04/02/2013 Sue Semrau Named FCA Kay Yow Heart of a Coach Award WinnerFSU's head women's hoops coach will receive the award on Sunday in New Orleans 03/26/2013 FSU Falls to No. 1 Baylor in NCAA TournamentFlorida State's season ends as the defending national-champion Bears get 33 points and 22 rebounds from Brittney Griner in an 85-47 win on their home floor Tuesday night. 03/25/2013 NCAA Round Two Preview: FSU vs. BaylorNo. 8 seed Florida State set to face defending national champion and NCAA Tournament overall No. 1 seed Baylor Tuesday night at 9:30 p.m. ET with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line. 03/24/2013 Seminoles Take Down Princeton in First RoundLeonor Rodriguez and Morgan Toles lead Seminoles with 12 points in 60-44 victory. 03/22/2013 NCAA Tournament Preview: FSU vs. PrincetonStill fueled by their shortcoming a season ago, the No. 25/24 Florida State women's basketball team is back where it belongs in the NCAA Tournament and the Ivy League champions await in Waco, Texas Sunday night. 03/06/2013 Seminoles Ready for ACC Tournament02/28/2013 Noles Upset #9 Maryland, 72-7102/27/2013 Noles Host Maryland in Senior Night Showdown02/26/2013 Sue Semrau TV Show: February 2302/21/2013 FSU Tangles with ACC Best, Duke03/26/2013 Florida State vs. BaylorFSU women's basketball 03/25/2013 Monday Press ConferenceThe press conference before the Florida State vs. Baylor game in the NCAA tournament second round. 03/24/2013 Florida State vs. Princeton (AP)Florida State vs. Princeton (AP) 03/23/2013 Women's Basketball Practice (NCAA Tournament)Florida State practice before their NCAA Tournament first round game. 03/09/2013 No. 23 Florida State vs. No. 6 Duke - AP PhotosNo. 23 Florida State vs. No. 6 Duke - AP Photos
Now in her 16th year at FSU, Semrau, a three-time winner of the ACC Coach of the Year award, has earned a reputation as a coach that not only keeps her team in the national rankings by leading her players to victory but also one that helps foster the personal and professional growth of the student-athletes. Semrau became the 10th head coach in Florida State women's basketball history in 1997-98 and quickly took the program to new heights, guiding the Seminoles to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 10 years in 2001 before leading FSU to an unprecedented seven-straight NCAA Tournaments from 2005-11. She was named the ACC's top coach in 2001, 2005 and 2009 in addition to helping guide the United States U18 and U19 teams to gold medals in 2010 and 2011, respectively, as a national team assistant coach. Over the last 10 years, FSU has advanced to the postseason nine times, averaged over 21 wins per season and had 13 different student-athletes capture All-ACC honors. Since 2000, eight Noles have been selected in the WNBA Draft. Off the court, the Seminoles are just as decorated. Since Semrau took over the program, 27 athletes have earned Academic All-ACC honors, and a pair of Noles have been honored with the prestigious ACC Postgraduate Scholarship in current assistant coach Brooke Wyckoff (who received the honor as a player in 2000-01) and most recently Christian Hunnicutt (2010-11). Semrau's commitment to community service has also become a pillar of the program. The past four years, Semrau has partnered the Seminoles with Samaritan's Feet, a non-profit organization dedicated to changing lives through shoe distributions around the world. Semrau annually will coach a game barefoot in an effort to raise money, and the Seminoles took a break from the 2010 Junkanoo Jam in the Bahamas to give back on Thanksgiving. Additionally, the Seminoles have performed a variety of services throughout the Tallahassee area and have been known to extend a helping hand when on the road, making visits to the Boys and Girls Club at the Coalition for the Homeless in Orlando and elementary schools in Harlem, West Chester and Wadsworth, Ohio and Martinsville, Ind., as well as the Duke Hospital in Durham, N.C. Recent Success The 2009-10 season served as the perfect example of just how strong Florida State's women's basketball program has become under Semrau. The Seminoles captured their second consecutive regular-season ACC co-championship and made it all the way to the Elite Eight of the annual NCAA Tournament as a program-best No. 3 seed for the second straight season. Along the way, FSU set the school record for most wins in a season with 29, most conference triumphs ever with 12 and highest national ranking ever at No. 9. After the season was complete, star forward Jacinta Monroe was taken sixth overall in the 2010 WNBA Draft by the Washington Mystics; a draft slot that was the highest ever for an FSU women's basketball player. After a 24-8 campaign in 2010-11, the Seminoles extended their NCAA Tournament streak to seven consecutive years, nabbing another No. 3 seed. Along the way, forward Cierra Bravard nabbed honorable mention All-America honors and teamed with point guard Courtney Ward to capture All-ACC accolades. She Changed the Culture Semrau's 250 career win total with the Seminoles nearly doubles the second-most victories by an FSU coach (Marynell Meadors, 132), and her tenure has accounted for eight of FSU's 11 all-time NCAA Tournament appearances. Semrau basically built the Seminoles from scratch, as she inherited a program coming off of a 5-22 record in 1996-97 and hadn't reached double figures in wins in four years. By her fourth year, Semrau had completely turned the program around, capturing a 19-12 record and the first NCAA Tournament appearance in a decade. The 2000-01 season served as the jumpstart for unprecedented success. FSU had only four 20-win seasons before Semrau guided the Noles to six 20-win seasons over a seven-year stretch beginning in 2004-05. A Respected and Seasoned Coach Semrau is so respected among her peers in the coaching community that she was elected vice president of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association in June 2010, and will become president in 2013. Prior to coming to Florida State, Semrau served three years as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of Wisconsin under Jane Albright. While in Madison, she contributed to the Badgers' three-straight winning seasons and two NCAA Tournament appearances, including the program's first ever back-to-back 20-win seasons. Semrau first joined Albright at Northern Illinois in 1991 where she assisted in leading NIU to three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. Before her hiring at Northern Illinois, Semrau served as head women's basketball coach and assistant athletic director at Occidental College in Los Angeles for four years where she compiled a 51-47 overall record. She also coached soccer for two seasons and was responsible for the administrative duties of fundraising and promotions at the Division III institution. Semrau also worked as the public relations and promotions director for the L.A. Heat professional soccer team from 1986-87, and the public relations director for the Seattle Storm soccer team in the previous year. A native of Seattle, Wash., Semrau is a graduate of Shorecrest High School. She went on to attend the University of Puget Sound for two years. Semrau transferred to the University of California-San Diego in 1984 where she finished her career ranking 13th all-time in scoring and fourth all-time in assists. She graduated in 1985 with a bachelor's degree in communications and received her master's degree in athletic administration from the University of Southern California in 1988. |
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