University of Minnesota Athletics
Student-Athlete Profile; Senior Setter Jen Bowman
11/17/2004 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Bowman started out her collegiate career at Northern Illinois in 2000. In her freshman season she was named AVCA Regional Freshman of the Year, and set a single-season school record for assists. Her sophomore year brought much of the same, as she was named AVCA All-Region and became the first sophomore in the history of the MAC to be named Conference Player of the Year. After leading her team to the NCAA Tournament in 2001, Bowman became a little unsettled after head coach Todd Kress left to become the head coach at Florida State. At that point, Bowman decided it was time for a change in her career path.
"I was expecting to stay at Northern Illinois my entire career initially," said Bowman. We were successful as a team and I was having a lot of individual success. However, I wanted something more and wanted to play in a conference where the competition was tougher on a nightly basis. After our coach left, our team started to struggle. So I took the opportunity to transfer to Long Beach State, who played in an extremely competitive conference and had a great reputation as program."
Bowman started the 2002 season with Long Beach State. However, with the long distance between California and Minnesota, she became homesick. Even at Northern Illinois, she was close enough to have her grandparents and parents come to watch her play. However, at Long Beach State she was not able to see her relatives very often and found herself missing her family. That prompted her interest in transferring back to Minnesota where she could play in front of friends and family. She also had the extra motivation of having the unique opportunity to play with her younger sister Kelly, who was an incoming freshman at Minnesota and was coming in as the No. 4 ranked high-school senior in the nation according the prepvolleyball.com.
"After being released by Long Beach State, Jen called me to tell me that she was transferring back to Minnesota," said Minnesota head coach Mike Hebert. "She wanted to be closer to her family and asked if I had room on the roster for her. I said of course and she has been a significant part of our success this season."
The one sticking point to the transfer from Long Beach State to Minnesota was that Bowman would have to sit out the 2003 season because she was transferring schools for a second time.
"I talked to Mike (Hebert) and he asked me if I wanted to be part of the team," said Bowman. "Having my sister (Kelly) there was a great opportunity to play with her again as well. The decision to come back was good and it has been an incredible experience so far. It was hard to sit for the first year, but it has really paid off. We have been successful this year and we all have so much fun together."
With the decision to return to Minnesota, the Bowman sisters would get the opportunity to play with each other for the first time since Kelly's freshman year in high school. Kelly had played on the varsity team in seventh grade when Jen was in 10th grade, and the two played with each other for three years. However, playing together in college was a whole different experience. Besides the fact that the Bowman's would become the first sisters to play at Minnesota since the Shudlicks (Linda and Susan) in 1999, the two sisters had developed an even closer bond since Jen had been away at college and were very excited about the opportunity to play for the same college team.
"It has been great playing with Kelly," said Jen. "We are each other's best friend. Playing together we just have this sense and we know each other so well that we can share each other's success and be there to support each other. It has been amazing to watch her develop as a player in her time at Minnesota. To watch all the success she has had this season is just so much fun to watch. I love being right there to express how proud I am of her. It is just a very special time for both of us."
"Jen and Kelly are very close," said Hebert. "This makes it easy to coach them both. Not once have they brought any family issues to the gym or the team. They come from a volleyball family (mom and dad both coached). They are very comfortable being on the same roster together. In fact, they love it."
Not only has Jen had the experience of playing with her sister, but she has enjoyed the close-knit family atmosphere of this Minnesota team from day one. After a couple of different schools, Bowman notes that this type of team is what you search to be part of as an athlete.
"It has been incredible at Minnesota so far," said Jen. "The first practice in the spring when I came in last year I was immediately accepted by the team. I just felt so comfortable with everybody, and knew that this was completely different from any team I had experienced anywhere else. Just the work ethic and determination by everybody to get better as individuals and as team was amazing to me. Last year it was amazing how everyone worked so hard and fought through the early season struggles to make the Final Four. I was so impressed how committed everyone was to team goals and improving every day. Just being part of a team like this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. You can play forever, but it is tough to be on a team with such committed and dedicated people all working toward the same goal."
In her final collegiate season, Bowman has thrived on the role of being a fifth-year senior leader on and off the court for Minnesota.
"My leadership role has been more off the court for us," said Jen. "I try to be as encouraging as I can and act as another set of eyes from the bench. I started coaching when I was younger and helping out teams and it comes naturally for me. If I see something on the court that I think I can point out or motivate someone to do I try to, and people are receptive to my advice. My role on the court is to bring as much energy and confidence on the court when I can. I feel like when I am in the match I want to provide the enthusiasm and add an extra burst of energy to the team."
"When Jen comes into the match she immediately energizes our team," said Hebert. "She brings a healthy dose of confidence, which makes us better. One of the other things that Jen gives is her incredible competitiveness and abilities as the scout-team setter in practice. She makes the starting team play harder because of her resolve. This goes unnoticed by most, but she has earned tremendous respect among her teammates."
As she moves towards the end of her senior season, Bowman is able to reflect back and think about the fact that she always had a gut feeling that Minnesota would be the right place for her. "Initially I was recruited by Minnesota, and it was kind of a back-and-forth toss-up between them, Northern Illinois and couple other schools," said Jen. "It was kind of weird, because a week before I signed my letter of intent I had a feeling that I should be choosing Minnesota. When I went to Northern Illinois things started out well, but I always kept it in the back of my mind that I probably could go home. It is kind of funny how it all came full circle, from Northern Illinois which was somewhat close to home, to Long Beach State which was very far away to home where I could finish out my career in front of my friends and family and play the last two years with my sister."
Jen Bowman's unique journey through her college volleyball career is proof that good things come to those who wait.
Story by Steven Geller, Assistant Athletic Communications Director
It is often stated at the end of an athlete's career that the journey was the most treasured part of their career. In the case of Minnesota senior setter Jen Bowman it is the unique journey that brought her back to the University of Minnesota that has made the last two seasons that much more rewarding for her.
Bowman started out her collegiate career at Northern Illinois in 2000. In her freshman season she was named AVCA Regional Freshman of the Year, and set a single-season school record for assists. Her sophomore year brought much of the same, as she was named AVCA All-Region and became the first sophomore in the history of the MAC to be named Conference Player of the Year. After leading her team to the NCAA Tournament in 2001, Bowman became a little unsettled after head coach Todd Kress left to become the head coach at Florida State. At that point, Bowman decided it was time for a change in her career path.
"I was expecting to stay at Northern Illinois my entire career initially," said Bowman. We were successful as a team and I was having a lot of individual success. However, I wanted something more and wanted to play in a conference where the competition was tougher on a nightly basis. After our coach left, our team started to struggle. So I took the opportunity to transfer to Long Beach State, who played in an extremely competitive conference and had a great reputation as program."
Bowman started the 2002 season with Long Beach State. However, with the long distance between California and Minnesota, she became homesick. Even at Northern Illinois, she was close enough to have her grandparents and parents come to watch her play. However, at Long Beach State she was not able to see her relatives very often and found herself missing her family. That prompted her interest in transferring back to Minnesota where she could play in front of friends and family. She also had the extra motivation of having the unique opportunity to play with her younger sister Kelly, who was an incoming freshman at Minnesota and was coming in as the No. 4 ranked high-school senior in the nation according the prepvolleyball.com.
"After being released by Long Beach State, Jen called me to tell me that she was transferring back to Minnesota," said Minnesota head coach Mike Hebert. "She wanted to be closer to her family and asked if I had room on the roster for her. I said of course and she has been a significant part of our success this season."
The one sticking point to the transfer from Long Beach State to Minnesota was that Bowman would have to sit out the 2003 season because she was transferring schools for a second time.
"I talked to Mike (Hebert) and he asked me if I wanted to be part of the team," said Bowman. "Having my sister (Kelly) there was a great opportunity to play with her again as well. The decision to come back was good and it has been an incredible experience so far. It was hard to sit for the first year, but it has really paid off. We have been successful this year and we all have so much fun together."
With the decision to return to Minnesota, the Bowman sisters would get the opportunity to play with each other for the first time since Kelly's freshman year in high school. Kelly had played on the varsity team in seventh grade when Jen was in 10th grade, and the two played with each other for three years. However, playing together in college was a whole different experience. Besides the fact that the Bowman's would become the first sisters to play at Minnesota since the Shudlicks (Linda and Susan) in 1999, the two sisters had developed an even closer bond since Jen had been away at college and were very excited about the opportunity to play for the same college team.
"It has been great playing with Kelly," said Jen. "We are each other's best friend. Playing together we just have this sense and we know each other so well that we can share each other's success and be there to support each other. It has been amazing to watch her develop as a player in her time at Minnesota. To watch all the success she has had this season is just so much fun to watch. I love being right there to express how proud I am of her. It is just a very special time for both of us."
"Jen and Kelly are very close," said Hebert. "This makes it easy to coach them both. Not once have they brought any family issues to the gym or the team. They come from a volleyball family (mom and dad both coached). They are very comfortable being on the same roster together. In fact, they love it."
Not only has Jen had the experience of playing with her sister, but she has enjoyed the close-knit family atmosphere of this Minnesota team from day one. After a couple of different schools, Bowman notes that this type of team is what you search to be part of as an athlete.
"It has been incredible at Minnesota so far," said Jen. "The first practice in the spring when I came in last year I was immediately accepted by the team. I just felt so comfortable with everybody, and knew that this was completely different from any team I had experienced anywhere else. Just the work ethic and determination by everybody to get better as individuals and as team was amazing to me. Last year it was amazing how everyone worked so hard and fought through the early season struggles to make the Final Four. I was so impressed how committed everyone was to team goals and improving every day. Just being part of a team like this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. You can play forever, but it is tough to be on a team with such committed and dedicated people all working toward the same goal."
In her final collegiate season, Bowman has thrived on the role of being a fifth-year senior leader on and off the court for Minnesota.
"My leadership role has been more off the court for us," said Jen. "I try to be as encouraging as I can and act as another set of eyes from the bench. I started coaching when I was younger and helping out teams and it comes naturally for me. If I see something on the court that I think I can point out or motivate someone to do I try to, and people are receptive to my advice. My role on the court is to bring as much energy and confidence on the court when I can. I feel like when I am in the match I want to provide the enthusiasm and add an extra burst of energy to the team."
"When Jen comes into the match she immediately energizes our team," said Hebert. "She brings a healthy dose of confidence, which makes us better. One of the other things that Jen gives is her incredible competitiveness and abilities as the scout-team setter in practice. She makes the starting team play harder because of her resolve. This goes unnoticed by most, but she has earned tremendous respect among her teammates."
As she moves towards the end of her senior season, Bowman is able to reflect back and think about the fact that she always had a gut feeling that Minnesota would be the right place for her. "Initially I was recruited by Minnesota, and it was kind of a back-and-forth toss-up between them, Northern Illinois and couple other schools," said Jen. "It was kind of weird, because a week before I signed my letter of intent I had a feeling that I should be choosing Minnesota. When I went to Northern Illinois things started out well, but I always kept it in the back of my mind that I probably could go home. It is kind of funny how it all came full circle, from Northern Illinois which was somewhat close to home, to Long Beach State which was very far away to home where I could finish out my career in front of my friends and family and play the last two years with my sister."
Jen Bowman's unique journey through her college volleyball career is proof that good things come to those who wait.
Story by Steven Geller, Assistant Athletic Communications Director
