Zdenek named Athlete of the Week
Editor’s note: Christina Zdenek was honored for the week of Jan. 12.
Utah Statesman: When you were named Utah State’s Athlete of the Week, were you surprised? Christina Zdenek: Yeah, I was totally surprised, I was like ‘I didn’t even know they did Athlete of the Week.’ It’s good that they do.
US: What brings you to Utah State?
CZ: The coaches are great. They’re not like any other coaches who are a lot of times out there for themselves, trying to get that win so they can get a name for themselves. They truly care about us. And it’s pretty up here.
US: You scored 31 points against Cal Poly, before the game could you tell that your shots were dropping?
CZ: No, no, it’s weird, usually it doesn’t work out that way, sometimes I think I’m all pumped up and I’m going to have a good game and it doesn’t work out that way. And in the Cal Poly game, it was just all about getting focused on what the coaches told us and I was just being aggressive and doing what my team needed me to do. Once you start making them, you get pumped up and stop worrying if they’re going to go in, you just worry about how you’re going to win.
US: When you let go of the game-winner, did you know that it was going in?
CZ: Yeah, I knew it was in as soon as it left. If I didn’t, it wouldn’t have went.
US: How was the first win?
CZ: It was sweet, especially in a game like that, everyone was going nuts, it was cool to be a big part of it.
US: You lead the team in scoring, three-pointers made, free-throw percentage, steals, and minutes played. Do a lot of the other players look up to you?
CZ: Our captains are Ali Aird and Jessica Freeman, so I’m not as vocal as I should be sometimes, but Ali and Jessica do a great job. I kind of take the role of getting everybody pumped up after a big play.
US: What do you want to do after you graduate?
CZ: I’m majoring in biology in order to get into vet school. I want to be a wildlife vet, it really gets me excited working with animals.
US: Are you thinking of the WNBA in your future?
CZ: If the opportunity is there I probably wouldn’t be able to pass it up. I’m doing everything I can so if the opportunity isn’t there, I’ll still be able to something that I want to do and be happy.
US: What do you do in your spare time?
CZ: I like messing around on the piano, messing around on the guitar. Besides instruments, [I like] watching new episodes of shows with my friends and making a night out of it. I like mountain biking, too.
US: What first got you into basketball?
CZ: I wasn’t going to try out for basketball, but in third grade my friend conned me into it and I ended up being pretty good at it. I would get a steal and take it all the way for a layup. That’s all I could make, but I made a lot of them. In seventh grade I got my personal trainer who I’m still friends with now. I talk to him after almost every one of our games. He still helps me, he’s my confidence booster.
-kcaustin@cc.usu.edu