‘Fairies of IUE’ on basketball court

Izmir University of Economics (IUE), one of Turkey's leading institutions in sports and education, established a new basketball team consisting of 13 female students after 14 years. Young people from IUE, who study in many different departments including medicine, engineering, fine arts, psychology, and who did not know each other before and did not play basketball professionally, came together in the team. The girls, who were awarded the title of "Fairies of IUE" by their friends and academics and spent a significant part of their time in training after their classes, defeated Uşak University in their first match. Proving that nothing can beat perseverance, the IUE team has set its goal in the 2^nd League of the Turkish University Sports Federation as the championship.

I WAS VERY EXCITED

Bülent Özkan, the coach of the team stated that the unity and motivation in the team is at a high level. Özkan said, “The University has a men's basketball team, which is quite successful. This year, we wanted to make a difference by forming a team of female students. Our team is very disciplined. Trainings continue regularly. The team, which was established in November, has made serious progress in less than 2 months. We are doing very well, and I sincerely believe that it will be so in the future. We played our first game on Monday. Winning was very important. I coached many teams, but I got excited with the start of the game, I had a completely different feeling. It is difficult to be successful in sports if you do not have excitement and enthusiasm. These feelings and the desire for success and determination are what I trust most in my team.”    

WE ARE ALWAYS HANGING OUT TOGETHER

Bengisu Koçak, captain of the basketball team, student of IUE Department of Visual Communication Design, said, “I was very happy when I learned that there would be an audition for the basketball team at the University. I am interested in sports, and I love basketball. I applied immediately. I was always waiting for the moment when I would start training and play the game. At the same time, I was thinking about what kind of a team we would be. Most of us had never seen each other before, but we bonded immediately after the first practice. It's like we've been together for a long time. We just clicked. We are together not only in training, but also on campus and outside of school. We are in constant communication; we have become a complete team in a short time. Everyone trusts us a lot. We will not disappoint them.”

I HEAD TO THE TRAINING AFTER I LEAVE THE LAB

One of the team members, Zeynep Naz Ulutagay, IUE medical student, said, “I remember the day I stepped into the University, the day I got to know the campus. If they had told me then that I would be a part of the University's female student basketball team, I wouldn't have believed it. Because our course load is not light. But when I found out that there will be team auditions, I thought I should take part in it. When I had to quit basketball while studying for the university exam, I was very upset, thinking that I would not be able to play again. When I saw the audition postings at the University, I applied without hesitation. Glad, I did so. I made new friendships and gained new experiences. There were many days that I left the lab and came into the court. It may seem difficult, but it never is. Nothing is difficult for me once I love it and want it. We are very happy as a team, and we feel good. We must be successful; we will continue to work for it.”

TEAM PLAYERS

Zeynep Naz Ulutagay, Kıymet Yıldır, Gülseren Öztürk, Azra Görkem Kurt, Dilan Kara, Bengisu Koçak, Rüya Evci, Nihan İçer, Damla Köleli, Buket Dinç, Ceren Yılmaz, Ecem Köreken, Nil Gürler.