Proud to be a 49er

I realize that it's late in our class time together, but this is as good a time as any to share this story with the class. As many of you already know, our women's soccer team is in some uncharted territory as they have won not only their first NCAA Tournament match this season, but now have won three in a row to make the Elite Eight. This season has been amazing to watch as a fan, and a sportswriter. I've had fun covering this team since their first game at USC, and things have only gotten better from that opening win.

As they prepare to travel to Duke for their national quarterfinal match, I wanted to share this story with you that one of my editors wrote last year about a current 49er player, Nadia Link. She's not just any 49er player, but the leading scorer on the team, who has tied the school's single-season scoring record with 16 goals this year, and worked out with the US Soccer Women's U23 team a few weeks ago.

http://www.gazettes.com/sports/article_1a9a29de-b5a2-11df-abd9-001cc4c03286.html#.TsrzF2B8ujU

I know it's a bit of self-promotion to share a link (no pun intended) from a place that I've been working for, but I think it's a tremendous story of resiliency, belief, and determination. It reflects some of the themes that we've talked about in class, and it has happened at the school we are all proud to attend. It should hopefully give everyone a bigger reason to root for her and the rest of our 49ers as they play for a trip to the Final Four this Friday.

If you haven't seen her play, there are plenty of highlight videos out there (thanks to GazettesSports.com #shamelessplug) that showcase her skill. I think that she is a great example of an athlete that men can root for and women can relate with on a much different level. Her story is very unique, but it involves something that can only happen in women's athletics, and it sets a certain precedent as far as sticking with people through their hardships.

The best news of all is that our season isn't over yet, and Link will return to Long Beach next year as she is only a junior. I hope you have found this to be an interesting look at one of the best athletes in Long Beach. Good luck to our 49ers! Go Beach!

Tyler Hendrickson

KIN 577