University of Minnesota Athletics
Future Plans
4/24/2009 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 23, 2009
By Larry Watts
Contributor, BigTen.org
With graduation less than two months away, Minnesota's Briana Hassett isn't in a rush to put her business degree to use. Not at all anxious to join the 9-to-5 club, especially in this economy, the Golden Gophers' pitching ace is planning on making a quick exit from the Twin Cities for the Netherlands.
Hassett and batterymate Shannon Stemper, who is also a senior, plan on extending their softball careers a few more months by playing for a club team in the Netherlands.
"I always wanted to study abroad during school, but you can't really do that with the time commitment to softball," Hassett says. "I had heard of other players doing this, so I wanted to check it out and find a good team. Every team has one or two Americans and our shortstop (senior Colleen Conway) is going to be playing in Switzerland.
"This will be a great chance to get out and experience Europe and have some fun during the summer before I have to go into the work force. I'm in no rush (to work) and I think I'll take my time, if I can."
According to Hassett, the teams will be more than a month into their schedule by the time she arrives. There will be a break during the month of July, when she plans on doing some extensive traveling, before the season resumes for two more months.
"I really want to see the Greek Islands," she says. "I saw the movie 'Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2' and the scenery was just amazing and I knew I had to go there."
For now, the 5-foot-10 right-hander from Eagan, Minn., is currentlyapplying the finishing touches to one of the best pitching seasons in Golden Gopher history. Heading into Wednesday's doubleheader with Wisconsin, she had already broken the school record held by pitching coach Piper Marten, which currently stands at 355. That mark is also seventh in Big Ten history, and she should crack the top five before the end of the season.
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