Whether it is books or buckets, Wenz earning accolades
When Kym Wenz graduates this spring, the College of Wooster senior is going to have left a huge imprint on its women’s basketball program.That isn’t going to come as a surprise as she was a D3hoops.com fourth-team preseason All-America at the beginning of the year. She hasn’t disappointed.
Wenz has been the lynch pin for the Scots again this winter, averaging 20.3 points a game. There is no doubt she is the go-to person for the Scots. Not only is she averaging more than 20 points a game, but she has taken twice as many shots as teammate Kaitlin Krister, which makes it clear – any opponent looking to stop Wooster must start with Wenz.
There is more to Wenz than just scoring, though. Proof of that came recently when the communication studies major was named to ESPN The Magazine’s Academic All-District third team. That district covers a five-state area – Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama – and candidates must carry a 3.20 GPA or better to be considered.
“I was surprised,” said Wenz. “I try to do my best in the classroom as well as anything I do. I’m humbled to be chosen.”
Her coach, Lisa Campanell Komara, wasn’t surprised, just as she isn’t surprised by what Wenz does on the hardwood.
“If a professor gives an assignment, she gets it done that night or gets it done early,” said Campanell Komara. “Any time you get an academic accolade of this prestige you have to be talented athletically and talented in the classroom. You have to be the cream of the crop.”
Because of a knee injury that cost her half her sophomore season, Wenz will settle for second place on the Scots’ all-time scoring charts behind Katie Montague (1,610 points). However, she is already No. 1 in career field goals, free throws made and 3-point shots made. It is her ability to score inside and then outside the arc that helps make her so dangerous.
It was that ability that drew Campanell Komara to Wenz while she was a senior at Avon Lake, where she earned special mention All-Ohio.
“She was overlooked as a high school player,” said Campanell Komara. “I had known her coach and she said great things about Kym. We watched her a couple of times and got interested, and it all fell into place.
“The thing about Kym is she is extra coachable. I can say from the first day she has always wanted to get better, she wants the team to get better and the team to succeed. She could easily be a prima donna … but she is a sincere, genuine player. She knows this is not the Kym Wenz Show … she needs her teammates and if things aren’t working for her, she shares the ball or makes that extra pass. … She’s a team player.
“She stays after, she comes early. She works on her shot, she stays to work on something she feels she hadn’t done right in practice. We have just a few games left and she is still working to improve.”
While Wenz could have played elsewhere, she has few regrets about coming to Wooster.
“I was recruited by coach … but I also found out about Wooster from one of our middle school coaches,” said Wenz. “I knew I wanted to play basketball and I liked the smaller size of it. The people were welcoming … and I like being one-on-one with the professors and seeing people on a daily basis.”
She also didn’t want “to sit for a couple of years” before playing. “I didn’t expect to start, but if I’m going to devote the time, I want to play,” said Wenz.
She stepped into the lineup as a freshman, starting all 26 games, averaging 11.8 points a game and was named co-North Coast Athletic Conference Newcomer of the Year. A “devastating” knee injury cut her time in half as a sophomore, but she rebounded to average 18.6 ppg as a junior and earn first-team North Coast honors. With 1,443 points to date in her career, she should reach 1,500 points, becoming only the 15th player in NCAC history to reach that plateau.
Wenz isn’t sure where her degree is going to take her come May. With a minor in Phys Ed, it’s possible she could even return to Wooster “and be an assistant coach here,” she said, or entertain graduate school after a couple years in the workforce.
“I just wish I had her another four years,” said Campanell Komara. “It’s a shame she was hurt as a sophomore because she would be the college’s all-time leading scorer otherwise, but she has been a significant player for us.
“She has been a great role model for our program.”