E-mail Coach Klopfer (vak7@cornell.edu)
Val Klopfer, a former starting guard at Wake Forest, enters her sixth year as an assistant on the Big Red women’s basketball staff.
Last season, Klopfer helped the Big Red to the best campaign in school history, as Cornell won its first-ever Ivy League championship in women’s basketball. The Big Red closed out the year with a school record for wins (20), as well as setting records for most conference wins (11), points scored (1889), 3-pointers made (200) and assists (436) in a season. After winning its first-ever Ivy League title, the Big Red faced No. 1 Connecticut in the first round of the 2007-08 NCAA tournament. Klopfer, who works primarily with the guards, also helped sophomore Lauren Benson become one of the best point guards in the Ivy League, as she broke the school record with 156 assists on the season. Benson, who was named Ivy League honorable mention, averaged a league-best 5.4 assists per game, good for 24th in the nation.
Cornell’s record-setting 2007-08 season came on the heels of a 2006-07 campaign in which the squad finished with a 12-15 record, tied for the fifth-most wins in program history. The team also boasted an 8-6 Ivy League record, tying the mark for the most conference wins in a single season, and finished the year ranked third in the conference, its best Ivy League finish since the 2001-02 team tied for second place.
In addition to developing the team’s guards, Klopfer’s main responsibilities with the Big Red include serving as the recruiting coordinator, game and practice preparation, as well as team travel.
Prior to her arrival in Ithaca, Klopfer worked as an assistant at Albany during the 2002-03 campaign. She assisted with a variety of the program’s duties, including game and practice preparation, along with recruiting. In its first season in the America East, Albany was one of five teams in the nine-team conference to post a winning record on its home court at 7-6. The Great Danes finished the season with a 9-18 overall record and a 3-13 conference mark.
Klopfer was a four-year letter winner at Wake Forest and finished her career ranked seventh all-time at the school in 3-pointers made. She started in 53 contests as a member of the Demon Deacons, including every contest her sophomore season, and recorded a 1.17 assist-to-turnover ratio, the fourth-highest career total at the university. A dean’s list student and a member of the ACC Honor Roll, Klopfer received a bachelor of arts degree in elementary education with a minor in psychology in May of 2002.
A native of Albany, N.Y., Klopfer is a 1998 graduate of Bishop Maginn High School, where she lettered in basketball and track. She helped the school’s basketball team to an 84-9 record and four conference titles during her four years.
