Four more talented female athletes from the Rio Hondo basketball and volleyball programs signed their letters of intent on April 28 to continue their collegiate careers at the four-year university level.

Volleyball players Gabrielle Cruz and Romy Ramos signed with Ottawa University while their teammate Joleen Luque signed with Southwestern College.

Both schools are located in Kansas and are members of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference which means they will be given the opportunity to face each other twice during the season. Each athlete was excited about the opportunity to play each other in the future

Ottawa University Women’s Volleyball team is coached by Melissa Blessington who is headed into her third season as head coach. Both Cruz and Ramos said they are looking forward to a new and much different experience compared to attending school and playing volleyball so close to home.

Southwestern Women’s Volleyball team is coached by Carolina Garbato who is headed into her third season as head coach. Luque, like her teammates, also said she is excited about joining a new team and experiencing something different than she has here at Rio Hondo.

Ramos and Luque said they weren’t recruited out of high school, however Cruz said she had a few offers after high school but ultimately made the decision to come to Rio Hondo instead.

Women’s basketball player Ashley Rendon also signed her letter of intent, and signed with Eastern Nazarene College in Massachusetts.

Rendon, originally from La Puente and played at Nogales High School, led the team in rebounding this past season averaging seven rebounds and 11.3 points per game. She scored 20 plus points six times, including a 27 point game against Southwestern.

Eastern Nazarene College is a Division III school athletically and a member of the Commonwealth Coast Conference. The women’s basketball team is coached by Sacha Santimano who is headed into her fifth season as head coach at Easter Nazarene College.

Rendon said she will miss the friendly and helpful environment of Rio Hondo but she is excited and looking forward to living on the east coast as she has never been out there before.

Rendon is the fourth Lady Roadrunner from the basketball program to sign with a four-year school this year showing the strength of Coach Johnson’s ability to develop players into scholarship athletes.

As the number of student-athletes that are transferring on to the four-year university level from Rio Hondo, incoming high school students should look into contacting all of the phenomenal coaching staff that Rio Hondo has to offer.

Many sports are already preparing for off-season training and will be looking to recruit athletes for the following season. Contact information for all of the coaches in our Rio Hondo athletic programs can be found online at Athletics.riohondo.edu.