Catching Up With Samuelson
Senior Talks About Recovery, Collier
UConn's women's and men's basketball teams and the men's hockey team signed autographs outside of Rentschler Field Saturday ahead of UConn football's game against Rhode Island. After an hour of signing, UConn senior Katie Lou Samuelson weighed in on her injury, the success of two of her friends and the renewed rivalry with Tennessee.
Samuelson had surgery on her left ankle in April after dealing with a lingering injury a majority of last season. In June she said she was slowly increasing her level of activity and trying to use the time to focus on mental hurdles.
On Saturday, Samuelson said she feels good about how her recovery is progressing and that there haven't been any setbacks.
“I'm on track to be good and I'm excited to start the season,” Samuelson said. “As long as I'm healthy to start the season I'm happy.”
Collier’s Time With Team USA
Missing from Saturday's signing was Napheesa Collier, who's traveling with Team USA after being named one of 16 finalists ahead of the 2018 FIBA World Cup.
Collier's UConn teammates made the drive to Bridgeport a week ago to watch Collier and Team USA face the Canadian national team in an exhibition.
For Samuelson, watching Collier's success has been a source of pride.
“It's awesome,” Samuelson said. “Napheesa's my best friend, and seeing her be able to accomplish stuff like this and do the things she's been able to do while she still has a year left in college is awesome.”
Stewart’s First WNBA Title
Breanna Stewart, along with fellow UConn alums Sue Bird and Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, won the WNBA championship on Wednesday night with the Seattle Storm. It's Stewart's first championship in the league, and it was also the first time she's won league MVP and Finals MVP.
Watching her former teammate win her first title was exciting for Samuelson.
“It was awesome,” Samuelson said. “Stewie was a big mentor of mine when I was a freshman and seeing everything she's accomplished is amazing.”
The Rivalry
Also in recent news at UConn is the renewal of its rivalry with Tennessee for a home-and-home series in 2019-20 and 2020-21. The renewal was announced in August to the delight of basketball fans.
Samuelson will graduate and move on to the WNBA after this season, but said she was excited to hear the series was making a return.
“I think it was great for women's basketball back then and it'll be good for the sport now, too,” she said.