ITHACA, N.Y. – Sarah Bernson, The Wendy Schaenen '79 Head Coach Of Volleyball, has rounded out her coaching staff with the hiring of former UConn standout Kate Seabaugh as an assistant coach for the Big Red program. Seabaugh joins the staff while working towards a Master of Engineering degree with a concentration in Financial Engineering at Cornell.
“Kate is a great fit our program and coaching staff,” said Bernson. “Her recent playing experience in the Big East will be very helpful to our players as we build momentum in the Ivy League this year. Being an outside hitter she will be beneficial to our hitting group, especially to our large group of underclassmen. As a Cornell assistant coach, I recruited Kate out of high school and although she didn't end up wearing a jersey I am very excited that she chose Cornell for graduate school and will be assisting the Big Red in a coaching capacity.”
During her first year of study on East Hill, Seabaugh played on Cornell's club team, helping the squad to a fifth-place finish at the 2010 national club championships and earned all-tournament honors.
Prior to Cornell, Seabaugh was a starter for UConn, where she played all around as an outside hitter, but completed her undergraduate honors finance degree in three years, cutting her playing career short. She helped the Huskies advance to the Big East tournament in each of her three seasons and totaled 621 kills and 625 digs in 90 matches played.
Seabaugh, who graduated from UConn in 2009, was named the Outstanding Scholar Athlete for the Huskies' volleyball team and received the Outstanding Undergraduate Student Finance Award from UConn's Finance Department. She also earned a spot on the Dean's list, Director of Athletics Honor Roll, and was a BIG EAST Academic All-Star each of her six semesters.
A native of St. Louis, Mo., Seabaugh was a high school All-American at Cor Jesu high school, where she broke the Missouri all-time record for career digs and was only the second player in school history to record over 1,000 career digs and 1,000 career kills. She was a two-time first-team all-state selection, was her volleyball team's MVP and served as captain during her final two seasons. Seabuagh helped Team St. Louis, her club team, to two top-five Open finishes at USAV Junior Olympic National tournament. She also served as her high school's Student Council President, was an active member in the National Honor Society, and ranked fourth in her graduating class.
In addition to her school work and coaching duties at Cornell, Seabaugh is also a certified spinning instructor and teaches at the Cornell Fitness Center.
