Technician Online

March 22nd, 2007

Day 1: Arrival in Fresno

FRESNO, Calif. – After staying up nearly the entire night to get ahead on schoolwork, I was ready to jump on a chartered flight with the women’s basketball team to Fresno, Calif.Technician decided to send me to cover the NCAA Tournament and everything that goes on with the team. I’ve been covering this team for the past three years – so when this opportunity became a reality, I was extremely excited.

I’ve seen N.C. State go to the NCAA Tournament and lose in the first round the past two years. This season, with everything coach Kay Yow has been through and with this team reaching the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2001, it really has been rewarding writing about this team and watching the season unfold.

Throughout my four years at Technician, I’ve covered plenty of exciting events such as football and men’s basketball. But when I was on the six-hour flight from Raleigh to Fresno, Calif., I realized this was the biggest story I’ve covered – and probably will ever cover.

So as I sat down and thought about my first story, I envisioned all of the famous sports writers that I always read. I thought about their big stories and what their environment was like when they wrote it.

I laughed to myself because I think my environment isn’t quite as glamorous. As a student reporter, you don’t quite get the perks as the other, “bigger” media outlets.

My first story I wrote in my hotel room – a small one-room, two-bed closet with three roommates – members of the cheerleading squad. I struggled to find some sort of internet access and then when I was ready to send my story in, I had to fix my laptop.

But as I reflect on day one – bus ride to airport, six-hour flight, bus ride to hotel, check-in, interviews and writing a story, I couldn’t be more pleased. I’m excited to be in Fresno, Calif., (a small city which doesn’t represent the state at all) and covering this women’s basketball team.

- Nick Jeffreys, deputy sports editor

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 22nd, 2007 at 9:25 pm and is filed under Women's NCAA Tournament. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

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