University of North Carolina Athletics
Post Game Quotes
May 16, 2009 | Softball
May 16, 2009
Georgia Coach Lu Harris-Champer:
"I was really proud of us for coming out strong early. We got a little away from our gameplan toward the middle of the game then we came back to our gameplan. I was extremely proud of our hitters for coming back to our gameplan and executing and I was very proud of the pitching and defense as a whole. I thought as a unit they worked well together today.
On winning with a home run in the bottom of the seventh inning:
"Those are the best games. There's nothing more fun than a heated battle and great competition. There's nothing more fun than that - you've got to love it."
On advancing to the super regional for the second year in a row:
"Every game we play is experience for us and we're happy to still be playing. We can't wait to get home and get some rest and get back at it. We just want to do what we've done all year long. All we've got to do is what we do every day."
North Carolina Coach Donna J. Papa
"It's hard to end your season when your goal was to get to the next level. Our goal was to get to super regionals and we all believed that we could get there. So that's difficult, but I'm just really proud of our seniors - they did a great job. They made this program get to another level. It's the first time we've been back to the regional finals since 2005 at Michigan. Every year I feel like we've gotten better and better. Our group of seniors, all five of them were great leaders for us. They held this team together and they held us to a higher standard. For them more than anything I wanted us to get to the next level. I felt like they deserved it for all the work they put in and what great people they are. They gave me a lot of great memories."
Looking ahead to next season:
"We asked the team to remember what our seniors have done for us and carry that on. That's kind of their challenge. We have a big freshman class next year - seven, that's huge - so we're going to need really good leadership from our juniors and sophomores, and they've had the opportunity to see what good leadership is all about."
On junior pitcher Danielle Spaulding's performance against Georgia:
"I think Dani did an outstanding job on the mound. Georgia's a very good hitting team and at one point, we were up 2-1 and she had shut a lot of their good hitters down. I thought Dani had one of her better pitching performances and she did a great job. It's just a matter of time - somebody's going to get a hit. And they got a hit to win it. We had a lot of opportunities when we just didn't get the hits we needed to score the runs, but I thought Dani was very good today on the mound. I thought she did a really great job.
