May 11, 2004

Classes have ended for the semester, but the North Carolina women's basketball team embarked on a tremendous learning experience Tuesday, departing for a 12-day trip to Italy and Greece. During the journey, UNC will play three exhibition games but will spend far more time seeing the sights than focusing on basketball.

The traveling party of 44, which includes the team, coaches, staff, family and friends, will arrive in Milan, Italy, Wednesday morning after a flight from Atlanta. The first two nights will be spent in Como, Italy, then its off to Florence for two nights and Rome for two nights. On May 18th, the group travels to Greece for the remainder of the trip, staying in Athens. Exhibition games are scheduled for May 13, 19 and 20th, with the latter two against the Greek National Team. The group will fly back to the States on May 23.

"Trips like this are a great time for the team to bond and I always think it's good for team cohesiveness," UNC coach Sylvia Hatchell said. "As far as the games, you don't have the pressure to win that you have during the season. You're able to experiment on the court a little more. It's just a different environment to let you work on things."

The Tar Heels have just eight current players who will be active on the trip. Rising senior Kenya McBee is traveling but will not play due to recent shoulder surgery. The other two players on the 11-person roster for 2003-04 were seniors Candace Sutton and Carrie Davis. Davis is on the trip and could see action, but Sutton is in training camp with the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks.

Hatchell, the coach at UNC for the past 18 seasons, took her team on a tour of New Zealand and Australia in May of 2000. Although she's making her first trip to Greece, she says she's most excited about providing the adventure to her players. "The best thing is just watching the kids take everything in," said Hatchell. "A trip like this gives them the opportunity to experience things they've never seen before."

As they boarded the bus outside Carmichael Auditorium Tuesday morning, several players named the parts of the trip they're most looking forward to:

Leah Metcalf: "I'm just excited to go to Europe - I've never been there,"
Jessica Sell : "I'm excited to go to Italy because my grandmother is from there."
La'Tangela Atkinson: "I've heard that Florence is really great and I'm excited about going there."
Camille Little: "I'm excited to see the art and the Leaning Tower of Pisa."

Check back at www.TarHeelBlue.com for updates on the trip, as well as a complete wrap-up upon the team's return.