1. How would you describe your experience in America while you had to combine high level education and sports? I wouldn't change my experience in America for anything. It was the best choice I have ever made. In my eyes, the universities of America and in general the whole education system make it so much easier for the students to focus on school and homework. If I hadn’t gone abroad I for sure would have been just another college student in her sixth year, whereas by going to America I managed to graduate in four years with a degree in biology in one of the top fifty universities for sciences and engineering. The combination of studies and sports, something that I thought would be easy in my mind when I first got there, is obviously not. You spend a lot of your hours of the day in the gym, at practices, at the weight room, at rehab which are all very important in order to be able to play thirty or forty games within three and a half months. It doesn’t sound easy. Something that I liked is that in college teams really pay attention to grades. If you are not a good student you can’t play. For us it was, obviously, mandatory to have above 3.0 GPA and study hall sessions where the whole team would study together. It was a habit that became our routine and that’s how I learned to manage it but it was for sure not easy.
The preseason matches officially ended and now it is time for conference and hard work. One double-double is not enough for Bakodimou and Karakasi, so they decided to have two! The two Greeks are in a great rhythm and will definitely do great things their senior year. Incredible stat results from Mpampiri and Giourda, always helping their teams positively!
Irem Ucar literally has no limits! Over the last week, the Turkish setter recorded a double-double in every single match! Yilmaz is digging, Yasar is setting and now Odessa has a 6 winning streak! Iowa Western has the perfect 7-0 and can only thank Ozkan for that! The young ds had 57 digs in only 3 matches! Topcicek, Tokman, Karacaova and Ayhan are killing every ball, recording 12, 11, 11 and 10 kills respectively in their last match!
Bakodimou was named the best offensive player of the week in her conference after her excellent performances against Lehigh και Temple! 6 Greek athletes added double-doubles last week to their CVs, continuing their excellent performances. In more detail:
- Efrosini Alexakou with 19 kills and 12 digs vs Rhode Island and 12 kills kai 12 digs vs Fordham - Elena Karakasi with 46 assists and 10 digs vs Iowa State and 44 assists and 10 digs vs Ball State
- Katerina Papazoglou with 10 kills and 13 digs vs Norfolk State
- Georgia Tselepi with 18 kills kai 11 digs vs UMBC
- Olga Zampati with 10 kills and 19 digs vs Howard
- Mariana Anastasiadi with 23 assists and 13 digs vs Berea College
Irem Elmas is picking up from where she left off… The NJCAA national champion and All-American carries over to All-Conference honors this week as NEC Prime Performer! Cinel’s and Tokman’s Hofstra University came across Cagla’s Seton Hall for the very first time this season. The Turkish natives had the opportunity to play against each other in the Fairfield Invitational. Cagla’s Pirates prevailed against Cinel's and Tokman’s Pride with a sweep. Despite being a fresh new player for FAMU (after transferring from TCU), setter Irem Ucar is in great form and already broke her record of 29 assists with 41 assists! The sky’s the limit for both Irems this season!
The double-doubles are unstoppable for the Greeks who excel in the American arenas! Elena Baka added another double-double to her resume, the lucky 17, after her excellent performance against San Jose State with 17 kills and 17 digs. Georgia Tselepi had her first double-double of her American career on September 3rd against Hartford with 13 kills and 17 digs! Senior Elena Karakasi keeps having remarkable performances, contributing significantly to Syracuse’s 6 winning streak! Kumanova basically does it all! The Bulgarian outside hitter had three outstanding performances and collected 31 kills, 10 aces and 22 digs in only 11 sets!
What a strong start for Yagmur Cinel! From the very first game, the young sophomore not only led her team with 16 kills, but also broke her personal record, had her first double-double of the year with 16 kills and 10 digs, and was also named the MVP of the match! Peyman Yardimci, in her first collegiate game ever, had a double-double with 10 kills and 12 digs and UM is more than happy to have her! Freshman Irem Ucar was selected as the setter for the all-tournament team after leading her team in assists!
In the second match against Sam Houston, Faki worked really hard and scored her first double-double of the year with 14 kills and 12 digs. The double-doubles were followed by Charitonidi and Baka with 12 kills and 13 digs, and 11 kills and 12 digs respectively. Finally, Zampati and Kumanova also had excellent performances, scoring their first double-double of this season with 14 kills and 12 digs for Zampati, and 10 kills and 13 digs for Kumanova. In fact, Zampati scored her second double-double a few hours later in the second game of the day with 12 kills and 11 digs! Great start for Elena Karakassi and Syracuse University, with the senior setter sharing assists and offering 3 wins in a row to her team!