Frede Ready for Italy Trip

May 14, 2003

by Monica Frede

Hello everyone!

Well, it's currently 10 pm the night before our team leaves for Italy, and most of us are packing like crazy, finding out what each other is bringing, and fitting as much into our luggage as possible.

All of us are so excited to go. It's a lot of whatwe've talked about as a team for the last week. We've even been preparing for European style basketball in practice - Jon, Michelle, Jill, and Jennyhave been our"Italian refs,"preparing us for badcalls!

I am extremely excited for this trip, because it is the first time I can play with my teammates. I have fufilled my academic year of sitting out because of transfer rules, so being able to play my first games for Marquette in Italy will be wonderful! (Unfortunately I will be playing my first games in a face mask because I fractured my nose in practice...)

A lot of us have been checking the weather, and it looks like it will be sunny and warm, so that will be a nice break from the weather we've had in Milwaukee lately. As a team we have made a lot of progress in practice and we are ready to take on the Italians and bring home some wins!

Well I suppose it is time to start packing...so I will write next from Italy, Arrivederci ("goodbye" in Italian)!

Monica Frede is a junior on the Marquette women's basketball team. She will compile an diary during Marquette's exhibition tour of Italy.