Nov. 19, 2013
DAVIS, Calif. -- UC Davis head women's basketball coach Jennifer Gross announced, Tuesday, that five high school standouts have signed National Letters of Intent to continue their academic and athletic careers with the Aggies beginning with the 2014-15 season.
Among the group of recruits, three are California natives, one more hails from Oregon, and the final signee will join UC Davis from Canada. Morgan Bertsch (Santa Rosa, Calif./Santa Rosa HS), Pele Gianotti (Roseburg, Ore./Roseburg HS), Dani Nafekh (Oakville, Ontario, Canada/Oakville Trafalgar HS), Rachel Nagel (Cerritos, Calif./Whitney HS), and Lauren Seyranian (Piedmont, Calif./Piedmont HS), will join the Aggies' roster beginning next season.
"I couldn't be more excited about the quality and character of the five student-athletes joining our Aggie family next season," Gross said. "This is an extremely exciting class with talent, size, and versatility, that gives us depth at every position. Each individual provides a unique skill set on the court that will help our program compete as one of the top teams on the West Coast in the coming years.
"However, they also have a few things in common. In addition to being great people, who completely buy into the 'team' culture that we pride ourselves on here at UC Davis, they are tremendous students who are highly motivated to succeed both on and off the court."
Brief bios on each of the signees, in alphabetical order, are below.
Morgan Bertsch • 6-4 • F • Santa Rosa, Calif. • Santa Rosa HS
Bertsch is entering her senior season after averaging 13.2 ppg, 11.7 rpg, and 2.6 bpg, in 29 contests as a junior for the Panthers, helping them to a 23-7 overall record... earned first-team All-North Bay League honors in 2012-13... honorable mention All-Metro selection as a junior... holds the honor of becoming the first Santa Rosa HS girls basketball player to receive a Division I scholarship... also an all-state high jumper for the Panthers.
According to Coach Gross: "Morgan is a long, athletic, post player who can really run the floor. She can score inside and has the ability to be an amazing pursuit rebounder. Her biggest contribution, though, could come defensively because she has the size and mobility to be very disruptive and to defend multiple positions."
Pele Gianotti • 6-0 • F • Roseburg, Ore. • Roseburg HS
Gianotti is entering her senior season with the Indians after spending her first two prep seasons at Riddle HS in Riddle, Ore... she was a two-time league MVP for the Irish as a freshman and sophomore, twice earning all-state honors and breaking the Oregon state record for scoring as a freshman with 696 (seventh all-time in a single-season at the time), shattering the previous mark of 515 points set by Trisha Stevens in 1984, who eventually went on to play at Stanford... Gianotti averaged 24.9 ppg and 13.0 rpg as a freshman while hitting 40 percent of her three-point shots and guided Riddle HS to a 27-3 record... followed that up with another standout season as a sophomore, averaging 23.0 ppg and earning Oregon Class 2A all-state first-team honors... helped Roseburg HS to the second round of the Oregon Class 6A state playoffs as a junior... competed for the AAU Northwest Blazers, helping the team to the championship at the 2013 End of the Trail Tournament and earning all-tournament honors.
According to Coach Gross: "My favorite thing about Pele is how incredibly hard she competes. She is a versatile forward who brings a lot of physicality to the court. She can score all over the floor and is a tremendous rebounder. Pele is going to be a matchup nightmare for our opponents throughout the next four years."
Dani Nafekh • 5-11 • G/F • Oakville, Ontario, Canada • Oakville Trafalgar HS
Has played the last three seasons at Oakville Trafalgar HS, helping the Red Devils to the Halton high school senior girls Tier 2 championship as a junior in 2012, scoring 14 points in the title game... averaged 15.6 ppg and shot 49 percent from the floor while averaging 6.9 steals per game as a senior, helping Oakville Trafalgar HS to an 8-4 record and the quarterfinal round of the playoffs... varsity team captain and MVP as a senior.
According to Coach Gross: "Dani brings a lot of the qualities that I love in a point guard. She is long, sees the floor very well, and is a great passer, especially in transition. She has the ability to score in the paint, and will be able to use her size to post up smaller guards. Dani is also a very good defender who anticipates well and takes great pride in getting stops."
Rachel Nagel • 5-10 • G • Cerritos, Calif. • Whitney HS
Nagel enters her senior season with the Wildcats, helping Whitney HS to three-straight Academy League titles and a berth into the third round of the CIF playoffs as both a sophomore and junior... entering her senior season, Nagel has averaged 23 points per game or better in each of her first three prep seasons, including a high of 26.2 ppg as a junior to go with 8.2 rebounds and 6.5 steals per game... she is a three-time Academy League MVP and a three-time All-CIF honoree, including first-team honors as a sophomore and junior... she averaged a double-double as a sophomore (23.7 ppg and 10.0 rpg) a season after averaging 24.9 ppg as a freshman... she also played three seasons of volleyball... competed for the California Storm Team Taurasi club.
According to Coach Gross: "Rachel brings great size and physicality to the guard position. She is an incredible shooter with deep range and possesses excellent floor vision. She can score with her mid-range game and she always seems to find an angle to put the ball in the basket. With her versatility she will be a very difficult matchup in our system."
Lauren Seyranian • 5-11 • G/F • Piedmont, Calif. • Piedmont HS
Three-year letter winner for the Highlanders, who is entering her senior season... helped Piedmont HS advance to the 2013 Nor Cal regional championship game as a junior and a semifinal appearance as a freshman... three-star rated and the No. 18 recruit at her position according to ESPN... three-time all-league honoree, including first-team honors as a junior... third-team All-East Bay after averaging 20.1 ppg as a junior... second team All-State Division IV by Cal-Hi Sports... second-team All-Metro honoree in 2012-13... two-time team MVP as a sophomore and junior... second-team all-league selection as a sophomore, averaging 15 points per game... played AAU ball for Team Mariani in Northern California.
According to Coach Gross: "Lauren is a versatile guard who can consistently knock down the three, hit the mid-range jumper, and get all the way to the rim. She is a tireless worker who spends a lot of time in the gym and her fundamental skills reflect that. In addition to being a scorer, she can easily handle the ball against pressure and be a precision passer."
2013-14 UC DAVIS WOMEN'S BASKETBALL SIGNEES
Name (HT, POS, Hometown/Previous School)
Morgan Bertsch (6-4, F, Santa Rosa, Calif./Santa Rosa HS)
Pele Gianotti (6-0, F, Roseburg, Ore./Roseburg HS)
Dani Nafekh (5-11, G/F, Oakville, Ontario, Canada/Oakville Trafalgar HS)
Rachel Nagel (5-10, G, Cerritos, Calif./Whitney HS)
Lauren Seyranian (5-11, G/F, Piedmont, Calif./Piedmont HS)
Photo of Lauren Seyranian courtesy of the Piedmont Post
