From Umpqua to the NCAA Tournament

Like millions of other basketball fans I hardly left the couch the last four days as I watched game after game after game of the NCAA Tournament. I watched good games, bad games, close games and blowouts. But by far the game that was the most fun to watch was the Cornell - UCONN game that was on ESPN2 last night, because one of Cornell's starting forwards was Moina Snyder, who played here at UCC from 2004-2006. It was fun watching Mo play against the #1 ranked team in the country and battle against players who will eventually play in the WNBA. I couldn't help but smile as Mo beat the UCONN post players down the middle of the floor for a left handed layup and I thought back to the hundreds of times I've seen her do the exact same thing in games and practices. ("Cycles" anybody?)

Moina called and asked if Linda and I wanted her allotment of tickets to the game. Her parents were in France and wouldn't be able to make it over and so she thought of us. The fact that she wanted us to take part in the biggest night of her basketball career meant the world to us and we were very appreciative of the offer. Unfortunately, Linda and I couldn't make it to Connecticut on just a few days notice either, but we were definitely there in spirit. Mo had a great career at Cornell; she was a two year starter and received All Ivy League recognition both years. I know it probably sounds a little egotistical but I'm kind of proud that I had at least a small part in Mo's development as a player. She left UCC better than when she arrived and watching her able to score, rebound, and defend against UCONN confirmed to me that we're all doing something right.

Tom Eggers of the News-Review interviewed Mo for an article he recently wrote and here's the link: http://www.oregonnews.com/article/20080321/SPORTS/333351211/-1/SPORTS

On Cornell's web site (http://www.cornellbigred.com/) there are a couple pictures of Mo in action against UCONN and one of her being interviewed by Rebecca Lobo.