Vanessa graduated from Riverside Poly High School. At Poly, Vanessa lettered in basketball, track and softball, earning the 1998 Riverside Poly Athlete of the Year award, as well as the Citrus Belt League Female Athlete of the Year. Vanessa was the only non-pitcher to win Most Valuable Player in the Ivy League on two occasions. She also made the Cal-Hi Sports All-State First Team in 1998 and had a career .458 hitting average at Poly. Vanessa played for the United States Junior Team in 1999, helping her team win a gold medal versus Australia in the title game. At Fresno State University, Vanessa was a four-year starter, playing right field, first base and second base. She was a four-time Western Athletic Conference Scholar Athlete, and was a starter in one College World Series. In 2002, Vanessa made the NCAA Region IV All-Tournament team and in the same year was selected to become a member of the 2004 Greek National Softball Olympic Team. In 2004, Vanessa started every game in the Olympics at second base for Greece, which was the first team to score against the dominant American team in competition (helped along by Vanessa’s two stolen bases). In 2006, while still playing for the Greek National Softball team, she played in the World Cup in Beijing, China. Vanessa returned to Riverside where she began a successful coaching career at Riverside Poly. During her time with the Bears, she amassed a record of 102 wins-43 losses. Vanessa’s Poly softball teams reached the quarterfinals in Division 1 play twice and the semifinals once. Vanessa is married with three children and is kept busy with coaching three youth teams in various sports.