Trip to Tennessee encourages senior Lady Frog
Editor’s note: This is a reoccurring feature on the Sports Page, which will explore the insights into the lives of TCU’s athletes.

The trip to Knoxville was very memorable. As a senior, I have gone into a few places that really knocked my socks off, but Tennessee is in a whole other league.

Our trip started off with a rocky plane ride to Knoxville and a couple sitting behind me talking about their season tickets to see the Lady Vols. I am not a big fan of airplanes. I believe I sweat more on the takeoff and landing than I usually do in practice. As I got off the plane, the couple said, “We will be yelling, but not necessarily for you.” I replied, “That is OK, we will just act like you are cheering for us.”

I have seen the Tennessee crowd on television. It is so knowledgeable about the game. The deafening roar of the crowd is timely at certain points of the game to help give the Lady Vols an extra lift.

When the team landed we were invited to a TCU alumna’s house for lunch. Sherri Parker Lee was kind enough to feed us lunch as well as have other TCU fans over to meet us. It is not often that we get such gracious invitations. The food was great and I even got to meet Joan Cronan, athletic director for Tennessee women’s athletics. This was as memorable as they come, because I aspire to be as famous as she has become in women’s athletics. I someday want to be an athletic director as well.

After watching senior forward Grace Gantt play several games of pool, and sophomore forward Tiffany Evans and senior guard Candace Baldwin play fetch with the dog, we headed to practice at Thompson-Boiling Arena. This could be women’s basketball Mecca.

Championship banners cover every inch of the rafters. As we exited the bus head coach Jeff Mittie said, “I am giving you one minute to stare and then we get to work.” Practice went well and then it was off to bed.

Game day brought many memories. We started off with breakfast and then headed over to the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. Wow — what a neat facility, rich in tradition, and honoring the sacrifice of many women to make the game what it is today. A picture of junior guard Kim Ortega and junior forward Tracy Wynn was displayed with the other national champions from last year. (Ortega and Wynn were part of the Seward County Community College team that won the 2002 NJCAA National Championship.) As I looked over the Hall of Fame plaques on the wall, many great coaches have been honored.

Before too long, our own Coach Mittie will be inducted as well.

Finally, the game we have waited for all year was here. As I walked into the gym, chills ran over my body. During warm-up, fans began to fill the seats in the enormous arena.

The first five minutes of the game were rough for the Lady Frogs, but we soon turned the tide and let the Vols know we were not giving up without a fight. It was a one-point game at half time, which was very encouraging since we have not played well on the road this year. We carried the hustle and fight over into the second half. The defensive effort of both teams was at a high, and both teams hit big shots. In the end, the game came down to the last four minutes with the Lady Vols on top. They gained a victory, and we earned a moral victory. We played hard and realized that on this trip to Knoxville, after playing against the No. 3 team in the nation, that we can play with anyone in the country. It just takes effort and stubbornness to not give up.