Coaching Staff
JENNIFER GROSS Associate Head Coach 7th Year UC Davis ’97
Sandy Simpson has been a phenomenal leader for the UC Davis women’s basketball program since his first season in 1997 when he led the Aggies to the NCAA Division II Final Four. It only seems fitting that he hired Jennifer Gross, the point guard from that 1997 team, to help him lead UC Davis into the Division I era. Then in October of 2010, when Simpson announced his retirement from a 33-year coaching career, he added his seal of approval to Gross’ efforts by naming her as his successor. Recognized as one of the greatest players to ever don an Aggie uniform, Gross returned to the UC Davis women’s basketball program in 200405 to serve as the lead assistant for the Aggies. Entering her sixth year with her alma mater in 2009-10, Gross, who was promoted to associate head coach in 2008, has established herself as one of the top offensive coaching minds on the west coast. As the program’s offensive coordinator, she implemented a Princetonstyle offense in 2004 which has helped the Aggies become an immediate force in the Big West Conference. Gross has worked hard to build the offense from the ground up. Using the fundamentals of sharp cuts, smart passes, and an unprecedented level of teamwork, the Aggies have been able to give opponents fits with their precision and execution. In 2007-08, the first official season of Division I play for UC Davis, the Aggies shot 43.5 percent from the floor, best in the Big West Conference and ranked No. 43 among all NCAA Division I teams. As the primary player development coach for the guards, Gross helped Jessica Campbell, Heather Bates and Haylee Donaghe capture all-conference honors in 2008. In addition to her coaching responsibilities, Gross has been the recruiting coordinator for the Aggies since her arrival in 2004. As a former three-year CoSIDA Academic All-District VIII honoree, Gross knows what it takes both athletically and academically to succeed at UC Davis. She was instrumental in the recruitment of all-conference sophomore Paige Mintun, who led the Aggies in points, rebounds, assists, blocks, and steals in 2008-09. Gross also took the lead in bringing in the talented freshmen class of 2008-09, which featured three consistent starters including Kasey Riecks and Lauren Juric. Both Riecks and Juric earned All-Big West honorable mention honors as well as All- Freshman Team accolades. Juric was also named the Big West Conference Freshman of the Year for 2008-09. Prior to returning to UC Davis, Gross spent two years as an assistant coach at San Diego State University (2002-2004). In addition, Gross gained valuable experience coaching at her high school alma mater, University City High School in San Diego. After two seasons as an assistant, she took over as head coach in 2000 guiding the Centurions to a 50-9 record in two years at the helm. In her four-year career at UCHS, the team won four straight Western League titles plus a pair of CIF-San Diego Section banners. As a player from 1993-1997 at UC Davis, Gross set school records for career assists (448), steals (300) and three-pointers (163), the first
of which still stands. Additionally, she continues to rank fifth all-time at UC Davis in career scoring, compiling 1,143 points. As a senior, Gross led the Aggies to a school-record 29-3 mark and the school’s first appearance at the Division II Elite Eight tournament. UC Davis finished third at the national tourney, beating Bentley in the consolation final. For her part, she won Kodak All-America honorable mention honors and was selected to the Northern California Athletic Conference first team for the second time. However, perhaps her finest achievement was her participation in 101 victories during her four-year career, the winningest span in program history. Gross graduated from UC Davis in 1997, earning her bachelor’s degree in organizational studies. She earned her master’s degree in Sports Coaching from the United States Sports Academy in 2008. After her collegiate career, Gross went on to play professionally in Denmark (July 1997-Apr. 98) and Israel (July-Dec. 1998). She was inducted into the Cal Aggie Athletics Hall of Fame in 2003.
JOE TERAMOTO Assistant Coach 5th Year Cal Poly ’03
Joe Teramoto begins his fifth season with the UC Davis coaching staff in 2009-10. Teramoto will continue to be the post development coach and play a key role in assisting on both offense and defense for the Aggies. He has also been responsible for film editing, labeling, and breakdown as well as travel coordination. Teramoto also assists with recruiting, scouting, academic advisement, and summer camps. Teramoto has been instrumental in helping the Aggie post players work toward their potential. Sophomore Paige Mintun earned All-Big West Conference first-team honors in 2008-09 while freshman Lauren Juric – a threat from inside and outside – won All-Big West Conference honorable mention in 2008-09, was named Big West Freshman of the Year and selected to the All-Freshman team. Prior to his arrival at UC Davis, Teramoto served as an assistant coach at Saint Mary’s College in Moraga from 2003-2006. During his three years with the Gaels, he was involved in most aspects of the women’s basketball program and primarily worked with the post players. While in high school and college, Teramoto spent three seasons coaching junior high basketball before moving on to three seasons at San Luis Obispo High School. As the varsity coach in 2002-03, the Tigers finished 22-3 overall and 12-0 in the Pac-5 League. Teramoto graduated from Cal Poly in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences and a minor in biotechnology. He earned his master’s in educational leadership, also from Cal Poly in 2007. A native of Concord, Teramoto prepped at Ygnacio Valley High School where he competed in basketball, water polo, tennis, and swimming, earning 10 varsity letters and graduating as the only student in Warrior history to be named Athlete of the Year and valedictorian in the same year.
2010-11 UC DAVIS WOMEN’S BASKETBALL MEDIA GUIDE