Hanna Hoopingarner, Colorado College, Women's Basketball

HANNA HOOPINGARNER OF COLORADO COLLEGE, a senior on the women's basketball team, has been selected the SCAC Character & Community Female Student-Athlete-of-the-Week for the week ending February 10, 2013.

You won’t find the senior guard among the statistical leaders for the Tigers. In fact, her only two points of the season came on an uncontested layup last week against Centenary College in the final home game of her career.

But, because of the way she's contributes after suffering a career-ending knee injury 10 games into the 2011-12 season, a solid case could be made for Hoopingarner being the most important player on the team.

It’s no surprise that Hoopingarner remained part of the program. During her first two seasons, she willingly accepted any role to help her team succeed.

As a freshman, Hoopingarner’s tenacity made her a defensive stopper. She earned even more playing time as a sophomore and finished the season ranked third on the team in rebounding and sixth in scoring.

Hoopingarner was off to a great start as a junior, but 37 seconds into her first start of the year, the injury brought her career to an excruciating halt.

Looking for a way to contribute, she became a student assistant coach for the 2012-13 season and proved invaluable.

“Hanna serves as a wonderful liaison between the players and our staff,” said head coach Liz Doran. “She leads the warm-up and cool down every day in practice, coordinates our weekly scout team and offers insight in practice and on the bench during games. Hanna found a way to still be an integral part of the program even though she couldn’t play.”

Her involvement provides a source of inspiration to every member of the team, especially the younger players who will lead the Tigers in the future.

Hoopingarner got her first taste of coaching, both on and off the court, at Midland Elementary School in Colorado Springs. She volunteered as a teaching assistant, helping students who were struggling in certain areas of their studies, and with the basketball program. She also served as a volunteer coach at the CC women's basketball camp and was a mentor to the young athletes.

Hoopingarner represented the women’s basketball program on the college’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, participating in events such as Boo at the Zoo and Parent's Night Out to help promote CC athletics within the greater Colorado Springs community. She also was on SCAC’s Student Committee, where she voted on NCAA legislation that affects student-athletes.

While Hoopingarner works in the weight room and has been involved in intramural basketball since her freshman year, her on-campus activities were not limited to athletics.

As a freshman, Hoopingarner helped establish the photography club and set up the campus photography exhibit. The following year, she worked to create an engineering club through the physics department. She was involved in generating funds through the college budget process and worked to promote the school’s engineering program.

Last year as a junior, Hoopingarner joined Blue Key Honor Society and became involved in Colorado College’s First Monday all-campus events, a series of campus-wide forums that engage all members of the CC community in the intellectual life of the college.

Hoopingarner is as devoted to her academics as she is to basketball.

She owns a 3.53 overall grade-point average, including a 4.0 in mathematical economics, and has received the Colorado College Presidential and JEM Scholarships.

After graduating in May, Hoopingarner is moving to Los Angeles to work for Semler Brossy Consulting Group, a firm that specializes in compensation consulting.