Laguna Blanca School will hold its first Sports Night on Thursday to celebrate the athletic achievements of the Middle and Upper School students. For this inaugural event, Laguna will also induct its first-ever student into the Laguna Blanca Athletic Hall of Fame, volleyball star Chris Tamas, class of 1999.

Tamas is the assistant women’s volleyball coach at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. His athletic accomplishments while at Laguna were most notable on the volleyball and basketball court. He was a leading member of the all-star 1998 boys basketball team that played for the CIF Championship. Tamas graduated from Laguna in 1999 and played volleyball at the University of the Pacific as the team’s setter.

Tamas finished his college athletic career as the school’s all-time assist leader, ranked top-10 in five other career and single-season categories, and claimed All-America honors.

After graduating from Pacific in 2003 with a bachelor of arts degree in sports sciences, Tamas represented USA Volleyball in 34 international matches. He was selected as team captain by his peers in 2003 and was a flag bearer for the World University Games in Daegue, South Korea.

In 2005 and 2006, Tamas was a part of the training squad that went on to win a gold medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. Tamas played professionally for six seasons, from 2003 to 2009, for teams in Holland, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, Cyprus and Finland.

Tamas’ coaching career began at UC Riverside, where he was in charge of training the setters, scouting reports and recruiting duties. He joined the University of Minnesota coaching staff in 2011, and during his tenure the Gophers advanced to the Sweet Sixteen during the 2011 season and had an Elite Eight appearance in 2012. In January, head volleyball coach of the Cal Poly Mustangs, Sam Crosson, announced the hiring of Tamas as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.

The Laguna Sports Night will begin at 6:30 p.m. with a reception outside of Merovick Gymnasium, and the program will begin at 7 p.m. inside the gym. In addition to the Hall of Fame presentation, the program will include awards for Male Athlete of the Year, Female Athlete of the Year, Scholar Athlete of the Year, and certificates for three-sport athletes who held a 3.75 GPA or above. Students, faculty, parents and alumni will cheer on their fellow Owls as they receive well-deserved recognition for their athletic achievements.

Laguna Blanca School is a K-12 co-educational, college preparatory day school. It guides students to greater heights by building upon the 80-year tradition of academic excellence with new and innovative teaching methods and programs. With the introduction of the iPad initiative, the global studies program, the new outdoor adventure education program, and the renovation of the library into a state-of-the-art academic research center, the school continues to broaden and enrich its students’ educational experience.

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— Jennifer Guess is a publicist representing Laguna Blanca School.