Here is the transcript of the press conference for the 2009 NCAA Women’s Basketball National Champions, the UConn Huskies. If you’re not up for reading 4,492 words, here is the video of the UConn women’s press conference.
CONNECTICUT QUOTES
AMY YAKOLA: Pleased to be joined up here on the podium by Connecticut head coach Gene Auriemma as well as student athletes Renee Montgomery, Tina Charles and Maya Moore.
Coach, when you’re ready.
COACH AURIEMMA: The worst part about doing something like this is you have to be asked what it feels like. Now, I’m not saying it’s because we don’t want to say what it feels like, it’s just you can’t put into words what it feels like.
This is the first time since the brackets came out that I don’t feel like I’m going to get sick, physically sick, thinking about everything that was ahead of us.
And I told these guys in the locker room, ever since 1995 and the team went 35 0 at Connecticut, every team after that was compared to the 35 0 team and they couldn’t handle it. They didn’t want to handle it.
And after that 2002 team, every team was compared to that team. And now this year, after these guys ran off a bunch of wins, they had to live with the whole aura of going undefeated and winning a national championship at Connecticut.
And then the more we won by, the margin of victories kept getting bigger and the more it was expected that, well, of course they’re going to win. Of course they’re the best team ever. Of course, of course, of course.
Well, there’s nothing that I’m more proud of than the fact that especially these three came in every day from September 1st until today and gave me everything they had every single day. And, like I told them, I hope I gave them as much back, and tonight we gave you the best of what we got.
AMY YAKOLA: Questions for student athletes.
Q. Renee, just describe the feeling for you guys to put in all the work all year and to come out like this tonight?
RENEE MONTGOMERY: It feels great. I mean, it’s hard to believe just because when preseason was going on preseason was so hard. And I’m like, oh, my goodness, we haven’t even played a game yet. And then you get to practice and the practices before the game and that’s even worse.
And it’s just, you think, okay, we need to win 39 games to get there. It seems like forever away, and now I’m actually sitting here and we won 39 games. And, I don’t know, it’s just really hard to explain because it’s something you wanted so bad and a lot of people I don’t think get to feel the feeling when you want something really bad and you work hard for it and then actually get it.
I think that’s one of the best feelings, that it wasn’t, you know the scores might have showed that we won by a lot, but it wasn’t easy. And just to work hard at something and win with people I love is the best feeling I don’t know how to explain it.
Q. Tina, Coach was saying the other day that he believes that somewhere inside you lies potentially the best player in the country, it’s just a matter of convincing you of that. After tonight’s game, are you closer to being convinced?
TINA CHARLES: I was always convinced ever since I went to Connecticut that I do have the potential to become the best center in the country if I wanted to be. I just needed the players around me to help me, which they always do every time I was in practice, and just having Coach in my ear, just pushing me all the time.
One of my first when I came to campus and on my unofficial visit, the one thing I keyed in on was just Coach saying the only way you’re going to play is if you work hard, and that was something that was a challenge and I just accepted it and went with it.
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