Soriero is stickin' around as coach

The Athletic Department ended nearly a month of speculation yesterday when it confirmed that women's basketball coach Julie Soriero will have her contract renewed for next season. After finishing 3-23 during the 1995-96 season and 6-20 for the 1996-97 campaign, the Quakers showed dramatic improvement by finishing this past season at 13-13 and finishing fourth in the Ivy League with an 8-6 mark, their best mark since 1990-91. "It's nice to know that we can move ahead with confidence and the players can feel confident," Soriero said. "I'm excited because I think I have a great group of kids with their attitude and ability." The decision was reached following a performance review, which all coaches undergo at the end of each athletic season. Soriero said there was no single issue which carried extra importance, rather a combination of record, recruiting and fundraising all went under consideration. Next year marks the 10th season of Soriero's tenure at Penn. But Soriero, who has posted an 85-149 overall record at Penn, is not necessarily assured of having an 11th year as well. Athletic Director Steve Bilsky cited department policy in refusing to discuss terms of the new contract. "I think what is most important in this is that a strong message was delivered to Julie that Penn women's basketball must be of championship caliber, and that as head coach she needs to lead that effort," Bilsky said. "As the Athletic Department, we are here to expect that that happens. I think there was significant improvement in the program over the last couple years, but I don't want people to be complacent, thinking that improvement alone is satisfactory. I think Julie understands that. [Becoming Ivy League champions] is what we expect and that's our goal." In recent weeks, players and their parents have rallied around Soriero. Many parents called Bilsky to express their feeling and the players composed a letter which asked for Soriero's renewal. "Basically [the letter] said she did a good job and that she was capable of doing well," freshman center and Ivy League Rookie of the Year Diana Caramanico said. "She adopted her style to a very young team and made sure that no one felt overwhelmed. It was more written from a freshmen perspective [because 10 of the team's players are freshmen]. "I'm really excited. I thought we had something good going. I just adjusted to college and a new coach, so I did not want to have to adjust to a different coach." Since the Quakers finished their season Tuesday, March 3, with a loss to Princeton, the team has had no formal workouts. They met today for a team meeting, and with Soreiro's future decided, spring workouts will start Monday. "If we had a new coach, everything would be a mess and we wouldn't know what to do," freshman point guard Erin Ladley said. Both Ladley and Caramanico said while the team was aware of Soriero's contract situation during the season, Soriero herself never spoke of it in front of the team. "There was pressure on our team to win, but she never made us feel like we had to win for her," Caramanico said. Both players said interest and concern grew after reading about Soriero's contract situation in The Daily Pennsylvanian, and it was at that point the team decided to write a letter in support of their coach. Caramanico also said that the longer the process lasted, the more confident she felt that Soriero would receive a contract extension.

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