Dec. 13, 2007

Wow, what a weekend for Dayton Basketball! The men defeated the #11 ranked team in the nation, the women gained the fourth longest active win streak in the nation, Nikki Oakland was named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week for the second week in a row, Chris Wright was named A-10 Rookie of the Week for the third time, and ESPN's Andy Katz named Brian Roberts the National Player of the Week in his "Weekly Watch" column. In case those facts haven't triggered your interest, I will attempt to draw you to the life of Dayton Basketball by telling you about our (the Women's team) whirl-wind tour to Philadelphia and back.

In my quaint up-bringing on a small island, I never imagined flying to a bustling metropolitan one day, only to fly back the next. This was something only corporate executives did, right? Wrong. On Friday, December 7 we left the Frericks Gym for the Columbus airport. There we were met by the oh-too-familiar delay. We arrived at our hotel in Philly at about 10 p.m. We woke up early the next morning, played at 1 p.m., and flew back at 8 p.m.

Needless to say, this trip went amazingly fast. However, there's always enough time for laughs with this group of girls. For example, while walking back to our rooms after breakfast, Coach (Kyle) Rechlicz noticed that Kendel (Ross) was wearing sandals. Obviously wondering why someone would wear sandals when it's 30 degrees outside, Coach Rechlicz asked, "So, you decided to wear sandals, eh Kendel?" Kendel, worried she was being called out on a dress code infraction, quickly responded with "No, it's ok; they're the team issued sandals!"

For this trip, I chose senior Kathy Guin (KG) and junior Marie Rosche to tell you about life on the road with the Dayton Flyers.

Kathy Guin
Something that can be found at every level of competition is superstition. KG is one of our resident believers in superstition, especially before a game...
"I make sure to put my left sock on before I put my right sock on; I put my left ankle brace on before my right. I always make sure to take a nap. I always have to listen to this one song before I even go out to shoot, it's by Lil' Boosie. I actually don't remember the name of the song; it's off a mixed tape. It just describes that I've been struggling for a little bit, but soon enough my time will come. Oh, and I always make sure to shave my legs before every game. It makes me feel lighter."

When fans watch our women's basketball games, they sometimes forget that the athletes on the court are first and foremost, students. Students with full class schedules AND then practice, lifting, conditioning, and games that come along with being a Division I student-athlete. When one sits down and thinks about it, it really is quite amazing.
"It's really all about time management, timing is the key. You have to know how to manage your time to make sure and to get your studying in whenever you can. Since I've been at Dayton (KG is a junior college transfer student) my time management skills have improved. On this trip alone, I've studied in the airport, on the plane, in the hotel, in the airport on the way back, and on the plane ride back. It's all about getting your studying in."

Marie Rosche
Some of us on the team love the Christmas spirit (myself included). Marie experienced this first-hand on the flight home.
"On the way home from Philly, I got to sit next to Kendel (Ross) and listen to her sing Christmas carols. Earlier this year I found out what a good rapper Kendel is, but her singing is on a whole other level. She has a lot of energy, and enthusiasm, but when it comes to actual vocal talent, I'd give her a four on a scale of 10. But with her enthusiasm, it definitely bumps her up to at least a six!

At the University of Dayton, we are very fortunate to travel very comfortably throughout the year. However, we do have to learn to deal with things that are out of our control when it comes to travel.
"We're used to having all kinds of delays and travel problems. When we first went to leave to fly to Philly, our plane was delayed because of the weather there. Then, when we flew back to Columbus to meet our bus driver and drive back, we were all just ready to be home, so we hustled to get our bags and head out. Brit (Brittany Holterman) basically stood at the belt at baggage claim, and grabbed and threw any Dayton bags. Very efficient. But, apparently our bus driver had got caught up in an accident, and was about an hour and a half late. But, so goes life on the road."