Newswire photo by Marissa Nelson | Guard Carrie Gross (No. 25) is one of four freshmen this season.
The four freshmen players on the Xavier’s women’s basketball team this year — Maddy Johnson, Lauren Wasylson, Carrie Gross and Ayanna Townsend — are all unique in their own respect.
One has never broken a bone. One has a sour skittles/coffee addiction. One always tears the cheese off her pizza, then eats it. The last always puts her left sock on first.
Despite these differences, when I asked about their majors, the unknown similarities came out.
“Business and entrepreneurship,” Johnson said.
“Business Undecided… maybe Marketing?” Wasylson said. “Business and Marketing,” Gross said. We all looked to Townsend expectantly. “Social Science,” she said.
The girls began laughing at the fact they never knew that almost all of them were in the same major. Through their giggles, the discussion continued about their ambitions and what they wanted to do with their majors.
“I have to work for myself,” Gross said. “I’m all about that money, you know?”
Johnson agreed, stating she wants to open up a multi-sport exercise complex one day, much like a friend of hers back home in California.
“I wanna work with kids,” Townsend said. “But I’m really into anatomy, so I’ve been thinking about therapy, and like occupational therapy for mentally-disabled kids… but who knows?”
“I have no idea,” Wasylson said. Ideally, she hopes to play basketball internationally one day.
When asked how they balanced their schoolwork and time on the court, the girls collectively groaned.
“It’s tough,” Gross said. “The grind never stops.”
“I had a hard time adjusting,” Wasylson said. “You have such rigorous academics, and then you go to practice. With all that stress, it just becomes a non-stop cycle.
“But I’ve gotten used to it now,” Wasylson added once the laughter had subsided.
“I mean, there really are no off days because off days are for homework, but you get used to it,” Gross echoed.
But the girls are there for one another, both on and off the court.
“I know based off the first scrimmage we had that we all connected well on the court, and we connected well teammate wise,” Wasylson said.
By: Alanna Belmont | Staff Writer
