Western Nebraska Community College says the National Junior College Athletic Association upheld its December 7, 2012 ruling that former Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball player Evgenia Samorodova is not eligible to compete as an amateur. The matter was decided by a majority vote of NJCAA’s Executive Committee.

“The College submitted a 100-plus page appeal, which I thought adequately disproved the initial claim released to us by NJCAA, using official rosters and box scores of the Israel Basketball Association (IBBA), the official organization of professional basketball in Israel” said Dr. Sue Yowell, vice president of student services.

Yowell said, “In hindsight, perhaps an oral hearing may have been more transparent and allowed us to better refute possible documentation or testimony that was not disclosed in NJCAA’s initial letter. However, an oral hearing might not have been made available to us for several months. With the written appeal, we knew that the NJCAA would respond within 21 days.”

The College has a 20-day period during which it can request arbitration. The College is taking this action under advisement.

The WNCC women’s basketball team has won all four of their contests since the December 7 ruling removed Samorodova from the team. The Lady Cougars play their first home game of 2013 this evening at 5:30 p.m. in Cougar Palace against the McCook Indians.