Kate Peterson Abiad Position: Head Coach Experience: 5th Year Alma Mater: Wisconsin-Stevens Point, `91

Now in her sixth season at the helm of the Cleveland State women's basketball program, Kate Peterson Abiad has experienced the highs and lows as she has retooled and rebuilt the Viking program to respectability.Her hard work and dedication on the sidelines and the recruiting trail paid off last spring as Peterson Abiad led CSU to a 70-56 win over Wright State in the Horizon League Championship, securing the program's first bid to the NCAA Championship in school history.

The Vikings finished the 2007-08 campaign with a 19-14 overall mark, ranking as the second most wins in school history. In addition, CSU finished in fourth place in the regular season league standings with a school-record 10 wins.It capped off a remarkable turnaround as the Vikings were coming off an 8-22 season and were tabbed to finish eighth of 10 teams in the Horizon League preseason poll of coaches, sports information directors and media.The 11-win turnaround was the fifth best in the nation last season, as well as the best turnaround from one season to the next in school history.

The accomplishments earned Peterson Abiad a five-year contract extension that will keep her with the Vikings through the 2013 season.

In addition, the success on the court did not go unnoticed by Peterson Abiad's peers as Kailey Klein became the first player from CSU since 2004 to earn first team All-Horizon League honors, while Dominique Butler was the first player in school history to earn Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year accolades. She also garnered a spot on the league all-defensive team for the third straight season.

Peterson Abiad, who has spent the last 17 seasons as an assistant or head coach at the collegiate level, has been part of four NCAA tournament teams and two NIT teams, including the 1999-00 NIT Champions at Wisconsin.

After serving as an assistant coach for a combined 12 seasons at Indiana, Eastern Illinois and Wisconsin, Peterson Abiad received her first collegiate head coaching job when she was named the CSU head coach in April of 2003.

Since arriving at Cleveland State, Peterson Abiad has built the program on a strong defensive philosophy and a motion-based offense meant to wear down opponents.

It is not uncommon for Peterson Abiad to play five-guard sets, forcing other teams forwards and centers to guard quicker players on the perimeter. Last season, Peterson Abiad would often use a lineup where no player on the court was taller than 5-foot-10.

But the head coach never used the lack of height as an excuse, often saying, "what we lack in height, we more than makeup in heart and hustle."

Peterson Abiad wasted little time in making a name for herself upon arriving in Cleveland, leading CSU to a 12-16 mark, including a then school-record nine league wins and a fourth place finish at 9-7 in her first year at the helm. It marked the first time in five seasons that the Vikings finished better than .500 in conference play.

That success became tempered over the next three seasons, as youth and injuries forced Peterson Abiad to tinker with players and rotations. The Vikings won just 16 combined games over those three seasons.

An assistant at Wisconsin for six seasons prior to her arrival in Cleveland, Peterson Abiad served as the Badgers' chief recruiter beginning in 1998.

Under head coach Jane Albright, Peterson Abiad helped the Badgers bring in two top-10 rookie classes during her final four years in Madison.

She was responsible for the signing and development of WNBA draftees Tamara Moore and Jessie Stomski and was instrumental to the Badgers inking Nina Smith, the 1999 USA Today National Player of the Year.

While in Madison, the Badgers advanced to the NCAA Tournament three times (1998, 2001 & 2002) and won the 2000 WNIT championship after falling in the title game the year before.

Prior to her stint at Wisconsin, Peterson Abiad was an assistant at Eastern Illinois for four years (1993-97), joining the staff as the chief assistant in 1993.

She played a large role in the Panthers posting a 16-12 record and advancing to the conference semifinals in 1994-95-- two years after the team won just two games.

During her tenure in Charleston, Ill., Peterson Abiad served as the recruiting coordinator, was responsible for scouting opponents and developed a strength and conditioning program.She also assisted with practice planning and implementation and coached individual workouts.

Peterson Abiad received her first coaching opportunity during a two-year stint at Indiana, helping the Hoosiers to a 30-25 record from 1991-93.

While at Indiana, she gained familiarity with the Big Ten Conference, serving as a graduate assistant for one year and a restricted earnings coach.She later took on expanded duties including scouting, on-campus recruiting and on-court coaching in 1992-93.

A native of River Falls, Wis., Peterson Abiad graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point where she earned honorable mention Kodak All- America honors as a senior in 1990-91.A four-year starter, she twice garnered all-conference recognition and set an NCAA Division III national record for three-point field goals made per game (3.85) during the 1990-91 season.She was inducted into the UW-Stevens Point Hall of Fame in 2000.

Peterson Abiad earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from Stevens Point in 1991, and her master's degree in counseling and educational psychology from Indiana in 1995.

In addition to her college coaching experience, Peterson Abiad served as the coach for an Athletes in Action camp held in Sao Paulo, Brazil in 1992, and has worked a variety of summer basketball camps and served as the director of the UW-Stevens Point summer basketball camp in 1991.

Peterson Abiad lives in North Royalton with her husband, Phil Abiad, an assistant coach with the CSU volleyball program for the last 10 seasons.