March 10, 2009

LOGAN, Utah - With her final chance to show that the Utah State Aggies have what it takes, senior guard Ana Pares prepares for her last Western Athletic Conference Tournament with enthusiasm and gratitude.

At the age of 14, Ana's parents, Nestor Pares and Kerlly Leon, made the decision to move their family from Puerto Rico to Provo, Utah, where she learned to play and love the game of basketball.

"Basketball has developed me as a person and an athlete," said Pares. "I have learned work ethic and how important it is to always be learning."

Pares proved that she loved learning by earning Academic all-WAC honors in 2008.

This is the first year that Pares has been a starter for the women's basketball team, but she has proven herself by being one of the leading scorers on the team and scoring points more in this season than in the last three seasons combined.

"I was always a scorer but it was just not my time," Pares said. "I had to go through the process of watching the other girls and learning from them in practice."

Her hard work has paid off as Pares was named to the all-WAC second team. She and fellow senior guard Danyelle Snelgro became the first Aggies to earn all-WAC honors in Utah State's four years in the WAC.

Ana chose USU because it was welcoming and "not scary".

"I am still fairly new to the states and university is a big deal but at USU everything felt right," Pares said.

After this season, Pares will be graduating with a degree in family consumer and human development and will also be getting married in May. Pares and her husband will move to Florida so her husband can continue his career in the United States Navy.

Pares's big dream in life is to become a nurse and she wishes to pursue that in Florida. She said she was not able to study nursing at USU because of the time restraints with basketball.

For the next few days, Pares will be focusing on the WAC Tournament and USU's quarterfinal match-up with fourth-seeded Idaho. She looks to be a part of the first Utah State team to earn a WAC Tournament win.

Pares feels that the Aggies have a good team, and that they have a chance to perform well at the upcoming tournament.

"Let's just say there are going to be some surprises," Pares said.

She also said that the Aggies are ready to play anybody in the conference. They have been practicing and improving throughout the season. Utah State ended with a 9-7 record which is the Aggies best finish since joining the league.

Utah State begins their quest for WAC Tournament title at the Lawlor Events Center in Reno, Nev. on March 11 at 1 p.m. (MT).