NWC News Desk

Athlete Romances Not Uncommon For Northwest College

Posted January 11, 2018
By Trapper Athletics

DON COGGER Tribune Sports Writer
Courtesy of the Powell Tribune

Lady Trappers head coach Janis Beal laughs when asked if she plans to include “the possibility of finding a husband” as part of her recruiting strategy.

After all, Marlow and Zabriskie’s engagement isn’t the first love connection between players this season: Marlow’s teammate Domenica Gomes from Brazil and Trappers gunner Luc Lombardy from France announced their plans to tie the knot earlier this season. Beal said having two engagements in one year is rare, but players finding their soulmate with another NWC athlete is not as uncommon as one might think. A quick glance at the framed team photos on the wall of her office brings to mind quite a few pairings during her tenure.

“I’ve actually had a lot of players that have met [their future husbands] here throughout the years,” Beal said. “There’s quite a few that have played for me that ended up getting married to someone they’ve met here. I just look back at the pictures and I can see a bunch of different ones.”

Beal knew she had something special when she recruited Marlow, and the sophomore has lived up to expectations on and off the court.

“She’s a great kid, hard worker,” Beal said. “She’s one of those just good people, always caring, always trying to help her teammates out — not just on the court, but off it as well. She’s one of those people who tries to figure out how she can serve other people. That’s a trait that you don’t always find.”

Beal said she and the rest of the team weren’t too surprised when Marlow and Zabriskie announced their plans to make it official.

“Her [Marlow] and Skyler had been dating since last year, and I knew they were talking about the future,” Beal explained. “It was kind of more of a matter of when it was going to happen, rather than if.”

As for Marlow’s choice of a fiance, Beal said her player found a quality guy.

“Skyler’s a kid who didn’t even play high school basketball a lot,” she said. “To be able to come here and play ball, he had to work for everything he got. That’s a good trait to have also.”