‘She’s fitting in great’
Lopez Senechal is adjusting well after transfer to UConn
STORRS — Geno Auriemma hadn’t heard much about Lou Lopez Senechal before his program began recruiting her out of the transfer portal this spring.
Yet once the 6-foot-1 guard/ forward from Fairfield committed to UConn women’s basketball, the Hall of Fame coach began hearing from various coaches across the region about just how perfect a fit Lopez Senechal would be.
One such voice was Fairfield Athletic Director Paul Schlickmann.
“It’s funny, their AD contacted me after Lou committed here and Paul said, ‘In my 32 years of being in college athletics, I’ve never met a finer kid, a more competitive kid, a more engaging kid, a great teammate, and she’s tough as hell,’ ” Auriemma said Thursday during UConn’s media availability. “And that’s exactly what I’ve seen since she’s been here.”
Lopez Senechal has officially been a Husky for the past two weeks after she graduated from Fairfield at the end of May. While UConn is only two weeks into its five-week summer workout session, the team’s latest transfer has already fit in smoothly with her new teammates — both on and off the court.
“It’s been good. I’m really excited about it,” she said Thursday morning. “It’s a fast transition for me, I graduated two weeks ago and had to come right away but it’s gone really well. Learning a lot and embracing every day here.”
Lopez Senechal entered the transfer portal this spring with the intention of finding a more competitive conference to play in outside of the MAAC.
The Grenoble, France, native had concluded her four years at Fairfield under longtime head coach Joe Frager, and was ready for a new challenge for her fifth and final year of collegiate eligibility.
Lopez Senechal was named the 2022 MAAC Player of the Year after averaging 19.6 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. She led Fairfield to the MAAC championship title and its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2001.
Through her career with the Stags, she was a three-time All-MAAC first-team selection and the 2019 MAAC Rookie of the Year.
UConn wasn’t originally on Lopez Senechal’s radar, but she knew she likely found her next home when the program contacted her.
“I didn’t even think they’d reach out to me,” she said. “I wanted to go to a higher school, a higher level, so I was expecting bigger schools from bigger conferences to reach out, but I didn’t think UConn would. So when they did it was a good opportunity for me and I was excited about it.”
Not only did Lopez Senechal tour the Storrs campus and meet
Reed said the team encouraged jockey Sonny Leon to try pushing Rich Strike from the outside, but the horse kept trying to get back inside — where he made a late charge past 19 horse to win at Churchill Downs.
“I think we just made a tactical error,” Reed said.
Just like Rich Strike, Mo Donegal was at the back of the pack at the Derby, but the colt didn’t have enough kick at Churchill Downs. He found it Saturday, winning the 154th running of the $1.5 million race.
“To be honest with you, we were a little confident going into the race today,” Donegal Racing CEO Jerry Crawford said. “When he turned for home, I was like, forget about it. I know Todd thought he could get a strong last quarter mile, and he sure did.”
It’s the fourth straight
year the Triple Crown races were won by three different horses, a first for the sport since 1926-29.
The race marked a return to form for Belmont itself after the 2020 Stakes were closed to the public due to the pandemic and the 2021 event was limited to 11,238 spectators by virus restrictions.
Capacity was capped again, this time at 50,000, because of congestion concerns stemming from the newly built arena next door for the NHL’s New York Islanders. Still, fans crammed into cars on the Long Island Rail Road and breathed life into the 117year-old track with floral headwear, pastel suits and the unmistakable musk of booze and cigars.
Still, the stands weren’t nearly as packed as when the grounds hosted a 120,139 fans in 2004. Not much of a surprise, given the shaky weather forecast and the lack of a Triple Crown contender.