Post by ATrain on Oct 19, 2005 16:59:07 GMT -5
Yours truly got assigned to do a feature on Katie Feenstra for the next issue, here it is:
Some people may have noticed a familiar face towering above them this semester. Katie Feenstra, the former six-foot-eight center for the Lady Flames basketball team and current center on the WNBA’s San Antonio Silver Stars is back on campus finishing her degree in physical education and will graduate in December.
She also did not come here alone. With her is assistant coach Sandy Brondello, a four-time Olympian on Australia’s national team. “I have been very blessed to have Sandy here in Lynchburg helping me to improve. Hopefully along the road I can pick up a few things and be a good player for San Antonio” said Feenstra. After averaging 8.8 points and 5.15 rebounds per game, coming in second for rookie of the year, some may wonder how much more improvement this new WNBA star needs.
“I don’t know if I’m a star player. In San Antonio, there are a lot of players with a lot of experience that I look up to. They have been playing basketball for a long time. Coming in as a rookie, I had a lot to learn and I still do. You can compare the NCAA to the WNBA a little bit, but in the WNBA the everything is a lot faster, not just the pace. Screens are set faster, passes are quicker, and you have to be ready to play at all moments” said Feenstra.
One thing that has not changed is the friendship with teammates. Feenstra played against fellow center Chantelle Anderson when Liberty faced Vanderbilt in the first round of the 2003 NCAA Tournament. Another teammate, Kendra Wecker, was forced to watch from the sidelines with an ankle injury last year as Feenstra and the Lady Flames snapped then number seventeen Kansas State’s thirty-five home game winning streak to win the Bank of Commerce Wildcat Classic. “We do not talk about anything but the present because we are teammates now. Chantelle and I are pretty close. We are roommates together on every road trip, and we are keeping in touch. I have talked to her a few times since the season ended. We talk about the different things we are doing to stay in shape, as well as normal everyday stuff.” said Feenstra.
However, one thing that is not normal to Feenstra is losing. San Antonio went 7-27 this past season, but Feenstra has a positive outlook for the future and described her first year experience as rewarding. “We did not have a very successful year. San Antonio is a transition team that is just trying to get everything back to normal. The most rewarding part is just meeting new people and a chance to play against some of the best basketball players in the world.” said Feenstra.
Feenstra and the San Antonio Silver Stars will return to WNBA action in May when the 2006 season starts.
Some people may have noticed a familiar face towering above them this semester. Katie Feenstra, the former six-foot-eight center for the Lady Flames basketball team and current center on the WNBA’s San Antonio Silver Stars is back on campus finishing her degree in physical education and will graduate in December.
She also did not come here alone. With her is assistant coach Sandy Brondello, a four-time Olympian on Australia’s national team. “I have been very blessed to have Sandy here in Lynchburg helping me to improve. Hopefully along the road I can pick up a few things and be a good player for San Antonio” said Feenstra. After averaging 8.8 points and 5.15 rebounds per game, coming in second for rookie of the year, some may wonder how much more improvement this new WNBA star needs.
“I don’t know if I’m a star player. In San Antonio, there are a lot of players with a lot of experience that I look up to. They have been playing basketball for a long time. Coming in as a rookie, I had a lot to learn and I still do. You can compare the NCAA to the WNBA a little bit, but in the WNBA the everything is a lot faster, not just the pace. Screens are set faster, passes are quicker, and you have to be ready to play at all moments” said Feenstra.
One thing that has not changed is the friendship with teammates. Feenstra played against fellow center Chantelle Anderson when Liberty faced Vanderbilt in the first round of the 2003 NCAA Tournament. Another teammate, Kendra Wecker, was forced to watch from the sidelines with an ankle injury last year as Feenstra and the Lady Flames snapped then number seventeen Kansas State’s thirty-five home game winning streak to win the Bank of Commerce Wildcat Classic. “We do not talk about anything but the present because we are teammates now. Chantelle and I are pretty close. We are roommates together on every road trip, and we are keeping in touch. I have talked to her a few times since the season ended. We talk about the different things we are doing to stay in shape, as well as normal everyday stuff.” said Feenstra.
However, one thing that is not normal to Feenstra is losing. San Antonio went 7-27 this past season, but Feenstra has a positive outlook for the future and described her first year experience as rewarding. “We did not have a very successful year. San Antonio is a transition team that is just trying to get everything back to normal. The most rewarding part is just meeting new people and a chance to play against some of the best basketball players in the world.” said Feenstra.
Feenstra and the San Antonio Silver Stars will return to WNBA action in May when the 2006 season starts.
