GC tennis player, Tila Whitaker, scores 11 points in the women's basketball game versus Palomar College.
El Cajon, CA February 5, 2019

Not having played basketball since high school, Tila Whitaker stepped back onto the basketball court Friday, February 1, 2019 to score 11 points for the GC women's basketball team. Whitaker's primary sport at Grossmont is tennis. 

In 2016, Whitaker helped lead the Grossmont College women's tennis team to a conference championship. She returns this spring 2019 season to chase the sixth consecutive conference championship with the women's tennis team. 

Whitaker never imagined finding herself participating in intercollegiate basketball too. 

She started and played 31 minutes in Friday's basketball match-up against Palomar College. She made 4-7 field goals and 3-5 free throws, with two rebounds. Now, Whitaker is prepared to reclaim her high school ball nickname "Tech."

Whitaker holds just one technical foul in basketball. Her high school teammates called her "Tech". Can she finish this season at Grossmont and still hold on to her childhood nickname?

As Whitaker waits outside the gym for basketball practice, she states,"It's a lot harder to be a dual student-athlete in college than it was in high school. The support I've received already from teammates and coaches makes it all worth it."

Whitaker is excited to continue playing basketball in addition to tennis this spring. She enjoys the friendships she has made in each sport, so much that she may decide to extend her studies at Grossmont College through fall 2020 because of them. Let's hope so!

The women's basketball team has four conference games remaining this season.

Find out if Tila Whitaker decides to play another season of basketball next year by following us on Twitter @gcghouse, Facebook @GCAthletics and Instagram gcghouse.