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By JAMES ALLAN
hawkeyesports.com
TAIPEI, Taiwan — USA Team arrived in Taipei for the World University Games on Thursday morning.
The Hawkeyes departed Iowa City on a charter bus for Chicago at 5 p.m. (CT) Tuesday, hopped on an EVA Airline jet Boeing 777 300 at midnight and arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 3:34 a.m. local time.
The flight was 14 hours and five minutes and went northwest over Alaska, over the Bering Sea, down to Japan, before arriving at the final destination.
“It wasn’t as bad of a flight as I thought it would be initially,” said sophomore Ben Norman. “A lot of guys got their sleep in… it made it only a six hour flight.”
Following a 45-minute bus ride from the airport, USA Team checked into the Athlete’s Village. The team will practice and compete in an exhibition game against the Czech Republic at 1 p.m. this afternoon.
“I don’t know what to expect (of the competition),” said Norman. “I am eager to see how it all is. This first game will give us a trial run to see what the competition is like here. We know it is going to be hot, but it’s a different heat. The way we play our game will translate wherever we play.”
