Q-and-A With Wendy Ausdemore

Feb. 4, 2009

What do you enjoy more, sinking a 3-pointer, assisting on a basket, or both?
“I have to go with both because it’s so exciting to hit back-to-back threes, but also to make a great pass and see your teammate finish.”

What are your plans following graduation this spring?
“That’s a really good question and I wish I knew for sure, but right now I’m trying to get a sports marketing internship and go from there.”

What celebrities or pro athletes do you share your birthday with?
“September 22nd: Bonnie Hunt (mom in Cheaper by the Dozen), Scott Baio (Happy Days), Tom Felton (Harry Potter movies), Tommy Lasorda (MLB manager) and Swin Cash (WNBA: Seattle Storm). Morgan Kasperek, former Iowa player, also shares a birthday with me!!”

If you were to have your own personalized license plate, what would be the letter/number combination and what would it mean?
“ROO32 with Hawkeye plates. Roo has been my nickname since I was born and 32 is my favorite number.”

How old were you when you drove your first tractor?
“By 10 years old I was driving the pick-up and tractors in the fields and mowing the yard when my brother would let me, but I always loved steering on Dad’s lap way before then. It worked out well for me because I was too little to throw hay bales, so I always got to drive. That only lasted a few years, though.”

What’s the best part of the Super Bowl, the game or the commercials?
“Depends on how good of a game it is, but I usually end up paying more attention to the commercials because you never know what is going to be the best one and companies spend so much money to advertise their product. I just read there is suppose to be a 3D commercial for Sobe Life Water this year, so you better go get a pair of those glasses after our game! I am also required to watch the commercials for my marketing classes and then we critique what was good/bad about each one.”

What part of being a student-athlete will you miss most after this season?
“I’m really going to miss seeing my teammates and coaches every day and traveling all over the country. I’m also going to miss training tables. Oh, and I almost forgot… I’m going to miss running Carver stairs, especially with weight jackets on…. NOT!!”

What TV sitcom character do you think most resembles yourself?
“I’m going to go with Jessie Spano from Saved by the Bell because she was always so worried about school and studying, but always looked out for the group too. And I would have been best friends with Zack too and let him always climb into my room from the tree.”

You’ve traveled to many fun destinations during your four-year career. What destinations were your favorite?
“There are so many great memories from every trip, but two of the best were: 1) Greece, because it was my first international experience, the scenery was beautiful, and our last few days at the resort in Vougliameni in the sun were so relaxing. 2) Cancun because it was my first time to Mexico, we stayed at an all-inclusive resort and they had an outdoor bar with swings. The gym was also right inside our hotel and we played under a chandelier.”

Have you ever shot the ball at the other team’s basket?
“This is one of my greatest/most embarrassing memories of playing basketball. I started playing in sixth grade at the YMCA and looked forward to our Sunday afternoon games each week. One game we were lined up on the free throw as the other team shot, and I got the rebound, put it immediately back up and scored!! Oops…wrong basket, but no big deal. My coach took me out and said `don’t worry about it, you’ll never do it again.’ So they subbed me back in, and sure enough in the second half I forgot we had switched baskets and I got another rebound and put it back up and scored for the other team! My parents always joked that I was the high scorer for both teams that day!!”