Senior Day Q & A With Tara McKnight And Sharnee Zoll

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Sunday, March 2, marks the last regular-season home women’s basketball game for seniors Tara McKnight and Sharne Zoll. They recently checked in with VirginiaSports.com to talk about their feelings headed into Senior Day against Georgia Tech.

Question: What is the best part about being a senior?
Sharne Zoll: You’re experienced. You can teach other people lessons that you’ve learned so they don’t make the same mistakes you did.
Tara McKnight: The best part about being a senior is all the memories I’ve developed through the last four years.

Question: Okay, what’s the worst part?
Zoll: Leaving! Number one, having to figure out what to do with the rest of your life. Once you graduate, you have to be a real’ person and you’ll have a ton of responsibilities. College helps you with that because you have a support system and everyone around you is the same age.
McKnight: The worst thing is that this summer won’t be the summer before my season starts anymore. It’s sad to know that I won’t be on this team next year.

Question: If you guys could go back and give yourselves some advice prior to your freshman year, what would you tell yourself?
Zoll: I probably would have told myself to enjoy the atmosphere and environment more. My first couple of years, I was completely about basketball. If I wasn’t playing, then I was watching film. It was a good thing, but it also kind of stressed me out. You definitely need balance when you are a student-athlete and I think this is my first year that I’ve found that balance away from the game.
McKnight: I would have told myself not to be so hard on myself and don’t get so frustrated at myself with certain things. I also would have told myself to be more vocal throughout my four years.

Question: Can you describe each other in one word?
McKnight: There’s so many words! You know what it is? Nae is genuine. That’s a good word. She’s genuine in her love of the game and genuine in the person that she is. She’ll be there whenever you need her.
Zoll: Understanding. I can say half a sentence to Tara and she’ll know what I’m talking about. Sometimes I have trouble expressing myself in words. I like to talk a lot, but sometimes I have trouble expressing myself. But Tara understands, I don’t have to try too hard.

Question: What do you want to leave your teammates?
Zoll: To Kelly Hartig, I’d like to leave all my push-ups. For Monica Wright, my leadership responsibilities. To Enong Stovall I’d like to leave my Philadelphia attitude. I’ll leave Abby Robertson my sense of humor of Aisha Mohammed my grandma status!
McKnight: I’d leave Paulisha Kellum lots of smiles and laughs, and Kristen London my support for her singing. To Lyndra Littles, my asthma attacks. To Britnee Millner, my punctuality and to Jayna Hartig, all the three-point range she can dream of.

Question: How do you think you will feel when you run out of the tunnel of JPJA for the last time?
McKnight: I can’t even think about it. It’s going to be a good feeling, of course, knowing how far we’ve come. But at the same time it’s going to be one of the saddest days ever. Just knowing that’s our last home game.
Zoll: I’m probably going to cry in front of every single person that’s there.
McKnight: Yeah, I won’t even be able to look at Sharne. I cried when she got the assist record!