This past weekend was senior night for the SJU Women’s basketball team, a class that was very close to me. I just want to recognize each senior on a personal basis, because they all played a gigantic role in my time spent with them at SJU.
For starters, two of the graduating seniors were transfers from University of Virginia, who were actually supposed to graduate with me, but due to some NCAA regulations, were able to get an extra year to play. Jaryn Garner, a player I knew when I was younger, transferred to SJU my senior year. The only thing I hated about her coming in senior year was that I was only able to play with her for one year. She was one of the most intense players I’ve had to enjoyment to play with, and wasn’t afraid to get into the mix of people who were bigger and taller than her. Every time she went in for a rebound, I knew somehow she would find a way to end up with it. In just one year at SJU, I could tell her presence made everyone play with much more grit and passion.
The other transfer we were lucky to pick up from Virginia was Amanda Fioravanti. Luckily, she came onto our team midway through my freshman year, so it was nearly like we played our entire college careers together. Amanda, being a 6’2″ center, is one of the best passers I’ve played with in college. For being a post, she saw the floor like a point guard. Off the court, Amanda is one of the most genuine people, who volunteers constantly for the community and different programs within SJU. I am so thankful to have shared my four year journey with her.
The next senior I want to talk about is Avery, and I am saving the details because I am going to write an entire blog post on her alone. When Avery visited on her official my freshman year, I knew we were gonna be close friends by her lively and cheerful personality. What I didn’t know my freshman year is that Avery would also be one of the biggest idols I look up to everyday. I will not elaborate, but Avery had a traumatizing event happen to her during her move-in day freshman year, and her road to recovery every since has been an inspiration to me, our team, and all across the country. She is the reason I am hesitant to ever complain about anything.
Candace is also an inspiration in a different way, and one of my favorite people on the team to hang out with outside of basketball. I always knew I could count on her to be willing to go out for a good time. She was another reason why I never complained, since she had many injury setbacks, but that never got in the way of her positivity and integrity. It makes my day to see that she is such a large contribution to the team this year, and I know she deserves it.
Adashia is one of the most fit/strongest people I have ever met. This girl is about 6’1″ of straight muscle, and can probably outrun most guys in a sprint. She also was my co-captain for my senior year, and she saved me. We were a great balance as partners, since I was the communicator and she was the one to put it in action. Watching her grow from the player she was freshman year (great) to the player she is now (exceptional) is exhilarating, and demonstrates the blood, sweat, and tears she put into her college basketball career.
Chelsea is definitely the most versatile player I’ve had the opportunity to play with. Thanks to Chels, my assist goals were always reached because I knew if I got her the ball, it was finding its way into the basket. Chelsea is also probably the strongest player I have played with or against, and I never got within 10 feet of her when a shot went up because there was no point for me to even try to get the rebound. She is a flat-out player, who can shoot, pass, run, play post defense, play guard defense- you name it! I hope she pursues some sort of pro basketball after college because she would be crazy not to.
Last, but certainly not least is SV (Sarah). Another extremely versatile player who can shoot the lights out of the gym, and also post up any guard, and play post and guard defense. Due to injuries throughout her career we also weren’t able to play with each other as much as I would have hoped for, but when she was healthy, she always made a difference. Aside from skill, she is also one of the smartest players both on and off the court. I’m pretty sure she came into college with more credits than I had completed after my freshman year, being able to complete her undergrad in just 3 years.
I could go on and on about each player and how they individually affected my four years at SJU in such great yet different ways. Even though I wish I was home playing with them, I’m just as appreciative to watch their success from afar.
Congrats to the seven of you <3
