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Kara Lentz's Bio: This former co-captain of the Michigan field hockey team played on three conference championship squads and in one NCAA Final Four before graduating in 2007. Assigned to cover field hockey for the Big Ten Network she follows many other sports. Raised in sports junkie family she played seven sports competitively and earned 15 varsity letters in high school. Zap her a question in the comments area about anything played on a field or court, in a pool, or with a ball, puck or basket. |
| Nov 25 2008, 7:53 PM | Topic: Field hockey | |
| I always wanted to win a national championship. I grew up in a sports junkie family and witnessed my two older brothers come home with tournament trophies, state titles and a self-esteem that reassured them they were on top of the world. I wanted that same feeling. When I was 12 years old my club soccer team won the Massachusetts State title, but I wanted to attain the ultimate trophy – to be a national champion. When I decided to attend Michigan, I knew that I would be part of a program that competed for the NCAA title every year. As a Big Ten student-athlete, you have an opportunity to battle with not only the best of the conference, but the best of the nation. If you want to compete for that elusive trophy, you have to play a tough schedule – conference and non-conference. But dreams don't always come true and I came to that harsh reality my senior year when we didn't qualify for the NCAA tournament. I still attended the Final Four in my uniform to play in the Division I Senior All-Star game. I never thought my last college field hockey game would be played without my Wolverettes next to me, but I played next to some of the nation's finest players, from the ACC, Ivy League, Patriot League, and Colonial League. It was one of the fondest experiences I had at Michigan. My family made the trip to North Carolina to see my last game and it was for something more valuable than a national title – a celebration of an athletic career. I traveled to Louisville for the 2008 NCAA Final Four and it was electrifying (also extremely cold). I saw Iowa play Maryland in one of the best field hockey games I've witnessed. As I watched on, my nerves were high and it was hard for me to restrain my excitement because – quite honestly – I'm still very competitive. Although Iowa lost to Maryland in double overtime, it won in my eyes (I believe it was the better team). Iowa head coach Tracey Griesbaum said after the game that things happen for a reason, although they might not know it yet. It's difficult after a close loss to put things into perspective because the wounds are fresh, but I hand it to the Hawk seniors. The class of 2008 had a chance to play for national ownership every year. Not everyone gets that chance. The following night, several Big Ten players participated in the Senior All-Star Game – including Steph Hoyer who I caught up with earlier. (Listen to my audio interview with Stephanie down below.) I chatted with some of the players and they were excited, as they should be, because representing your school in a mass of others breeds pride -- pride for yourself, your school and your conference. Their families watched on and although they weren't watching a national championship game, they watched them play as national All-Stars and celebrated a well-distinguished career which, although "they may not know it yet", is more valuable than hardware. |
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