Husky Nation turned out in force in Denver on Saturday to support the women’s basketball at the Final Four in the Mile High City.
Just before the Huskies met with the national media and took the floor at the Pepsi Center for an open practice session for Sunday’s semifinal game against Notre Dame, hundreds of fans lined up for an autograph session. The players and coaching staff signed photos that were passed down the line as fans chatted with the team and took photos.
Nancy Gershman is originally from Connecticut but lives in Boulder and has been following the Huskies long-distance for many years.
“This is so exciting, because I never thought they’d make it this year,” she said while waiting with her family on the autograph line. “We bought tickets to the Final Four before they made it, just praying that they’d be here and here they are. Go Huskies!”
After the autograph session concluded, many of the fans entered the arena to watch the one-hour practice, and continued to take photos with cameras and cell phones as the Huskies moved through a series of shooting drills.
Later in the day, dozens of alumni and fans met at The Tavern Restaurant near Coors Field to watch the NCAA men’s semifinal games on TV and show their support for the Huskies. Most wore shirts and sweatshirts noting various past NCAA championships, or the latest Denver Final Four clothing. The gathering was organized by the UConn Alumni Association.
Alissa Haight ’07 (CLAS) and Louis Aguda ’07 (BUS) are originally from West Hartford but relocated to Denver when Aguda was transferred by his employer, The Hartford.
“We were definitely nervous that they were not going to make it,” said Haight, who works for Thought Equity.com, a media company that has the NCAA as its client. “[But] it wasn’t a surprise. Come on, it’s UConn. They always make it.”
Quietly enjoying their dinner in one corner of the restaurant was a couple with a special interest in the Huskies – Bob and Sue Faris, the grandparents of Kelly Faris ’13 (ED).
The Farises drove to Denver from their home in Indianapolis, Ind., enjoying the opportunity to see their granddaughter play in person. Owing to Bob’s health problems during Kelly’s first two years as a Husky, they have had little chance to travel. This year, they were determined to be in Storrs for First Night activities to kick off the new basketball season.
“We said, we’re not going to the doctor, nobody’s getting sick,” Sue Faris said. “We said we’re going to First Friday, and we thoroughly enjoyed it. We have several friends in Connecticut and wandered around visiting.”
She said they hope to be able to return to Connecticut next year to see Kelly honored on Senior Night at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion.
Two couples sitting together in the restaurant were among the most-traveled fans of the women’s basketball team.
Lynn and Sharon Scull of Hartford live at Goodwin Estates, a former part of the UConn campus in Greater Hartford. They have followed the team since 1995 and have been going to games since 2001. Harry Johnson, a former UConn business professor, and his wife Lynn have watched the team play since before Gampel Pavilion was built.
“For the four of us, the season started in August,” Sharon Scull said, noting that the Sculls and the Johnsons were among those who traveled to Italy this past summer with the team. “This is the seventh or eighth [Final Four]. They’re all different, each has a uniqueness. This team is special to us because we bonded with them in Italy and because there is no super superstar. We’re just so proud of them.”
The Sculls have traveled overseas with the Huskies for all of their summer trips since 1999.
Harry Johnson taught finance at UConn until 1997 and served on the Athletic Advisory Committee as part of his University service.
“I used to park behind the Field House,” he said. “I used to watch them practice in the old Field House. [My wife] got hooked when they built Gampel and they didn’t charge to watch the games.”
One Alum’s Unique Perspective on the Final Four: One former Husky in the Pepsi Center on Saturday had some keen insight into what the current members of the Huskies are experiencing during the team’s latest run to the Final Four.
Rebecca Lobo ’95 (CLAS), who will be part of the ESPN broadcast team on Sunday, participated in the ESPN news conference on Saturday morning.
“It’s a completely different experience now for me,” Lobo said about being at the Final Four. “As a player you just went to the different things you had to go to. Things have changed from when I was playing. It was Saturday-Sunday games. There wasn’t the amount of stuff going on outside of it. What I do feel is I know what the players are feeling – the excitement, the nerves, the eagerness to play. It’s definitely an exciting time.
“I love March Madness, love covering the games, the excitement that is involved. That’s the best part of it, but then you know it’s going to be over. I think every basketball fan has that kind of let-down after the men’s and women’s basketball championships are over. You just know it’s going to be the best weekend of the year in terms of high-level college basketball.”
