June 17, 2010

Between the two of them, Vanessa Villarreal and Jermina Tomlinson dominate the Texas A&M International University women's basketball record book. The life-long friends from San Antonio came together to play for the inaugural team in 2003-04 and four years later concluded their careers by leaving an indelible mark on the program.

Villarreal, the TAMIU career scoring and rebounding leader, was a four-time first team All-Conference selectee and three-time NAIA All-American. She earned first-team All-Conference honors three times in the Red River Athletic Conference and once in the Heartland Conference.

Tomlinson is the Dustdevil career leader in assists and steals while ranking second in scoring. She was a four-time second team All-Conference pick, earning the honor three times in the Red River and once in the Heartland.

Tomlinson earned a bachelor's in criminal justice with a minor in psychology from TAMIU and Villarreal holds a bachelor's in fitness and sports with a minor in criminal justice.

Here is a recent interview with two of TAMIU's top former student-athletes:

What has been your career and/or academic path since leaving TAMIU?

JT: After graduating from TAMIU in 2007 I moved back to San Antonio and earned my bartending license. I worked for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Service as an adult protective service investigator from October 2007-August 2008. I was then accepted into graduate school and am currently attending Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, where I am working on a master's degree in the field of clinical psychology. I will graduate this August.

VV: My academic path led me into teaching and coaching. I am currently at St. Augustine High School here in Laredo, where I teach physical education and health and coach volleyball, basketball and softball.

What are your career aspirations?

VV: One day I would like to be a head basketball coach for a 5A high school or even at the college level.

JT: I will be soon taking the Texas State Board licensure test to become a Licensed Psychologist Associate (LPA). I plan to either go into the military as a psychologist, or go back to school for my Psy.D. I want my career field to intertwine using psychology and criminal justice skills.

Can you describe the recruiting process and why you decided to attend TAMIU?

JT: I received offers from many schools, including the U.S. Air Force Academy, Texas Woman's University, Texas Lutheran University, Southwestern University and TAMIU. Vanessa signed and committed to TAMIU first and I was still undecided. Coach García also wanted me to attend and Vanessa kept trying to influence me so I gave in and signed and committed a few weeks after her. Overall, I decided to go because Vanessa was going and we do play well together, but mostly because it was TAMIU's first women's basketball team and we would be setting the foundation.

VV: I choose TAMIU because of the beautiful campus and the fact that it was the first year of women's basketball. It was great to be a part of something just starting.

What is your best memory of your TAMIU basketball career?

VV: My best memory from my career is scoring my 2000th point and playing basketball in the Bahamas.

JT: My best memory at TAMIU was our trip to the Bahamas. We had so much fun and it was a great experience. Another great memory was when I scored 36 points against UT-Permian Basin.

How long have you known each other?

JT: I have known Vanessa since I was in kindergarten--I was 5 years old. I will be 25 in August, so almost 20 years!

VV: I have technically known Jay since kindergarten. We lived down the street from each other and went to elementary, middle and high school together before coming to TAMIU together. During our summers we always hung out because we played AAU basketball also.

Anything you would like people to know about your life or future plans?

VV: My future plans are to continue to play and coach basketball for as long as I can. It has become such a huge part of my life and I have had some of the best coaches growing up. I would like to give back and teach everything that I have learned.

JT: I had a baby girl Sept. 15, 2009. She is my joy.

TAMIU Career Leaders

Games Played

1. Vanessa Villarreal    118

2. Jermina Tomlinson  115

Points

1. Vanessa Villarreal    2,295

2. Jermina Tomlinson  1,793

Rebounds

1. Vanessa Villarreal    805

2. Jermina Tomlinson  673

Assists

1. Jermina Tomlinson  327

Steals

1. Jermina Tomlinson 312

2. Vanessa Villarreal   217

Blocks

2. Vanessa Villarreal   76

3. Jermina Tomlinson 72