NCAA

Women's Big XII Tournament for USATSI

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Almost exactly one year ago I walked into Municipal Auditorium and picked up my credential for the 2020 Women’s Big 12 Basketball Tournament, set to start the following evening. The men’s tournament had kicked off that day just a few blocks away. Little did I know, within 12 hours the sports world would come to a screeching halt due to COVID-19.

It felt a little surreal to be back in that auditorium this year, finally working the event after a year that changed so many of us. There were COVID protocols in place, meaning fewer fans and decreased access, but it felt like a victory to be there at all.

Of course the Baylor Lady Bears dominated the tournament, as they have every year since 2011.

Here are some of my favorite images from the four days downtown, shot for USA Today Sports Images:

Baylor Tennis for WSJ

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Despite being in Dallas for all of my medical treatments, I got a call from the Wall Street Journal last Friday to cover a Baylor Men's Tennis match against the University of Oklahoma in Waco, Texas. Waco is only about an hour and a half south of where my parents live and where I am currently setting up shop, so I gladly took the assignment. I had been itching to work, having been sidelined for a few weeks while doing testing.

A new Big XII Conference tennis decorum policy was instated that allows fans to cheer during points, to make the atmosphere "similar to basketball and football." Cheering is now allowed while players are serving, tossing the ball, and about to make contact as long as the yelling is not profane, vulgar or abusive to the opponent. Having never been to a college tennis match (Mizzou doesn't currently have a men's tennis team) I had no idea what to expect. I was in for a treat. The stadium was full of students and Bears sports fans. The BU athletic marketing department did a fantastic job of getting fans there with free t-shirts, pizza, face painting and other activites. There was a LOT of cheering, yelling and heckling, making it a really fun assignment to cover.

You can read the great article by Tom Perrotta and watch the video put together from my footage by the WSJ production team, HERE.