Gabriel. During her four years at Penn, and her two years as the Quakers' captain, nobody has better personified the ideal of an Ivy League student-athlete than Julie Gabriel. Her leadership consists of working hard every day and taking pride in every phase of her game and her life. A brief look at her Penn career clearly illustrates the dividends such determination can pay. In fact, most people doubted Gabriel's abilities and questioned whether she would be able to play in Division I at all. Such doubters included her present coach, Julie Soriero. "The first time coach came to see me play, she seemed totally uninterested," Gabriel said. "She didn't think I was quick enough." Gabriel, however, never doubted her own abilities. It's a good thing for Penn. Gabriel, last season's team most valuable player, has continued to improve in every season and is currently averaging a double-double per 40 minutes of action. Her durability has also proved an asset. Her importance to the Penn offense is best illustrated by the fact she is averaging five points more in games the Quakers win than those they lose in Ancient Eight competition. She is the only Penn player to start in every game during the past two seasons, and she is averaging 36 minutes per game. Gabriel's play is also normally a good barometer for the Quakers' performance. Success did not come easily though. After finally being recruited primarily as a defensive player and a passer who played point guard in high school, she scored just more than two points and pulled down a little over three rebounds per game in her first two seasons at Penn. Soriero made it clear to Gabriel she would have to increase both her scoring and rebounding if she was going to become a consistent starter and fill some voids in the team. By developing the ability to penetrate off the dribble and a solid repertoire of inside scoring moves, Gabriel became a complete player. As a junior captain, she exhibited her versatility and developed offensive skills to contribute 9.1 points and 7.7 rebounds per contest while playing both guard and small forward. In recognition of these efforts, she was also named the Big 5's "Unsung Hero" last season. More impressive than the numbers has been her ability to respond to the needs of the team. As a result of her combination of size and excellent ball-handling skills, Gabriel gives Penn a lot of offensive flexibility. This proved extremely important this season with a team that lacked much depth and was prone to foul trouble. Her defensive skills enable her to neutralize much bigger opponents down low when necessary, giving the Quakers more options on the defensive end as well. Her most valuable asset as a player is definitely her versatility. As far as basketball player's are concerned, she is the total package. By saving loose balls headed out of bounds, keeping a rebound alive on the glass, setting a perfect backscreen, making that extra interior pass or just setting the tempo of the game, Gabriel's emotional style makes everyone around her better. "I realized from my experience as a player that you can do whatever you want to do," Gabriel said. "I really believe that. I've seen it in both myself and in others. It's a lesson that I'll take with me for life." Gabriel hopes her success story will provide an example for her younger teammates. Despite the Quakers disappointing 8-16 record this season, Gabriel's effort has not waned at all. Even as a senior whose dream of winning an Ivy championship and going to the NCAAs had become an impossibility by midseason, she continued to set an example. Her attitude and work ethic are things that will stay with Penn basketball long after she has graduated. "Julie has been the epitome of commitment, of character and of hard work," Soriero said. "With her, you always get an all-out effort. She has done and given to this program everything we possibly could have asked of her." "She's a leader both on the floor and off," senior co-captain Katarina Poulsen said. "She takes her responsibilities seriously and she both respects and has the respect of everyone on this team. She cares about all of us and she shows it." Gabriel's accomplishments go well beyond the Palestra floor and locker room however. As a psychology major who is a dean's list student, Gabriel has made the most of her Ivy education. This season she was nominated as a GTE academic all-America. "Obviously, the academics is the reason I'm here," Gabriel said. "I didn't come with a set academic program in mind and I'm not leaving on a set path. Having spent four years in Philadelphia after coming from the smallest town in the world is a real eye-opener as far as what's out there." Although the Housatonic, Mass., native does not know which path she will follow, she is approaching the rest of her life with the same attitude as her basketball career. She has total confidence in herself and her abilities to do whatever she sets her mind on. Regardless of what Gabriel chooses to do with the rest of her life, she will be sorely missed by the women's basketball program after she plays her final game against Columbia Saturday. "Julie Gabriel was everything that I personally wanted this program to be about," Soriero said. "On the court and off, she did whatever it took. If I'm lucky enough to coach one kid a year like Julie, then I'm very lucky to be a head coach."