April 2015 Luncheon - Christopher Mendez, coach to UW Boxing Team

Coach Christopher Mendez speaking to Fiji Luncheon @ SYC

Coach Mendez is a West Point grad and former intelligence officer in the Army, who now lives locally and works in the pharmaceutical industry to support his volunteer role as boxing coach for UW’s club sport -- Boxing. 

Christopher has actively participated in amateur boxing since 1988, where he began his boxing career at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.  While at the Academy, Christopher also played on the Varsity football team and earned a Sun Bowl ring in a game versus Alabama.  In boxing, he won the Brigade Boxing Championship four consecutive years, placed first at the Eastern Regional Championships two years, and earned National Collegiate Champion Runner-up two years.  His efforts earned recognition as two-time All-American through the National Collegiate Boxing Association (NCBA).

Christopher has coached the Boxing Club at the University of Washington since April, 2010.  In the short time as a volunteer coach at the University, Christopher has cultivated a developmental and competitive boxing club program that travels Regionally and Nationally with a competitive presence at the NCBA Nationals in the first year of the program. 

Earlier this month the team traveled to Florida to compete in the nationals.  In their fifth year of competition under Coach Mendez they took the National Championship in the Women’s Boxing, and the team placed 4^th in Men’s Boxing.  Despite being a Club Sport, they were 4^th to Air Force’s 3^rd, and Westpoint’s 2^nd.   The Championship was taken by a perennial boxing powerhouse and school-supported program at University of Nevada – Reno.

Mendez emphasizes Leadership and Academic Success with his boxers.  Members must maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA, and the Coach reported that the team average GPA for Winter Quarter was 3.4.  The boxing team includes members from three fraternities.   

The team operates on community support and private contributions.  If you are a supporter of UW Boxing, you can contact Coach Mendez @  Christopher-Mendez@TeleTracking.com  

Thanks to Kelly Price '91 for inviting Coach Mendez to speak. 

Imants Holmquist '02, Christopher Mendez, Kelly Price '91

Part of the Luncheon Crowd for Coach Mendez