By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
The Chapman girls basketball team will be in search of a bounce-back season after facing a number of Covid-related setbacks in 2020, leading to a dismal 1-17 record.
The Fighting Irish will be led by a new head coach in Michael Wallmeier, who joins Chapman after ten years at the helm in Concordia.
The Irish return several key players from last years squad for a starting lineup that should look like this come tip-off.
PG- Alyssa Frees (So)
G- Marie Meuli (Sr)
F- Maya Kirkpatrick (Jr)
F- Kiera Jones (So)
F- Shannon Anderson (Sr)
Chapman will also look for big minutes off the bench from Ava Locke, Maggie Lewis, and Grace Merritt.
Ahead of his first season with the Irish, we had a chance to catch up with Coach Wallmeier to ask a few questions about this year’s team.
Q: What would you like to add to the culture of girl’s basketball at Chapman?
A: “Coach Gruver had this program going in the right direction so we want to continue what he started. We really want to focus on hard work because in life, nothing comes to you without that. We had a really good offseason and a lot of our girls put in some good work over the summer.”
Q: How excited is this team to be somewhat back to normal?
A: “I remember hearing the stories of what Chapman had to go through last year and I think they had the worst luck of anybody, getting quarantined and then having to play game after game with very little practice. We’ve talked a lot about that but in the end, you have to be ready to bounce back and perform and we know we have more than one win in us this year.”
Q: What would you say is this team’s biggest strength coming into the season?
A: “This team is hungry for wins. They know the hand they were dealt last season and they’re excited for a more normal year and they’ve been soaking up everything we’ve thrown at them so far. It’s harder to create excitement in some years than others but this year they’re ready to get after it.”
Q: What are your biggest question marks ahead of the first game?
A: “Our first game will tell us a lot. If we perform well and get a W I think their confidence is going to go through the roof but if we do happen to lose it I worry about them getting their heads down so this first game will be big for us.”
Q: What are the expectations and goals for this team in 2021-22?
A: “We’re going to take things one game at a time but I think we can win more games than we lose and we want to continue to improve every day so that when sub-state rolls around we can be competitive.”
Chapman will begin their season against Sacred Heart in the Fighting Irish Classic on Tuesday, December 7th.
For more on Chapman hoops, stay tuned to the Salina Post.