Get On Your Dancing Shoes

by Monica Frede

After one long week of anticipation, we finally saw our name written on the TV screen as a no. 9 seed in the NCAA tournament. We had a little "Selection Sunday" party at the Annex so we could enjoy the experience with friends, fans, and family. A lot of people came out to support and join in the incredible experience, and it was incredible!

As all of us sat in the tables in front of the big screen, we munched on appetizers and talked about our predictions. For some reason, none of us expected that our name would pop up so quickly! We were enjoying the free food, watching the camera men and reporters get ready, chit-chat here and there, and wait patiently for the Texas/Oklahoma State men's game to end. Within minutes of the show, we were the second match up revealed. Honestly, there was a five-second delay for us to realize what was going on. We weren't sure if we should be more surprised about how quickly our name came up, being a no. 9 seed, or playing on Duke's home court in the first round! Whatever each of us felt, there was a lot of cheering and commotion in that place.

It's hard to describe what you feel when you see your school's name written on that screen. Terri has been telling us all week how special that moment is, and how much she wants us to capture the joy and happiness when it does occur. It's amazing to think about all the teams whose seasons are already over, and then to see your name pop up as one of the 64 that get to be a part of the tournament. It's special to all of us, especially for our seniors who haven't ever been to the dance, and they've made it. We are very, very blessed to experience this.

After our name came up, we didn't pay a lot of attention to the rest of the matchups. We did care about our fellow C-USA members, though. DePaul also received a #9 seed, Houston is a #3, and TCU is a #6. It's exciting for our conference to have the four of us seeded high, and hopefully all of us will be in the final 32 after Sunday!

We are headed to North Carolina, to play Old Dominion on Sunday and then after that, a match up against Duke... grrrr...

This is the 17th in a series of diary entries by junior forward Monica Frede. Her diary will appear every Tuesday on www.gomarquette.com.