[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 64 (Thursday, April 6, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5387-S5388]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


            TRIBUTE TO COLLEGE BASKETBALL STAR, REBECCA LOBO

  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise to pay tribute to Rebecca Lobo, who 
this year led the University of Connecticut women's basketball team to 
an undefeated season and a national championship. I have already spoken 
at length about the team's accomplishments--its 35 to 0 perfect record 
and its dramatic come-from-behind national championship victory. I want 
to take this opportunity, however, to focus on Rebecca Lobo, whose 
tremendous athletic skill and personal character have captured the 
imagination of people throughout the Nation.
  Mr. President, contemporary writers, pundits, and philosophers have 
long bemoaned the absence of leadership figures worthy of our emulation 
and adoration. Young Americans are frustrated by athletic heroes who 
fail to lead exemplary lives off the playing field, politicians who 
seem focused solely on their re-election prospects or movie stars whose 
real-life personas pale in comparison to those of the characters they 
portray on screen. In Rebecca Lobo, however, America has found a role 
model that not only meets our expectations, but exceeds them.
  Ms. Lobo's accomplishments on the basketball court are well known. On 
her way to leading the Huskies to an undefeated season and national 
championship, Lobo averaged 17 points, 10 rebounds, 3.5 blocked shots 
and 3.7 assists per game. She was named a first team All-American and 
the national player of the year, and, despite having to sit out much of 
the first half with three fouls, sparked the dramatic second half come-
from-behind victory over Tennessee in the NCAA championship game.
  Her accomplishments in the classroom are equally impressive. As a 
political science major, Ms. Lobo has maintained a 3.63-grade point 
average and was a nominee for the prestigious Rhodes scholarship. She 
was also named a first team Academic All-American both this season and 
last.
  Yet what sets this talented young athlete apart is not just her 
athletic or academic accomplishments, but her care for and commitment 
to her teammates and her fans.
  As Connecticut Head Coach, Geno Auriemma is quick to point out, 
Rebecca's greatest weakness as a player is that she is too unselfish 
and too unwilling to grab the spotlight. Foremost in her mind is her 
connection and responsibility to her team, a trait which is shared by 
all her fellow Huskies and which is undoubtedly the source of their 
great success.
  Mr. President, beyond Rebecca Lobo's athletic and academic 
accomplishments lies her ability and willingness to reach out to her 
numerous fans and admirers. Along with her teammates, Rebecca made it a 
point to chat with fans and sign autographs for an hour after each 
game. Despite being overwhelmed by letters, she has devoted hours of 
her time to personally answering each and every piece of correspondence 
she has received, and she has been a regular at summer basketball camps 
and clinics, where she has patiently worked with aspiring basketball 
stars of all ages.
  Mr. President, Rebecca Lobo has reminded people of what being an 
athlete, a student, and a human being is all about. She has struck a 
balance and a harmony between her goals and those of the people around 
her. In this day and age, when millionaire athletes defiantly proclaim 
on television commercials that they are not role models, Rebecca Lobo 
reminds us that being a role model is not a blight but a privilege. It 
is a privilege for her to be afforded the opportunity to showcase her 
array of talents, and it is a privilege for us watch her and urge 
others to follow her lead.
  In closing, Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that an article 
written by Ira Berkow that was printed in the New York Times be printed 
in the Record.
                [From the New York Times, Mar. 3, 1995]
                        UConn Can Count On Lobo

                            (By Ira Berkow)

       Minneapolis.--Rebecca Lobo's parents hadn't spoken with her 
     before the game, the game yesterday afternoon that would 
     decide the N.C.A.A. women's national basketball championship 
     between Connecticut and Tennessee.
       ``We rarely do talk with her beforehand,'' said her mother 
     RuthAnn, in section 129 of the Target Center arena. ``But we 
     can guess how she's feeling: anxious.''
       A couple of hours later, with 28.9 seconds left in the 
     game, RuthAnn and her husband, Dennis, were the obviously 
     anxious ones, as they leaned forward in their seats. Becca, 
     as they call her, was stepping to the free-throw line. It was 
     perhaps the single most important moment in their daughter's 
     brilliant athletic career--no, her brilliant college career.
       After all, Rebecca Lobo, the 6-foot-4-inch senior forward 
     with the French braid and the determined demeanor, the player 
     who sparked a 70-64 victory in the championship game to 
     complete an undefeated season, is Connecticut's basketball 
     version of Frank Merriwell, Eleanor Roosevelt and Larry Bird 
     all rolled into one. For the last two seasons, she has been 
     first-team all-American. In her spare time, the political 
     science major has been a candidate for a Rhodes scholarship.
       She epitomizes the women's game, because for the most part 
     the women are truly scholar-athletes, not just jocks majoring 
     in eligibility with dreams only of slam-dunk highlights in 
     the pros.
       And she is part of a game that is substantially different 
     from the men's game, one in which egos seem to meld into the 
     concept of the team, and which makes the game so satisfying 
     for a basketball fan.
       And this moment on the free-throw line was what one dreams 
     about, or sweats over. Lobo's Huskies were up by 3 points, 
     65-62. She has a one-and-one: if she makes the first she gets 
     a second.
       If she misses either, Tennessee is still in the game.
       Now, Lobo bounces the ball and looks up at the rim.
       It had been a long, long day for Lobo, a day in which she 
     quickly picked up three fouls and played just eight of the 20 
     minutes in the first half, scoring just 3 points.
       And when undefeated Connecticut went into the locker room 
     at halftime, the team was losing by 38-32. It was only the 
     second time this season that UConn was behind at the half, 
     the first being last week in the East regional final, when it 
     came back from a 7-point deficit to beat Virginia.
       Could the Huskies do it again?
       Lobo returned to the lineup for the start of the second 
     half, though she still seemed away from the action, affected 
     by her fouls. But her teammates were keeping the team in the 
     game: Jen Rizzotti, the guard who was aptly described as 
     being all ponytail and knee guards, stole a pass, hit a 
     drive; [[Page S5388]] Jamelle Elliott, the junior from 
     Washington's inner city whom Coach Geno Auriemma calls their 
     rock, battled for rebounds and banked in a shot, and Nykesha 
     Sales, the smooth but sometimes nervous freshman, hit a key 
     3-pointer.
       Then Lobo struck, again and again: she hit a spin shot, 
     threw in a drive, sank a jumper from the left side, and then 
     another from the right side, and Connecticut was back in the 
     ball game, 3 points off the lead, with seven minutes to go.
       ``When the game is on the line,'' said Pat Summitt, the 
     Tennessee coach, ``you naturally go to your all-American.''
       One recalled the time last year when Rebecca learned that 
     her mother had breast cancer, and she broke down in tears. 
     Her mother said, ``You do what you have to do, and I'll take 
     care of my end.''
       RuthAnn's cancer is in remission, and she never misses a 
     game, because Becca says she always wants her there.
       And so it seemed not unusual for Rebecca to be taking 
     responsibility, on or off the court. RuthAnn remembers a 
     significant moment, when Rebecca was 6 years old, and had 
     taken an eraser from the home of Mrs. Lukasik, a neighbor in 
     Southwick, Mass.
       ``I told Rebecca that the eraser wasn't hers, and she had 
     to return it,'' RuthAnn said. ``And I watched as she walked, 
     sobbing, to Mrs. Lukasik's house. It broke my heart to see 
     it, but I think it helped her understand right from wrong. 
     And to think about other people.''
       If there was one criticism Coach Auriemma had of Lobo, it 
     is that she has sometimes thought too much about other 
     people. He had wished her at times to be more selfish, to 
     shoot more. But the blend was there in this game.
       And now on the free-throw line she had a chance to ice the 
     proceedings. Lobo made her first free throw and with that her 
     teammates on the floor mobbed her. RuthAnn, in section 129 
     and seated beside Dennis, clasped her hands in anticipation 
     of the second free throw.
       Rebecca bent, perched the ball near her ear, and let it go. 
     It sailed right through the hoop, giving Connecticut the 
     lead, at 67-62, that they would not relinquish.
       Shortly after the victory, it was announced that Lobo had 
     been named the outstanding player in the Final Four.
       It was a hugely satisfying comeback for the Huskies, for a 
     couple sitting in section 129 and for Becca Lobo. The fans 
     cheered, the band blasted, and the team zealously cut down 
     the nets.
       As for Mrs. Lukasik, one imagines that she still has her 
     eraser and the memory of a little girl who grew up to become 
     a national champion.
     

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