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Amy Sander is in her third season as Head Women’s Basketball Coach at Nebraska Wesleyan University.
In her first season at the helm, Sander led the NWU women to their best record and most conference wins since 2000-01. The Prairie Wolves capped the 2005-06 season by stunning regionally-ranked and top-seeded Chapman University, 91-67, at the Division III Independent Tournament. In 2006-07, NWU again finished strong by winning three of its last five games and building momentum Sander aims to maintain in 2007-08.
Sander also teaches in the Health & Human Performance department and serves as assistant to the athletic director with various administrative duties.
Before coming to Nebraska Wesleyan, Sander served as head volleyball coach and assistant women’s basketball coach at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa for five years. Prior to that, she was an assistant coach for both women’s basketball and volleyball at Albion College in Michigan.
Sander received her Masters of Education with a sport administration concentration in 1997 from Bowling Green State University. As an undergraduate, she was a four-year starter in women’s basketball at Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude in 1995 and was a three-time Ohio Athletic Conference All-Academic Team selection. The native of Genoa, Ohio, was also inducted into her high school’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001.
Sander was the top women’s basketball assistant coach at Buena Vista from 2000-05, and during that span, BVU posted an overall record of 91-45. The Beavers won back-to-back Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference titles en route to consecutive NCAA Division III tournament appearances and had a combined mark of 52-6 her last two seasons there, including 25-3 in 2004-05.
During her five seasons as the head volleyball coach, the program increased its winning percentage each year. Her first team posted a record of 3-18, while the 2004 squad amassed 14 wins.
 Mark Gudgel
Assistant Coach
Mark Gudgel is in his third season as an assistant coach for the Prairie Wolves.
Gudgel graduated in May 2004 from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a bachelor’s degree in English Education and a coaching endorsement. He is currently a graduate student in theology at Grace University and a high school English teacher.
In 2003-04, Gudgel was an assistant coach at Lincoln East High School and helped lead the Spartans to the Class A Girls State Basketball Championship.
 Ronda Byrne
Assistant Coach
Ronda Byrne is also in her third season on the women’s basketball staff.
Byrne, then Ronda Hofmann, served as a student assistant for the Prairie Wolves during the 2002-03 season after suffering a career-ending knee injury. On NWU’s all-time charts, she ranks third in steals for a single-season with 78 in 2001-02 and seventh in career steals with 160, despite only playing three seasons. She was a key contributor on the 2000-01 women’s basketball team that reached the second round of the NCAA Division III Championships.
Byrne graduated from Nebraska Wesleyan with a degree in physical education and also works as a Pharmacy Technician. She and her husband, Adam, reside in Lincoln. |
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