One word comes to mind when we think about our senior class, perseverance. Perseverance is defined as “to persist in or remain constant to a purpose, idea, or task in the face of obstacles or discouragement.” This senior class has demonstrated what it truly means to persevere. They have battled injuries, tough games, rough seasons and other adversaries throughout their careers here at Saint Mary’s University. While fighting through these obstacles, they never stopped believing in our program, in each other or in the process we needed to go through to get where we are today. They were determined to be successful and worked hard to improve every day. These seniors, all very different individually, have developed a bond and a selfless style of play that has made them admirable leaders for our program. It is very appropriate that our team battled for a MIAC title in this groups's final hurrah in Cardinal uniforms. It is fitting because of each of their abilities to step up and seize the moment when opportunities presented themselves; that has been the trademark of this class, and each one of them had to do this in order for us to be successful throughout their careers. While you can look to the many big plays, big defensive stops and big shots they hit, we are most proud of the consistency they have displayed each and every game. The MIAC is an extremely difficult conference and each night provides a quality opponent that cannot be overlooked. Our seniors’ mental preparation and determination to come out on top of every game is something that will continue to impact our program long after they graduate. Each one of them in their own unique way brought a crucial ingredient to the success of our program both on and off the basketball court. Their leadership, charismatic personalities, work ethic and team first attitudes have developed the culture of Saint Mary’s University Women’s Basketball. They have started a tradition of excellence here at SMU and we could not be more proud to have spent the last four years working with this group of young women.
A special thanks to our seniors parents as well. Our staff has been very fortunate to have such a supportive and caring group of parents. We will miss you all dearly as we know the way you raised your daughters to be such great people will impact our program forever. Your positive attitudes and efforts to help your daughters be successful is a major reason why each of them was able to persevere through every obstacle thrown their way! We thank you for your support, for how your raised your daughters and for all of the great things you have done for our women’s basketball team. You clearly taught them well, and they are very lucky to have such amazing role models to follow. Thank you!
COURTNEY ATHNOS has one of the best personalities we have ever been around! This was evident from moment our coaching staff uncovered her infamous interview posted on Wisconsin's High School Sports website her senior year of high school! She has an amazing ability to get our team to laugh and this can be seen in team huddles, the hallways, bus rides and anytime she is around anyone on the team. For the last four years, Courtney has been an unbelievably selfless player. Regardless of the role she played in each game (and her role constantly changed), she was always mentally prepared to take on whatever role our team needed her to fulfill. Hopefully, our underclassmen were able to learn through Courtney’s example just how important each player on a team is to the team's success. While she wasn’t our leading scorer, there are many games we would not have won without the plays she made and the efforts she displayed. Courtney came up with huge plays for us this season and is always willing to put her team first, and we will forever be thankful for the example she set. She has taught our players that setting a great screen or grabbing a big rebound is just as important as the person who makes the game winning shot. One of our coaching staff’s favorite things to do is to rewind and watch big plays our team has made. We do this not to watch the play itself but to watch Courtney jumping up and down, stomping her feet, fist pumping as if we just won a national championship. She has made the journey a ton of fun, and we appreciate the work ethic and leadership she brought every single day.
BRITTANY BEGROWICZ has been an absolute joy to have in our program not only because of how large of an impact she has had on our program but because of the kind of person we have watched her grow into. When I started recruiting Brittany, it was a miracle to get more than two words out of her mouth; this made the recruiting process very difficult! I will never forget how excited I was when I received a phone call from Brittany telling me she was coming to Saint Mary’s. I literally jumped up and down in my office by myself, because Brittany was the first big recruit that had said yes to playing basketball for the Cardinals after I started coaching here. I still do not know exactly why she decided to become a Cardinal because the conversation was, once again, very short. But, I was very excited about the knowledge Brittany would be bringing to our women’s basketball program. While Brittany has always been quiet, she has become our coaching staff’s go to person. Brittany is always willing to do anything and everything she can to help our program and her teammates on and off the basketball court. Brittany hit big shots, grabbed big rebounds and, one of our favorites, is known to take a big charge at key moments in our games. Brittany has displayed great mental and physical toughness and may go down as one of the toughest players we have ever coached….even though she is afraid of birds. Brittany’s dedication to this program has been phenomenal, and we appreciate the knowledge and leadership she displayed.
JESS THONE is one of the best at being comfortable with the risks involved in achieving success on the basketball court. Rather than approaching a difficult challenge with the fear of failure, she approaches every opportunity with the desire to succeed and is willing to go out and seize the moment. Her willingness to step up to any challenge is what has made her so successful in her four years at SMU. Jess was another difficult one in the recruiting process; she did NOT want to talk to me. In fact, she ignored every phone call and avoided me at all costs. It was a challenge to get her to play basketball at SMU and thankfully her dad gave me great advice: If you leave her alone, she might play at Saint Mary’s. So, that’s what I did, and it paid off! Jess’s basketball knowledge is extremely high; she is a student of the game and is very humble. Jess will come into practice talking about some play she saw in a college or NBA game the night before, sometimes asking about certain situations. While we wish she liked practicing as much as she likes watching basketball (had to say that), she has brought a ton of leadership and basketball knowledge to our program. She has been willing to make adjustments to her game and play out of her comfort zone to help our team be successful. We greatly appreciate the knowledge and leadership she brings day in and day out and still hope to see her take a charge in one of her final games.
JAMIE STEFELY is an extremely talented individual. Not only is she an accomplished basketball player, she is an unbelievable artist as well. As Jamie begins the next phase of her life, we know she will be successful because she will be involved with something she is extremely passionate about. From watching animated Disney movies to doodling all over practice plans (I have one hanging on my bulletin board right now), watching Jamie’s creativity grow has been a lot of fun! You know you have a great leader in your program when you ask her to make something for the coach’s cousin, and she takes the time to create a very moving video. Jamie is a very kind hearted person, and it has been enjoyable watching her determination come out to help us become one of the toughest teams in this league. Jamie loves to play in big games and has been very consistent throughout her career. It's safe to say that every coach in the MIAC will be happy to see her graduate because of her ability to make unconventional, tough shots and grab huge offensive rebounds; to make things even more difficult on her opponents, she is a 6’1 post player that has the ability to beat everyone up and down the basketball court. Jamie is a fun loving person who works extremely hard in and out of season, and we greatly appreciate all of her hard work, her positive attitude and the determination she has displayed each year. |
