June 13
Hello from Down Under-
This is Mckensie Kahnweiler and Dani Espinosa as journalists reporting to you from our apartment suite in Adelaide. We are here to inform you on the whereabouts and activities of the DU women’s lacrosse team. This has been a great trip so far and we know it will just get better. Our trip started in the oh so familiar Denver airport on Sunday evening. The flights went well up until we were attempting to land in Sydney but couldn’t due to heavy fog. Therefore, we had to land in Brisbane and taxi for a couple of hours which didn’t really make a difference to us considering most of us were sleeping pretty heavily at that time. However, when we finally made it to Sydney, we had a serious fitness test from running through the airport to make our connection into Adelaide. That was our only speed bump in traveling, so we consider ourselves pretty lucky.
So now we are staying in beautiful apartments in Glenelg called the Liberty Towers. This is a cute little town that is only 20 minutes away from the city right on the beach. Our first stop upon arriving in Adelaide was to Baylana, which is a community for adults with disabilities. Luckily for us, we got to spend time with them teaching lacrosse and then having our first Australian BBQ. The lacrosse part went great until one of the men attempted a 30 yard behind-the-back pass that found its way to poor Jenn Moore’s mushy melon. So she got concussed again. After we played around with them, we went into their dining hall and got to know some of them while eating. This was also a great experience and was extremely rewarding. We are happy we came to visit because we were the highlight of their week, and most of us found out that we don’t particularly prefer Australian sausage.
On Wednesday we had free time during the day where many of us enjoyed what the local town had to offer and time to catch up on some sleep. Later on that night, we had our first game against the Brighton Bombers. It was a really fun game and it was great to compete against Australians. They are very gracious and laid back people. After the game, we had another BBQ at Bec Hackendorf’s house. For those of you that don’t know, she played on our team for one year. The food there was amazing and we got the chance to relax and mingle with the Bombers.
Thursday we went to the Cleland Wildlife Park where we got to interact with some of Australia’s finest animals. Not only did we get to run around with kangaroos, but many people had the pleasure of snuggling a koala and having a souvenir picture of the event. To quote Dani, “I waited 21 years to hold a koala and it was the worth the wait.” The hours allotted for the park went so fast because we had so much fun, and I will always remember the experience of close contact with Australian animals.
Friday is our last day here in Adelaide. Today during the day, many people went into the city to walk around and shop. It’s always fun to look around and see all the differences between our countries. Tonight, we have our second and last game against the South Australian All-Star Team. Early tomorrow morning we leave for Cairns. The next journal entry should be up soon. We love and miss you all. Thank you for all the help and support to get here. We appreciate everything and we are having a great time.
DENVER The University of Denver women’s lacrosse team will spend two weeks in Australia this June. The team leaves June 8 and returns to Denver June 21.
During the trip, the team will visit Adelaide, the hometown of junior Karen Morton, Cairns and Syndey.
“We feel incredibly lucky to be able to take this trip with our entire team,” head coach Liza Kelly said. “It is unbelievable to think that lacrosse can take 30 girls halfway around the world.”
A pair of exhibition games highlights the trip. The Pioneers are scheduled to play a team from Brighten and the Southern Australia All-Star team.
The team also plans to visit a center for children with Down’s Syndrome and work with the Meal at the Park for homeless aboriginal children along with running a youth lacrosse clinic during their stay.
Their sightseeing plans include going white water rafting, learning to surf and snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef.
To allow their families and friends to follow their travels, the Pioneers will be posting entries in a travel blog. Visit www.denverpioneers.com for more information.
Denver finished the 2008 season with a 13-6 overall mark. The Pioneers swept the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation regular season with a perfect 5-0 record for the second consecutive year.
