Indiana University Athletics
Valentin's Final Diary
9/22/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Sept. 22, 2005
After traveling to Holland and Belgium earlier in the summer with the Big Ten Foreign Tour, Indiana senior Cyndi Valentin embarked on another trip to play international basketball. This time, the 5-8 guard is headed to the Dominican Republic to compete in the FIBA Americas Championships with the Puerto Rican National Team, which took place Sept 14-18. Puerto Rico finished fifth overall, just one spot short of qualifying for the 2006 World Games. Below is her fourth and final diary entry for IUHOOSIERS.com:
I am back in the states now, and I'm happy to be back. In our last game, we played against Argentina and it was a must-win game in order to qualify for the World Games next year. We ended up losing though. It was sad, but overall it was a good trip. It was a great learning experience for me. To be able to visit a country that isn't as privileged as the country I live in, and to be able to see how the Dominicans live, makes me appreciate everything I have in Indiana.
The competition out there helped me prepare for the upcoming season with the Hoosiers. It's good to be back and see my coaches and teammates. I definitely missed them. I came away with a great learning experience and most of all some good friends that I will have for a long time.
I just want to say thanks to my teachers who allowed me to travel out there and had great patience with me as far as missing class and homework. I also want to thanks to my coaches for also allowing me to go and experience this awesome trip. Hope to see you fans out there this year at the games!
