Q-and-A With Krista VandeVenter

Jan. 4, 2005

hawkeyesports.com visited recently with freshman power forward Krista VandeVenter from Osseo, MN. Here’s a piece of that conversation.

What is something few people know about you?
“I have only owned one CD in my entire life and it was a Christmas present from my parents when I was in eighth grade.”

If you were to enter a karaoke contest right now, which song would you sing to claim the title?
“I wouldn’t be caught dead in a karaoke contest!”

What is your biggest pet peeve?
“When you’re eating something that involves two different types of sauces or dips and someone decides to do a `double dip’ and contaminates one dipping sauce with the other. Let’s take nachos for example. I hate when someone dips a chip into the salsa and then the sour cream. What if I want sour cream but not salsa on my next chip?”

You have a couple different nicknames… which one do you like the best and why?
“I like K-Dogg the best because it reminds me of fun times in high school. I’ll never forget the first time my old, bald, retired high school coach called me K-Dogg. We were up by two points with a few seconds to go and we called a time out to set up a play. In the heat of the moment my coach said, `K-Dogg, you stand at the elbow,’ as sweat poured down his shiny, bald head. The whole team started laughing and we wasted the entire timeout, but we did ultimately win the game.”

Which TV Show (past or present) is your favorite?
“My favorite show of all time is Friends because every character is so funny and their personalities compliment each other very well. I will never be able to pick a favorite friend because I love them all. My life goal is to one day own all ten seasons of Friends on DVD.”

What do you enjoy most about being a student-athlete so far at the University of Iowa?
“The best part would have to be all the free food we get. Eating anything you want at a restaurant and then getting up to leave without ever seeing the bill is probably one of the greatest things ever.”

Where would you travel for your dream vacation?
“Anywhere with hot weather, a beach, a lawn chair, the sun, and maybe a few snacks is perfect for me. I love to just lie in the sun and relax on vacation. I’m not really into the whole sight-seeing thing!”

Is there any significance to your uniform number?
“Nope, I always had to have the biggest uniform, so I decided I better start liking the numbers that start with a five because that was probably all I would ever get. I just liked 51 the best.”

Who makes you laugh the most of the team?
“This one is probably a tie between Abby and Tiff. Abby is always struggling to find everything she loses, and she has some pretty funny stories. Tiff and I have a similar sense of humor and she is always saying or doing something that will make me laugh.”

What is your favorite holiday movie and/or song?
“I have really learned to like `All I want for Christmas’ by Mariah Carey this year because it has been blasting in our locker room for the past few weeks.”

If you were deserted on a deserted island, which of your teammates would you want to have with you and why?
“I would want to have Crystal with me because she is so quick. I would make her run around the island all day and catch us food until she was so tired that she would have to fall asleep. Then I would eat all the food when she’s sleeping and make her do it again the next day.”