Accomplished as a player and a scholar, Christin Gowan will get the chance to succeed as a head basketball coach.

The 2007 East Union graduate has been hired to lead the women’s team at Southern Vermont College, an NCAA Division III school out of Bennington, Vt. Gowan previously served as an assistant for Occidental College in Los Angeles (two years) and alma mater Stanislaus State (three years).

“I expect to bring a new tenacity and energy to the program,” Gowan said in a press release. “I expect to be a competitive contender in the New England Collegiate Conference, and I want to bring excitement around the women’s basketball program to our school and the Bennington community.”

Gowan inherits a team that wrapped up a 1-24 season last month. SVC Interim Director of Athletics Sharief Hashim has high hopes for the Manteca product.

“We were looking for someone who exudes the necessary energy and optimism to lead the women’s basketball program,” Hashim said “Christin Gowan quickly separated herself from a group of highly-qualified and well-recommended candidates. 

“We’re very excited about adding Christin to our talented and hard-working athletic department. She has been a successful recruiter and has provided great leadership to student-athletes throughout her coaching career. We believe Coach Gowan’s intelligence, experience and vision for the program will allow her to recruit effectively and establish a team culture that translates to success both on and off the court.”

Gowan graduated from Stanislaus State as one of the program’s most decorated student-athletes. She finished sixth all-time in points scored (947), second in assists (322) and holds records in single-season (87.5 percent) and career free-throw shooting (79.5 percent). 

Gowan was named Stanislaus State’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year as a senior, was a three time California Collegiate Athletic Association All-Academic Team selection and made the Capitol One/College Sports Information Directors of America Academic All-District Second Team in 2011.

Gowan earned her undergraduate psychology degree and a teaching credential in mathematics at Stanislaus State. She later received a Master of Arts degree in Coaching and Athletic Administration from Concordia University in 2013. She went on to teach math at Edison High of Stockton and Santa Rosa Charger Academy in Los Angeles.

In her time at East Union, she helped lead the Lancers to a Valley Oak League championship and once scored a program-record 41 points in a game.