By Mark Bohannon, SAC Media Relations Office

This is the ninth in a series of articles for 2005-06 that will periodically feature student-athletes from the league's member institutions who have distinguished themselves.

Newberry College senior Tonya Deese is a two-sport athlete, playing volleyball and basketball for the Indians. She spoke recently with SAC Intern Mark Bohannon about the difficulty of playing two sports at the collegiate level and participating in the 2004 Australian Youth Games, where she was a member of the gold-medal winning women's basketball team.

Q: I am sure being a multi-sport athlete is an extremely hard task. Which is tougher: playing and preparing for volleyball season or basketball season?

A: Basketball and volleyball are both very demanding sports. Both sports are equally tough to prepare for and play. If I had to choose, I would say basketball is harder because of all the running involved with the sport. During games and practices, I have to run a lot more when playing basketball than I do when competing in volleyball.

Q: You are from Newberry, S.C. Has staying in your own “backyard” while attending college and playing collegiate sports had any advantages?

A: Definitely! I love living at home and having the opportunity to attend school at Newberry College. I don’t even live on campus. I stay at home and commute to school and practices everyday. I am a big mama’s baby so it is wonderful to have the option of seeing my family while I finish my college degree and compete in Newberry athletics.

Q: You recently competed alongside some other collegiate female athletes in the Australian Youth Games. What was it like playing overseas?

A: Competing overseas was like stepping in to a whole new world. The athletes competing over there were much shorter than we were. However, they were also much faster than our team, which may not mean anything in real life, but it makes a whole lot of difference on the basketball court. Playing basketball overseas was not what I expected. I expected to see taller, bigger players and basketball games that resembled our pace of play. Since these athletes were so quick, the pace of the games was much faster than what I was used to seeing.

Q: Obviously the team did a good job of adjusting considering the gold medal victory by the American team. How did you feel about being a member of the gold medal winning team at the Australian Youth Games?

A: Winning the gold medal was probably the best thing that has ever happened to me throughout my basketball career. As a team, we felt like we accomplished all of our goals after the tournament. I was on a team with a number of different players who I didn’t even know, but we came together and played successful basketball. We all came from similar backgrounds. Everyone on the team had tough coaches who expected 100 percent effort each and every time on the basketball court. Since this team was comprised of the top basketball players from their respective universities, everybody had to learn what role they would play in order to achieve team success in Australia. We were not incredibly happy on our play in the first game. After that first game, we gelled as a team and each successive game became easier and easier.

Q: The Newberry Indians won a school record 18 games last basketball season. What are your expectations for this basketball season?

A: All I have to say is that we better get back to the tournament! I think the whole team owes it to the coaching staff to return to tournament play. We lost some seniors from our roster, but we have many returning starters, so I think our team will be in good shape this season. Hopefully, we will be able to improve on our 18-win campaign of last season. Let’s break some more records and get back to the tournament!

Q: What do you enjoy most about playing in the South Atlantic Conference?

A: Honestly, I have a friend at every college. Girls that I used to play with in club volleyball or basketball organizations are now competing against me in these same sports. Playing collegiate athletics in the South Atlantic Conference gives me the chance to keep in touch with all of my friends. I suppose it gives me a little bit of an advantage knowing their strengths and weaknesses too, but they are all great athletes who have broadened their athletic horizons.