Women’s Basketball Announces Foreign Tour to Senegal, Germany
July 26, 2023 | Women's Basketball
LOS ANGELES – UCLA women's basketball is heading overseas. The Bruins will take their first foreign tour since the 2016 trip to Australia; UCLA will visit Senegal and Germany from Aug. 20-31.
"It is an incredible opportunity to represent UCLA with this trip to Senegal and Germany," says the Michael Price Family UCLA Women's Head Basketball Coach Cori Close. "It is education in three dimensions; the basketball will be a privilege, but our most important work on the hardwood will be done in training camp."
"Complete Sports Management (CSM) is proud to partner with UCLA for the upcoming foreign tour," says CSM CEO Lea Miller-Tooley. "A historic trip, this marks the first time in program history that UCLA will be in Senegal," says Miller-Tooley, who helped coordinate the international trip. "Cori Close has a vision unmatched and we are excited to see it unfold."
The Bruins will compete in three exhibition games while on the trip, but Close says the experience is bigger than basketball. "Once we are overseas, it is about representing our university in a quality manner, serving others, enlarging our hearts and broadening our minds through opportunities for cultural learning," explains Close. "We are so excited to work with NBA Africa to grow the game and hopefully impact young people all across the world."
The late-August trip will be the only collegiate foreign tour that spans two continents this summer. The tour begins in Senegal, West Africa; the Bruins will visit and learn about Gorée Island, which spent nearly four centuries as the world's largest slave-trading center. The Bruins will also host a basketball camp with local youth on the island.
UCLA will face Senegal's national team in an exhibition game at NBA Academy Africa before departing for Germany.
The Bruins will visit Berlin first, hitting important historical sites and tours in the city. The team will make stops at a Berlin Wall memorial, the Brandenburg Gate and other historical World War II and Cold War monuments. After learning about Germany's history, UCLA will also compete in an exhibition match against a local club, Alba Berlin, while in the city.
The Bruins finish their tour in Munich; highlights of the final stop include a tour of Allianz Arena, home to FC Bayern Munich, and a walking tour. UCLA will face Emily Bessoir's former team, TS Jahn München, in its third and final exhibition match of the trip before returning home to California. Bessoir and Lina Sontag, UCLA's resident Germans, helped pick out some of their favorite restaurants for the team to visit while in their home country.
The trip will also be a learning experience for the student-athletes. The Bruins will spend their final day overseas visiting a Holocaust memorial site – Dachau – which was one of the first concentration camps constructed in the country.
"We get to experience Germany and learn about Lina and Emily's hometowns, and their country's history," said Close. "This promises to be a transformational experience for every one of us. We are humbled and grateful for this opportunity!"
"It is an incredible opportunity to represent UCLA with this trip to Senegal and Germany," says the Michael Price Family UCLA Women's Head Basketball Coach Cori Close. "It is education in three dimensions; the basketball will be a privilege, but our most important work on the hardwood will be done in training camp."
"Complete Sports Management (CSM) is proud to partner with UCLA for the upcoming foreign tour," says CSM CEO Lea Miller-Tooley. "A historic trip, this marks the first time in program history that UCLA will be in Senegal," says Miller-Tooley, who helped coordinate the international trip. "Cori Close has a vision unmatched and we are excited to see it unfold."
The Bruins will compete in three exhibition games while on the trip, but Close says the experience is bigger than basketball. "Once we are overseas, it is about representing our university in a quality manner, serving others, enlarging our hearts and broadening our minds through opportunities for cultural learning," explains Close. "We are so excited to work with NBA Africa to grow the game and hopefully impact young people all across the world."
The late-August trip will be the only collegiate foreign tour that spans two continents this summer. The tour begins in Senegal, West Africa; the Bruins will visit and learn about Gorée Island, which spent nearly four centuries as the world's largest slave-trading center. The Bruins will also host a basketball camp with local youth on the island.
UCLA will face Senegal's national team in an exhibition game at NBA Academy Africa before departing for Germany.
The Bruins will visit Berlin first, hitting important historical sites and tours in the city. The team will make stops at a Berlin Wall memorial, the Brandenburg Gate and other historical World War II and Cold War monuments. After learning about Germany's history, UCLA will also compete in an exhibition match against a local club, Alba Berlin, while in the city.
The Bruins finish their tour in Munich; highlights of the final stop include a tour of Allianz Arena, home to FC Bayern Munich, and a walking tour. UCLA will face Emily Bessoir's former team, TS Jahn München, in its third and final exhibition match of the trip before returning home to California. Bessoir and Lina Sontag, UCLA's resident Germans, helped pick out some of their favorite restaurants for the team to visit while in their home country.
The trip will also be a learning experience for the student-athletes. The Bruins will spend their final day overseas visiting a Holocaust memorial site – Dachau – which was one of the first concentration camps constructed in the country.
"We get to experience Germany and learn about Lina and Emily's hometowns, and their country's history," said Close. "This promises to be a transformational experience for every one of us. We are humbled and grateful for this opportunity!"
Players Mentioned
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