Home Sweet Home --- Marissa Miles, Chelsea Lasky and Lauren Elkin

It’s hard to believe that these last 11 days are over already and that we are finally back on American soil. It feels like only yesterday that we were boarding the plane to Italy, with fat wallets and a ton of excitement.

Picking up where Chelsea and Erica (not really Erica, though) left off, we now bring you to the first day of our tournament, or as they called it “The Flanders Trophy.” We had three games to play Saturday, and for some reason it seemed to be a little more agonizing than the AAU tournaments that we could handle at the young and agile age of 16. The Case Spartans of “Cleverland” Ohio came ready to play and swept the day with three victories to bring us out of pool play to the championship bracket. Over the course of the day, we defeated teams from Canada, France, and Belgium.
Between games, we were lucky enough to avoid the carnival food which we had the previous night for dinner and enjoy a good between-game lunch consisting of 3 sandwiches: cheese, tuna, and turkey (just turkey) or as coach called them, “cramp sandwiches.” Thankfully, Julie Mooney was able to digest these… unlike her breakfast which she lost in the locker room toilet mid-way thru our first game. As a celebration of our solid start to the tournament, we enjoyed another great Italian meal (as if we hadn’t had enough in Italy - where’s the schnitzel!?) Our ride home would not be complete without the serenading voices and rockin’ dance moves that Yan and Marissa shared from the front seat of the bubble van—love at first sight <3

The next morning we arose ready for day two of the trophy… or tournament, or whatever they call it here. Our first game we faced another tough French team. Although it seemed like some of their players may have been older than our parents, these ladies were no joke. Unfortunately we fell short of a win, mainly because their game plan was not as transparent as the team from Spain, “Pick and Roll Madrid.” A few cramp sandwiches and waffles later, we hit the floor again to face the Canadians in the semifinal game. Four quarters later, we came out victorious and were ready to claim our third place trophy…but we played in the trophy, so maybe we won a tournament? Still not sure how that works.

After the awards were presented, we headed back to the hotel to shower up and catch the tram to dinner; Italian again—so much for becoming cultured.
Summary from dinner: Lauren learned to twirl her spaghetti without using her fingers as a utensil; Sarah joined the “clean-plate club” because “when I rolled it and it got so big on my fork, I felt like I had to put it in my mouth!”; water was still not free; and Mr. Peck tried to steal Yan from Marissa. As always, ice cream followed dinner – who said America had a problem with obesity?

Monday was our final day in Europe and became a celebration for our wins. We started with sleeping in until lunch and then hopped on the tram to spend the day in downtown Gent. There was much to see and many shops to prowl in for the team to spend our final Euros. Thankfully we weren’t stuck again searching the stores all day for a single pair of colored pants for Evy Iacono—worst experience ever! Lunch for us was, we’ll give you one guess…Italian. As the day winded down, we had a few more waffles and helpings of ice cream before heading to our farewell dinner at a waterfront restaurant overlooking the canal. After enjoying a few undercooked steaks, and the best tomato soup of our lives, we settled down at the water’s edge to spend our final hours bidding goodbye to Europe.

Looking back on our ten day tour of Europe, we made a lot of memories, experienced some awesome cities, and learned some valuable lessons that we will now share with you. Think of it as your virtual souvenir. :)

• Practice is much more enjoyable with a good view of the alps (note to self: sunscreen for Erin next time)
• We have a newfound appreciation for deodorant, washing machines, water fountains, ice, and toll-free restrooms.
• Don’t get confused if you hear our new nickname for Coach Halicki—sorry Coach, but “Donna Stinky” is just too catchy.
• Attention men of Case: If you are looking to pick up any member of our team this year, there are a few things you should know—we now have a thing for man-purses, capri pants and button down shirts that are two sizes too small.

Thank you to everyone who supported our trip in any way and for following us on our European adventure. You helped to give us an experience we will never forget.

Until next time,
Marissa, Lauren and Chelsea Lasky