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Excitement surrounding the Pitt women's team is at an all-time high not only in the city of Pittsburgh, but around the country. That excitement has been generated due to the tireless work and vision of fifth-year head coach Agnus Berenato. Berenato came to the Pitt program in 2003 and quickly transformed the team into one of the most dangerous and feared in the country. Even after a season-ending injury to the team's top point guard last season, Berenato rallied her team and led them to the most successful year in school history. Prior to the season, Berenato made clear her intentions of being a participant at the NCAA Tournament -- Pitt's first in school history. After the loss of senior Mallorie Winn to injury, Berenato's goals did not change. In fact, they intensified playing to the most wins in Pitt history with a 24-9 record -- including a 71-61 win over James Madison in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The 2006-07 squad earned its first-ever ranking in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll and were ranked in the AP poll for the first time since 1979. Marcedes Walker was named Pitt's first Kodak/WBCA District I All-American in 16 years and Shavonte Zellous earned the Big East's Most Improved Player award. Walker and Zellous were also named to the All-Big East First Team and freshman Jania Sims earned All-Freshman team honors. In 2005-06, Pitt concluded the season at 22-11, which at the time, tied the school record for wins. In addition, the Panthers finished above .500 with a 9-7 Big East Conference record and secured a sixth-place finish -- the Panthers' highest since 1995. All of that success landed Pitt in the Women's National Invitation Tournament for just the fourth time in school history -- something many had not predicted at the beginning of the season after being picked to finish 13th of 16 teams in the Big East Conference. The Panthers again surpassed expectations advancing to the semifinals of the WNIT with three victories. For the first time since 1983, two Pitt players earned All-Big East honors when Marcedes Walker (First Team) and Mallorie Winn (Second Team) were announced on March 3 at the league's annual banquet. Beginning in 2006-07, all of the Panthers' games, home and away, were broadcast on the radio for the first time. Panther players are being honored by the Big East Conference and are being invited to participate in the USA Basketball National Team Trials. Berenato is not one to rest on her laurels, however. "We're building a top-notch program here and everything that's happening is a step in that direction," Berenato said. "We want all of our players to strive to play on national teams and to be the best they can be on the court and in the classroom." A subject of importance with Berenato is her devotion to the community and her work in Pittsburgh and surrounding areas is plentiful. In April of 2006, Berenato was named the Dapper Dan Sportswoman of the Year, a prestigious award in the city of Pittsburgh. Berenato is an advocate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation's Race For The Cure - a charity organization for the prevention and treatment of breast cancer. In addition to her local involvement, Berenato agreed to join the committee for the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS), the oldest survivor-led advocacy organization working on behalf of this country's nearly 10 million cancer survivors and the millions more touched by the disease. Berenato has been honored by the Girl Scouts Trillium Council as the Sports and Fitness honoree at their Women and Girls of Distinction ceremony, earned induction into the Camden County [N.J.] Sports Hall of Fame, and was named a finalist for the prestigious ATHENA Award. In the spring of 2004, Berenato received the "Native Son Award," an annual award presented by the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association to a native of the Philadelphia area who has achieved success in athletics. Berenato has made a name for herself throughout the University of Pittsburgh and the community for her dynamic public speaking ability, and she has been invited to be the keynote speaker at several local middle and high school events and banquets. The Greensburg YWCA Sportswoman's Banquet, Riverside High School girls basketball banquet, St. Bonaventure All Sports banquet, and Greenfield Elementary School are just a few of the places at which she has spoken. As she did in Atlanta, she also takes pride in speaking at the local Kiwanis, Lions, and Rotary Clubs in Western Pennsylvania. Recently, Berenato served as the commencement speaker at Mt. Alvernia High School, Homewood Elementary, the 2007 Roundball Classic Banquet and Westmoreland Scholar-Athlete Banquet. She was also the keynote speaker for the 2007 Non-Profit Leadership Conference and the 2006 YMCA State Conference and is the annual speaker at the YMCA Scholar-Athlete Banquet. In 2007, Berenato served as a panelist on "Balancing Family and Coaching" at the annual WBCA Convention. Her community projects include: Juvenile Diabetes, Read 365, Healthy for Life Conference and she co-hosted a basketball clinic with former Steeler's Coach Bill Cohwer for Family Resources, among her other activities. Under Berenato's guidance in 2004-05, the Panthers began to make significant strides in becoming that top-notch program worthy of hosting an event such as the NCAA Tournament. On the court, Walker became the first Pitt freshman in school history to nab All-Big East honors. Off the court, 10 of Berenato's players earned at least a 3.0 grade-point average to give the Panthers an All-America Academic Team nomination. The success is a credit to Berenato's character and the fact that she practices what she preaches to her team. Her passion for women's basketball has helped make her players better students and better people. She has things to do, goals to achieve, and plans to see them through - the faster, the better. Since joining Pitt from Georgia Tech prior to the 2003-04 season, Berenato has worked with her staff to make the Panthers a perennial postseason team like she did with the Yellow Jackets. The success has been apparent, jumping from six wins in her first year with the Panthers to 13 her second season, 22 wins in 2005-06 and a school-record 24 wins last season.
Among her accomplishments in her fourth campaign at Pitt: Berenato reached a personal milestone in 2005 as she collected her 300th career victory with an 85-81 win over Big East foe Georgetown. Upon Berenato's hiring, University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg said, "We believe the University of Pittsburgh women's basketball program has unlimited potential, and in Agnus Berenato we have found the perfect person to make that potential a reality. Anyone who meets Agnus for the first time cannot help but be impressed with both her knowledge and enthusiasm. Certainly with over 300 career victories, her ability as a coach is obvious. Just as exciting, Agnus has demonstrated a record of commitment to academics and the complete development of her student-athletes. It will be exciting to watch our program grow, on and off the court, under her leadership." Guiding Georgia Tech to the postseason in each of her final four years, including the 2003 NCAA Tournament, Berenato owned a 223-209 (.516) record with the Yellow Jackets. She mentored the team to its first postseason championship by capturing the 1992 National Women's Invitational Tournament, compiling a 20-13 overall record. In her final season at Georgia Tech, the team finished 20-11 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. The Yellow Jackets upset No. 22 Georgia, 65-61, en route to starting the season with an 11-1 record. Berenato's squad made it to the semifinals of the ACC Tournament before falling to eventual champion and Final Four participant Duke. The Yellow Jackets also recorded a school-record 10-game winning streak. In five of her last seven seasons at Georgia Tech, Berenato led the Yellow Jackets to victories over top-15 opponents. A two-time recipient of the Women's NCAA Division I Coach of the Year award in the state of Georgia by the Atlanta Tip-off Club, Berenato is a recognized recruiter as well as a successful coach. Her 2002 recruiting class was ranked among the top 15 in the nation by such publications as the All-Star Girls Report. Additionally, Athlon magazine ranked her 2001 class 13th nationally. Berenato has coached 13 all-conference honorees, including Walker, Winn and Zellous and Georgia Tech's Sonja Mallory, who was selected in the WNBA Draft, chosen 24th overall by the New York Liberty. Berenato also served two years as an assistant coach at Georgia Tech (1986-87). She was responsible for recruiting and coaching Tech's frontcourt players. Before arriving at Georgia Tech, Berenato spent four years as the head women's basketball coach at Rider University, compiling a 60-55 record. In her first season at Rider, Berenato guided the Broncs to their best record in school history with a 26-7 mark . Following that year, she was named New Jersey Coaches Association (NJCA) Coach of the Year for her efforts while Rider was named its Team of the Year. While at Rider, Berenato was also the women's volleyball coach for four years, posting a 66-51 record, including a school-record 25-12 mark in 1983. She was inducted into the Rider Hall of Fame in February, 2002. A 1980 graduate of Mount St. Mary's College in Emmitsburg, Md., Berenato earned her bachelor's degree in sociology and was a three-year starter on the basketball team. Playing for former NBA star and current ESPN analyst Fred Carter, she was a two-time captain for the Mountaineers and just completed an eight-year stint as a member of the college's Board of Trustees. Berenato is currently a member of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), the Naismith Hall of Fame committee and is a member of the Girl Scouts Alumnae Association. In the past, she has been a member of the Kodak All-America Selection Committee, East Regional Championship Committee, the Atlanta Women's Network, Inc., the Georgia Women's Intersport Network, and Atlanta Women in Sports. She also received the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Volunteer Award for exemplary volunteerism from the Jesse Draper Boys' and Girls' Club of Atlanta a few years ago. Additionally, she was selected by the Institute of International Sports as one of its Sports Ethics Fellows in 1996. A native of Gloucester City, N.J., Berenato and her husband Jack have five children: Theresa Marie (23), Andrew (22), Joey (18), Clare (16) and Christina (13).
BACKGROUND ON BERENATO Full Name: Agnus McGlade Berenato Birthdate: Dec. 9, 1956 Husband: Jack Berenato Children: Theresa Marie (24), Andrew (23), Joey (19), Clare (17), Christina (14) Education: Mount St. Mary's, 1980 High School Coaching Experience: Holy Cross High School (1 year) Head Coach -- 1981 College Coaching Experience: Rider (4 years) Head Coach -- 1982-85 Georgia Tech (2 years) Assistant Coach -- 1987-88 Georgia Tech (15 years) Head Coach -- 1989-2003 Pittsburgh (Third year)
Head Coach -- 2003-Present Honors: |
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