By SHAUN SCOTT
REPORTER NEWSPAPERS
The old adage “time flies by when you’re having fun,” is something Mercer Island 2013 graduate Kris Brackmann is quite familiar with in regard to her collegiate basketball career.
Brackmann, who is on the cusp of her senior year with the Division III Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Athenas women’s basketball program, will kick off the 2016-17 season in a matchup against the La Sierra Golden Eagles (Riverside, California) on Nov. 15.
During the 2015-16 campaign, the Athenas were a dominant squad compiling an overall record of 23-6, including a stellar 15-1 record in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) play.
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps reached the second round of the 2016 NCAA Division III tournament, where their season ended courtesy of a 80-58 loss to Texas-Tyler on March 5. Brackmann scored 16 points in the season finale. Brackmann expects her team to return to the NCAA tournament in March 2017.
The Athenas return four starters from the 2015-16 team and have a bench full of talented players.
“We’ve gone to the NCAA tournament every single year that I have been here. We’re hoping to make it there one more time. Our team is really strong and we only lost one senior from last year. We’re hoping to make another big run at the NCAA tournament,” Brackmann said. “I have no doubt that we will make a good run this year.”
Brackmann, who started at guard last season, believes her squad has what it takes to win a SCIAC Conference championship for the fourth consecutive season. The Athenas roster includes six seniors and six freshmen.
“I’m really confident in our team. We have six freshmen who have come into this year who are already really close. It is really nice to have two bookends of six seniors and six freshmen. We’ve meshed together really well,” Brackmann said. “We have a great team dynamic on and off the court. It is really special. We are a family.”
While Brackmann is eagerly anticipating her final season of college basketball, she also knows the “real world” is on the immediate horizon.
Brackmann, who competed on the track, basketball and volleyball teams during her high school days at Mercer Island, knows these next four or five months will be the final time she plays organized sports.
“Just going into the real world, that is a little frightening. It hasn’t really hit me yet knowing this is my last year playing sports. It is kind of bittersweet,” she said. “I’m going into the season wanting to have a lot of fun. Obviously I want our team to succeed, but I’m not going to put too much pressure on myself because I just want it to be fun. I want to enjoy my last season. I know that if I enjoy it good things will follow and we’ll be really successful.”
The Mercer Island star is undecided on what career path she will take following her graduation from college in June 2017.
“Sports have been such a big part of my life. I would love to do something relating to sports. I have a journalism background and I got a certification this summer to teach English. I would like to travel and am taking a look at possibly traveling abroad,” Brackmann said.
