The realization of a season’s end is often filled with thoughts of team camaraderie and memories rather than pouring over plays from the final game.
Such was the case Monday afternoon for Tennessee following its 2-0 loss to Texas at the Women’s College World Series semifinals in Oklahoma City.
“My heart is full because of these young ladies with me and the young ladies in that locker room,” Lady Vols coach Karen Weekly said in a news conference. “They’re sad for all the right reasons. It’s not about wins and losses. It’s about the joy they’ve experienced being together every single day, and I think people saw that in the way we played. They saw them bounce back. They saw how resilient, how gritty and how tough they were. This has been a group that has been just so much fun to coach because they allowed us to coach them.
“I can’t call what I do going to work, and when I get to work, there is not a bad day. Yes, we want to be playing another day, but it’s not a bad day at all. I’m just sad they’re not going to be with their friends again playing ball.”
Tennessee reached the WCWS semifinals for the second time in three seasons and finished Weekly’s 24th year at the helm — she was co-coach with husband Ralph through the 2021 season — with a 47-17 record.