May 8, 2013
BRONX, N.Y. - Fordham women's basketball head coach Stephanie Gaitley has announced the signing of another student athlete to a National Letter of Intent for the 2013-2014 season, as Alina Gjerkes (Grosuplje, Slovenia/Gimnazija Bezigrad) will suit up for the Rams beginning in the fall.
"We are very excited to have Alina join the Fordham family," said Coach Gaitley. "She is an outstanding athlete who is versatile enough to play a number of positions. Her style fits perfectly in our system."
The 5'11" guard comes to Rose Hill following a stellar career as one of the premier youth players in Eastern Europe.
Gjerkes has been a mainstay on the Slovenian national team for the past five years, beginning when she earned a spot on the U-16 team in 2009 when she was 15 years old. She earned a spot on the team again in 2010, averaging 12.5 points and 4.5 rebound per game at the European Championship.
Following her stint on the U-16 team, Gjerkes moved up to the U-18 squad in 2011 and 2012, pouring in nine points, grabbing 4.9 rebounds and dishing out 1.6 assists per game as a 17-year-old in 2011. Then, as an 18-year-old and captain of the team in 2012, Gjerkes increased her production, registering 9.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.
Gjerkes also earned a spot on the U-19 team that competed at the World Championships in 2011.
In addition to her prowess on the national squad, Gjerkes has been a standout on her club team in Slovenia, playing with Women's Basketball Club Grosuplje since she was 14 years old. She has competed with the squad every year at the Slovenian National Championships, having been named to the All-Tournament team is 2008 before taking home MVP honors in 2009 (U-14). Her team also won a U-16 National Championship in 2010, in which Gjerkes was named the MVP of the tournament after scoring 38 points in two games. A two-time team captain in the U-18 division, Gjerkes took home All-Tournament Team honors in both 2011 and 2012. This past season, Gjerkes averaged 19 points per game while playing for Women's Basketball Club Grosuplje.
The daughter of Mateja and Henrik Gjerkes, Alina will look to aid a Rams squad that graduated nearly 25 points per game from its head-turning 26-9 campaign from last year. Luckily, the Rams will have time to see game action with their new additions prior to the season's start, as the team will be taking a foreign tour to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji in August. Gjerkes joins three other recruits who have already signed NLIs to play for the Rams next season: Hannah Missry (Jackson, N.J./Jackson Memorial), Danielle Burns (Gainesville, Va./Stonewall Jackson) and Danielle Padovano (Dayton, N.J./South Brunswick) .
