With the 2008-09 academic year now complete, members of the UNC Wilmington women's basketball team are embarking on a variety of unique opportunities and experiences during the summer months. Be sure to check in with UNCWsports.com in the coming weeks to learn all about how the Seahawks are spending their summer vacation, both in the Port City and around the world!
In our second edition of the Seahawk Summer Update, senior guard Casey Sawhook talks about her internship at Curtiss-Wright Electrical Mechanical Corporation and Stanley Cup fever in the Steel City.
Back in the Steel City and Let's Go Pens
Written by: Casey Sawhook
Posted: June 10, 2009
Greetings from the Steel City! I hope everyone is getting a chance to get outside and enjoy the warm weather. This summer I've been living back home in New Kensington, Penn., which is a suburb about 15 miles outside of Pittsburgh. I am interning at Curtiss-Wright, an Electrical Mechanical Corporation that is well known for its construction of pumps for navy submarines along with many other government projects. The corporation employs over 800 workers, most of which are engineers. I am part of a summer rotation of about 35 student-interns that work Monday-Friday, 7:30 a.m. ? 4 p.m. Our position requires us to find capital assets throughout Curtiss-Wright's expansive plant. If we are unable to find them, we have to write them off the books by their company value, depending on if they have depreciated or not (Editor's Note: Casey is a business major at UNCW). Since I'm on my feet all day in a hot shop it can get tiring, but it also helps the day go by.
My weekdays are pretty much filled up because by the time work is over and I'm done working out, it's almost time for bed. I feel like I'm constantly on the go and never home but at least I'm not bored! The worst part of the job is waking up at 6:00 a.m. every day. I'm still not getting used to it! When the weekend comes, it's a relief to relax and hang out with my family and friends. But, the weather has not cooperated as it's always hot and sunny during the week, but when the weekend comes it's rainy and grey. A coincidence, I think not!
It's a very exciting time here in Pittsburgh as the Penguins are playing in the Stanley Cup finals for the second straight season. It is by far the biggest happening in Pittsburgh since the Steelers won the Super Bowl in February. Everywhere you go there are Penguin signs and everyone you see has their Pens jersey on. One thing about Pittsburgh is the passion everyone here has for sports and the hometown pride in our teams. It is a good time to be in Pittsburgh; hopefully the Pens can bring home the Stanley Cup to sit next to this year's Lombardi trophy!
Thanks for reading and let's go Pens!
Casey Sawhook
Goodbye Wilmington and Hello Lithuania
Written by: Greta Luksyte
Posted: May 27, 2009
I woke up extremely early on May 1, knowing that it was the day that I was going home to Lithuania after spending the entire year in Wilmington. Following my last exam, my teammates Casey Sawhook, Kelsey Reitz and I went for a delicious breakfast of pancakes and strawberries at Jimbo's (which I am already missing) before I took to the task of packing for my trip home. Once I was done packing, my teammates and I carried my luggage to the car (which was much like a weight-lifting exercise for us!) before heading to the Wilmington International Airport where I said goodbye to Casey and Kelsey and boarded my first of three flights of the day to New York City.
After the short flight to New York, it was time for the longest leg of the journey, the eight-hour flight to Prague, Czech Republic. The flight always seems to last forever and this trip was no exception as I could not sleep because I was excited knowing that I was going to see my family and friends. Finally, we landed in Prague, which was good because I was starting to feel a bit tired from a lack of sleep (I hadn't slept in more than 20 hours at that point!). After a short wait, it was time for my final flight to Vilnius. During the flight, I couldn't stop thinking about my favorite Lithuanian soup, which I was going to make sure to enjoy once I made it home.
After landing in Vilnius, I got my luggage (all three bags made it!) and quickly found my parents, who were the ones with the big smiles on their faces. We then went home and some of my friends came to visit me. I talked to friends and family until I could not keep my eyes open anymore (it had now been 36 hours since I had last slept) and went to bed, I proceeded to sleep like a baby.
The next morning I packed for another trip as I was joining the Lithuanian Women's National Team for training camp as they prepare for the European Women's Basketball Championship in Latvia June 7-21. The team is holding training camp about two hours away from Vilnius in Druskininkai (which is in the southern part of Lithuania). We spent a couple weeks practicing in Lithuania before we went to Latvia for a pair of scrimmages against the Latvian National Team. We lost both games by couple points, but our coach was happy with the way we played because it is still a learning process for us. I scored 10 points in the second game and was ready to go back to Lithuania where we will learn from our mistakes and continue our camp.
As we head into final preparations for the European Women's Basketball Championship, there are 14 players who are trying out for 12 spots on the roster, so training camp has been extremely competitive. I am a little bit scared because it seems that the coaching staff prefers a veteran lineup and many of these players have considerable experience with the team compared to myself. We will see how it goes. I am not really stressing about it, just practicing and playing as hard as I can while trying to gain more experience as I get an opportunity to play with such great players and represent my country.
Hope all is well in Wilmington! Be sure to keep reading!
Greta Luksyte
