Even when they travel coach, Lady Monarchs go first class
By VICKI L. FRIEDMAN, The Virginian-Pilot
© December 11, 2001

NORFOLK -- The term "bus league'' went out the window the day the Colonial Athletic Association expanded to include Hofstra, Delaware, Towson and Drexel.

But don't tell the Old Dominion women's basketball team.

ODU is busing it to every road game this season except for its Dec. 20 match-up in Denver. On the travel itinerary are a 10-hour trek to Knoxville, Tenn., for a Jan. 8 meeting with the Lady Vols and a seven-hour journey to New Brunswick, N.J., on Feb. 1 to play Rutgers.

Other stops: Long Island, to play Hofstra, with the return through Philadelphia to meet Drexel two days later.

ODU already has taken short hops on the bus to Blacksburg and Raleigh.

If you're picturing two to a seat and a rickety ride with a couple of pit stops dropped in, think again.

"John Madden would be jealous'' of the team bus, coach Wendy Larry says, referring to the football commentator whose fear of flying and his well-equipped bus are familiar to many sports fans.

Indeed. The Venture bus rented by the university, often used by the Norfolk Admirals, is "a house on wheels,'' senior Tiffany Thompson says. "It's got everything, really.''

In place of forward-facing seats are side-facing couches, plush and soft thanks to their velvet texture. They fold into bunk beds -- 24 in all.

Two 27-inch TVs are aboard, both with VCRs and a full stereo system, which blasts hip-hop and R&B tunes whenever the Lady Monarchs are aboard.

One TV up front allows the coaches to pop in game films, while the other in back is generally for flicks.

"'American Pie'-type comedies -- no romance on this bus,'' junior Alli Spence says.

Up front is a sizable bathroom, a restaurant-style booth, a coffee maker, microwave, sink and fridge. Electrical outlets next to each couch allow, among other things, for laptop computers to be used for class work.

Boarding a bus for a road trip is something the Lady Monarchs have down to a science, completed in as little as 15 minutes. That's 14 players, four coaches, a trainer and manager and sports information personnel. Not to mention oversized duffel bags, lots of basketballs and food.

Assistant Susan Montgomery pours out Hot Tamales, the candy version, and a bag of Werthers chocolates.

Kim Giddens is self-appointed in charge of the grub for the players, usually chips and crackers, she says. She's happy there's a fridge; that means more diversity when it comes to snacks.

"Everybody calls me the fat girl on the team,'' says Giddens, who is 6-foot and slender. "Everybody always trying to get my Gummi Worms. I've got chips. Whatever everybody wants.''

Corrina Turner, at 6-6, is just happy for the extra leg room. The old bus didn't exactly lend itself to sprawling.

"I get to lay out instead of being crunched,'' Turner says.

Everybody brings something to cuddle with at bedtime. Thompson lugs four pillows and an ODU blanket; Giddens favors an oversized blue comforter. Turner carries Clifford, the big red dog -- only her Clifford is a little red dog, stuffed. Lucienne Berthieu is attached to her stuffed animal Nicky. He's yellow.

"He's a bear,'' she explained. "Red eyes and a bow tie. Hey, has anyone seen Nicky?''

Thompson dislikes animals. "I attack them, and I hide him sometimes,'' she says. "Like in the trash can.''

Spence isn't fond of sleeping on the bus. It takes a bit of an adjustment if you're prone to motion sickness. The beds in the back aren't close to any windows. Instead, Spence sits upright, a colorful cell phone in the cup holder beside her and a walkman with Dave Matthews cued up.

"Tif, Sharron (Frances) and I just like to sit up back here in the back the whole way,'' Spence says. "Everybody else pretty much sleeps.''

Other teams at ODU ride on the sleeper bus -- the field hockey team used it for a game at Chapel Hill, N.C. -- but the Lady Monarchs are its main tenant on campus so far.

It wasn't a budgetary decision to travel that way, ODU athletic director Jim Jarrett says. It was simply convenient.

Larry agrees.

"When you have a team and you have to check into an airport, prior to Sept. 11, it was a nightmare,'' Larry says. "Now, add on an extra hour or two you have to be there prior to the flight with all the added security measures and you're talking about four hours easily that you're missing class.''

Compared to airport check-in time and lengthy layovers, she says even the ride to Knoxville doesn't seem so long. Larry, a white-knuckle flier herself, also prefers heading back to Norfolk immediately after a game, something that often isn't feasible with the airlines after a night game. With the bus, the Lady Monarchs are sometimes on their way home 20 minutes after the final buzzer.

Thompson says some of the rides get pretty long, but given the choice, she'll stay grounded.

"Even though I'm pretty tall,'' Thompson says, "being above, say, 6 feet, is high enough. I like the bus. There's leg room. I can sleep. I have the best seat in the house.''