EXCLUSIVE: Fil-Ams athletes among NCAA champs feted at the White House

Jeremy Bischoff, a junior at Stanford University majoring in computer science, is part of the school’s men’s gymnastics team, which has been the NCAA champion for three straight years since 2021. INQUIRER/Elton Lugay

THE WHITE HOUSE — Playing since childhood in a bowling alley where her father worked has so far culminated in a tournament MVP award for Jennifer Loredo, a member of Vanderbilt University’s women’s bowling team that became this year’s National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) champion.

A college junior majoring in Law, History and Society, Loredo was one of more than a thousand athletes feted at the White House at its first-ever College Athlete Day held Monday, June 12.

“My dad, after he came from the Philippines, actually worked at a bowling alley and I’ve basically spent my whole life growing up there,” Loredo told INQUIRER.net at the South Lawn of the White House.

“We moved to Fresno [California] about 10 years ago and after that I didn’t really have much to do except bowl. And so it’s just opened so many doors that I wouldn’t expect. And if you asked me five years ago what I’d be doing, I certainly would not say, this [bowling].”

Despite having been selected to the Junior Team USA this year, Loredo is not so keen on professional bowling. “I want to become an attorney and I want to do immigration law because my parents and my siblings are immigrants from the Philippines and so that’s something that fuels my passion,” she said.

Hosted by Vice President Kamala Harris, in lieu of President Joe Biden who had undergone a root canal procedure that day, the event had 47 athletic teams coming to Washington, D.C. from all over the country.

NCAA champs 2022-23

Their sports ranged from volleyball and soccer to ice hockey, covering 19 sports categories across all three NCAA divisions. All of them are NCAA champions for the 2022-2023 season.

“College sports, in particular, have a special way – a very special way – of bringing people together: connecting us to our home states and our colleges; connecting us to family traditions, friends, and fellow fans; connecting us to something bigger,” Harris told the NCAA champions.

“You remind all of us of what we can achieve when we work hard and strive with ambition. Some of you may end up playing professionally.  Some of you may end up representing our country in the Olympics, in world championships, and in World Cups. But all of you represent the best of our country and our communities, no matter what you do next,” the vice president added.

Faith Nguyen, a sophomore on the UCLA women’s soccer team; Robbie Pino and his University of Chicago team won a men’s soccer national championship; Jennifer Loredo (bowling MVP from Vanderbilt University is a college junior majoring in Law, History and Society. GEORGIO DANO

Another Fil-Am champion is Robbie Pino, whose team made history at University of Chicago as the first to win a national championship in men’s soccer.

Perseverance

“Perseverance and dedication got us to the top,” Pino told INQUIRER.net, describing team training as difficult with four to five sessions a week, not including having a game once or twice weekly.

For gymnast Jeremy Bischoff, training started at a very young age. “I started when I was like four years old. I just had a lot of energy as a kid and my parents wanted to put me in into a sport and they put me into gymnastics, and the rest is history,” he told INQUIRER.net.

Bischoff is a junior at Stanford University majoring in computer science. He is part of the school’s men’s gymnastics team, which has been the sport’s NCAA champion for three straight years since 2021.

His mother, a Filipina, has taken him to Manila to meet her side of the family. Although school has kept him too busy for a return trip, Bischoff “would love to go back” and visit his maternal grandparents and cousins.

“Honestly, I would say I’m more American [than Filipino]. I’ve just spent my whole life here, but I did grow up with Filipino culture and everything,” he said.

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A sophomore playing in the women’s soccer team of UCLA, which is likewise the 2023 national champion in the sport, Faith Nguyen enjoyed taking pictures with her team and meeting fellow athletes at the White House.

“Today was a great opportunity. It was really nice to be able to meet other athletes and celebrate something we’ve all worked so hard for. And I think having this at the White House is such an honor, and I think we’re just all really happy to be here,” she told INQUIRER.net.

Vice President Kamala Harris to NCAA champs: “You are leaders. You are role models. And, of course, you are champions.” INQUIRER/Elton Lugay

During her speech, Vice President Harris paid tribute to the 2023 NCAA champions as leaders and role models demonstrating teamwork and character.

“In America, tens of millions of children start playing a sport as a child. Only the best of the best become a national champion, and that is you all. And I know it wasn’t easy. You made tremendous sacrifices – training through injuries, birthdays, vacations, and even a pandemic. You know, all of you, what it means to commit and to persevere,” she said.

“And we know that so often, during the course of a long season, sports teams also become a family. You develop life-long relationships.  You demonstrate teamwork and character.  You make the people around you better in every way. You are leaders. You are role models. And, of course, you are champions.”