NORFOLK, Va. — I was trying to find a crease in the conversation just to START the interview. A part of me wanted to press record right then and there, just let the 9 faces on my zoom screen go and call it an interview. The truth is, my presence was not required for this particular story. Stories, anecdotes, laughs, tears and memories would come whether I was there or not. Alas, I briefly cut off the conversation between the 1999 Virginia Tech women's basketball team to officially "start the interview" that in earnest had already begun.
The '99 team is the last, and only, Hokie women's squad to make the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament. They set the program record for wins, won their conference regular season crown, and eventually fell to the powerhouse Tennessee Volunteers. The 2023 Hokies broke their wins record (29 to 28) won their conference regular season crown, and will face the Tennessee Volunteers Saturday night in the Sweet 16.
That is what has brought the '99 team back together, the mountain of history they built has been scaled once again. Some haven't seen each other in 20 years, others keep up on Facebook or via text, all are the '23 Hokies' biggest supporters.
"There's no bigger fans that are pulling for those girls right now than this group sitting right here," says Sarah Hicks, with a chorus of agreement chiming in from her former teammates.
Naturally the conversation flows through Coach Bonnie Henrickson. Still coaching, now at UC Santa Barbara, Coach Henrickson has an in home recruiting visit scheduled for today, but it's clear that she wasn't going to miss this zoom for the world.
"It was just different with you guys, it felt different, it was special there I don't mean to say that," says Henrickson, who made two Sweet 16's as head coach at Kansas. "This one brings up things inside of me the other ones don't, and it's because of you guys."
Coach Henrickson eventually left to go get her next point guard, but the stories continued from there. Tales of trouble making and hard work, with mixed in common phrases and distinct memories. The conversation flowed and by the end the team was making plans to get together in the future, a reunion in earnest for a team that is proud to be one of the greatest in Virginia Tech history.