CHARLESTON, W.Va. – They piled off two University of Charleston buses with bags in tow. The men and women’s basketball teams at UC have been on the road since last Thursday. Some of that time they were facing off on the hardcourt other times they were staying off campus at a site with potable water.
The two teams arrived back from Beckley Wednesday morning. Junior Nicole Perry said it’s been a very unusual week.
“Crazy is definitely a good word. It’s been interesting,” Perry of Poseyville, Indiana said.
Both the men and women’s teams were on the road at Concord University Thursday evening when they got word about the chemical spill in Charleston. Classes weren’t set to start until Monday and they couldn’t come back to campus because there was no water.
Perry described their journey.
“We stayed in Beckley and then we came back [here] and got some stuff. We went to to Urbana [Ohio], from there we went to Notre Dame [College], went back to Beckley and finally back here,” she said.
Fred Simpson, a senior from the Bronx, and a member of the men’s team, said it’s been quite the adventure.
“It’s just been a little bit different traveling so much and being away from campus for so long,” he pointed out.
However, he called it a bonding experience for the team. They got to spend some quality time together.
The spring semester at UC gets underway Thursday.
“I’m just happy to be back,” said Perry.
Simpson echoed that sentiment. “I’m very glad to be back. Classes start and just to be back on campus and get things going.”
Just for the record, staying away from home wasn’t all bad for the Golden Eagles. The men’s team won all three games during their water displacement. The women won two out of three.