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Into the Hall: Jennifer Surlas

By Rob Burchianti 8 min read
article image - Submitted photo
Geibel Catholic graduate Jennifer Surlas is shown during her playing days at George Mason, where she scored 1,462 points and is seventh on the program’s all-time scoring list. Surlas is part of the Fayette County Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2024.

Jennifer Surlas recalls being inducted into the Fayette County Sports Hall of Fame nine years ago with great fondness.

Surlas was inducted as part of the Geibel Catholic girls basketball team of 1993-96, which won four consecutive WPIAL championships, in 2015.

“That is an awesome memory that I will forever hold,” Surlas said.

Perhaps the second time will be just as memorable.

Surlas will go into the Fayette County Sports Hall of Fame as an individual this year as part of the Class of 2024.

“I was very happy to hear the news and very thankful,” Surlas said.

“Fayette County in basketball has been a huge staple in my life. It certainly transitioned me and kind of scooted me along my path and to my current career so I’m very grateful.”

Surlas was a 1,000-point scorer at not only Geibel but also in college at George Mason.

Surlas recalled her early days at Geibel where she considered herself a bit of an outsider.

“I sort of came off the beaten path, coming from Mount Pleasant,” Surlas said. “I didn’t live in that Connellsville-Uniontown area. I was super-blessed to have been a part of such an awesome team and group of people. Looking back at all of that – you never have the perception when you’re in it – I’m very thankful for my mom especially who made me a part of that.

“We were on the road everyday all day it seemed. If I wasn’t at school and my mom wasn’t at one of her couple jobs, she was hustling me down the road to Mr. (Chris) Cluss’s team or to practice with Coach (George) Bortz, or up to Pittsburgh to play for the Bruins (travel team). I wasn’t a part of that upbringing that Alison (Watt) and Erin (Rupp) and Robin (Guerriere) and Megan (Seighman)… and Tara Cochrane … all those guys had.

“I did end up fitting in very well with them. We were just the kind of team from day one, we knew kind of our roles and even some of us that had to step down for others of us to step up at certain levels or certain games. That’s always hard as an athlete and I think we did a very good job of that.”

Surlas recalled Bortz as a very strict but effective coach.

“He was a great coach,” Surlas said. “He was hard, and I would never ever want a coach that wasn’t hard.”

Surlas pointed out that different players need motivated in different ways, and Bortz knew how to get the most out of her, recalling one of the Lady Gators WPIAL finals.

“It was the WPIAL championship game at Pitt, we were coming down to the wire and we ended up winning the game,” Surlas said. “I had about 30 points and there was an intense ending to the game, free throws on the line.

“George looks at me. I’m on the court, I’m facing him on the bench, and he looks at me and he goes ‘Surlas’ and I make direct eye contact and he goes, ‘You stink,'” Surlas said with a laugh. “Any player at that level and age might’ve collapsed or prevailed and said, ‘You know what, this is it, I got this and we’re going to push through this.’

“I was that person that actually excelled, that motivated me. That’s the kind of coach he was. He was going to find a way to light some fire and he always did that to us. He was very difficult and I wouldn’t have changed it for the world.”

Surlas, and most of her basketball teammates, also were standouts in another sport at Geibel.

“We all played volleyball. We excelled in that sport as well,” Surlas said. “I think it shows not only our athleticism and our skills but our ability to work together as a team.”

Surlas attributes her athleticism to her genes.

She recalled her football star dad “playing at junior college then finishing his career at Alabama. My mother never gets any credit but she could beat me on the court until I don’t know what age, probably still could, always outraced me. She’s certainly way up there at the top as far as athleticism as well. My brothers who were eight and nine years older than me were college football players.

“So there’s a little pressure on me there to perform but most importantly I had the genes to do it.”

Surlas received plenty of basketball offers as her time at Geibel wound down.

“I think just being a winning athlete at Geibel and then playing under Mr. Cluss’s team and under the Pa. Bruins team, that really gave me a lot of exposure and I was highly recruited,” Surlas said. “I made some official visits to Syracuse University, Seton Hall University, Buffalo University, I had Maryland in my home, George Mason of course. Seton Hall and Syracuse even came to watch a couple volleyball games to support me in that aspect.

“I kind of ended up going with my gut and signing with George Mason who ended up being my first phone call on the opening day of recruiting back then. Neither myself nor my family had heard about George Mason because it was a mid-major school but I do believe that everything comes full circle in life so I made the right choice because I’m still, after bouncing around a couple different places for a few years, I’m back here in the Northern Virginia area and still very involved in the George Mason women’s basketball program.”

Surlas poured in 1,462 points playing at George Mason, where she currently stands seventh on their all-time list. She’s also second in school history in 3-pointers with 213 and also totaled 179 assists and 122 steals.

Surlas was a three-time All-CAA and All-Virginia selection.

“We were a very close-knit team with good leadership,” Surlas said. “I didn’t pay attention to many stats back then but I did turn out to have a pretty good career there and I think that’s kind of kept me involved in the program. Now I’m still involved with my profession as a real estate advisor. I work a lot with the athletic department as far as coaches coming in, coaches going out.

“That’s the goal as an adult, to translate all the success as a child growing up into an adult and learning those lessons. I feel that I’ve done that and hopefully I can continue to do so.”

Surlas went on to play overseas in Holland and Turkey and played one season in the NWBL.

“Amazing experience,” Surlas said. “I got called to that NWBL team in Alabama where I met some pretty awesome people connected with a lot of WNBA players and coaches.”

Surlas ended her basketball career when opportunity came knocking.

“I got a phone call to come back to Northern Virginia to accept a position to run a division of a start-up company that was a sports broadcasting company,” Surlas explained. “That lasted for about a year but within that experience I learned some sales and met some influential people, one being a successful realtor here in Northern Virginia by the name of David Harbour, and David kind of pulled me onto his real estate team. So that’s where I segue-wayed into real estate.”

Surlas also spent some time as a George Mason sports broadcaster.

“That kind of fell into my lap,” Surlas said. “I did it the year they went to the Final Four, the men’s team, so that was such an experience, something I’ll never forget. It was very fun.”

Surlas compared the real estate world to athletics, and credited her childhood with helping her succeed in both.

“It was instilled in me as a child to compete,” Surlas said. “Growing up where I grew up in Mount Pleasant and kind of watching my mom hustle and bustle and work … nothing is handed to you, you’ve got to fight and you’ve got to work for everything.

“That’s how it is today in real estate. It’s feast or famine. It’s what you put into it is what you get out of it. And that’s how athletics is. As much as you practice and how you practice is how you perform. I’ve been able to translate that into my career today. That’s what keeps me excited, keeps me competitive and keeps it fun for me, and earns me a good living for my kids and I.”

Surlas has two children.

“My son is eight years old and I have a daughter who’s 16 months younger, she’s at seven,” Surlas said. “We’re trying to teach them the lessons of being on time, being a team player, having that work ethic.”

The Fayette County Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2024 will be enshrined at the Hall of Fame Golf Outing/Luncheon/Social, starting with golf at 9 a.m., on June 21 at Pleasant Valley Golf Club in Connellsville. Luncheon tickets are sold out and all spots in the golf outing have been filled.

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