Q&A with Taylor Williams

Story Links

Sophomore outfielder Taylor Williams and the Virginia softball team head south to take on Florida State in a three-game ACC series this weekend. The two teams will play a doubleheader at 12 p.m. Saturday before concluding the series at 12 p.m. Sunday. Williams, a native of Woodbridge, Va., recently caught up with VirginiaSports.com to talk about her role of the team, her favorite class at UVa and what she likes to do for fun.

Question: How does it feel to get back on a little bit of a winning streak?
Williams: It’s been a long time coming. We didn’t have a doubt that we were going to get there, it was just about when. So it’s exciting we’ve had a little bit of a breakthrough.

Question: What does the team have to do to win have a successful weekend down at Florida State?
Williams: Play to us. If you look back to the games we didn’t win, we just weren’t playing like ourselves. That is what hurt us the most – when we don’t do the little things. We just have to play like we are capable of playing. Who wants to be someone they’re not?

Question: How would you describe the season up to this point in time?
Williams: A learning experience. A very good, needed, learning experience. We were a totally different team coming in this year and when you have a different team, there are always new things to learn. If you come in too hot you get a big head. If you come in too low you lack confidence. The fact that we have had ups and downs and had to react to both has been a good thing for us. Without that we wouldn’t be where we are now.

Question: How have you changed the most from when you arrived on Grounds until now?
Williams: Maturity. Being able to accept my role and play it to the best of my ability. When you come in as a first year you kind of don’t know what your role is and all throughout the year you are trying to figure it out. So after you have that year under your belt, that’s a big thing.

Question: How then would you describe your role?
Williams: Put the ball in play, get on base, create chaos. That’s what all our slappers do. If we can put pressure on the defense we have a good shot at getting on base and that is the best thing we can do for our team.

Question: Have you declared a major?
Williams: I was just accepted into the media studies major. I might possibly do a SWAG (studies in women and gender) double major or minor.

Question: What is your interest in those fields?
Williams: I really like our media studies program because it is very theory-based. You are really analyzing a lot of things that are easy to overlook. The way a dialogue is chosen and how it affects the viewer, for example. It’s just something that I have always been into – one of my interests, I suppose.

Question: What has been your favorite class at UVa?
Williams: Literature and sexuality. I had a really good professor and it was kind of a small, seminar-type class. We went back and examined sexuality all throughout the history of literature, starting with the Bible, Shakespeare and up to the 21st century. It was a really good class.

Question: What do you like to do for fun?
Williams: I just like to hang out and go on adventures in Charlottesville. I like to go see other UVa teams play – basketball, volleyball, field hockey. I also like to shop at Circa, it’s kind of a thrift antique store.

Williams’ Favorites
Place on Grounds: Fine Arts Cafe
Food: Daeji Bulgogi spicy Korean pork)
Movie: Pulp Fiction
Book: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling
Color: Teal
Place to Travel: My grandma’s house in St. Louis
Music Artist: Lauryn Hill
Song: “I Get Out” by Lauryn Hill
TV Show: Fringe
Candy: Almond Joy