University of Massachusets Athletics
Q&A With Christina DeRosa
May 15, 2006 | Women's Track & Field
May 15, 2006
Michelle Pelletier from Media Relations tracked down Christina DeRosa from the women's track team to get some insider info.
Q: Have you found it difficult to balance school work and track?
A: Not really, I've been doing it since I've been in the 7th grade. I actually couldn't picture it not being the way it is. Whenever we have a break I always feel like I have a lot of time. So it's not really too hard to balance.
Q: What do you do about school work when you are on the road?
A: I'm the type of person that can't bring work with me on the road because I just won't do it. We know our schedule ahead of time, so I try to get my work done by Thursday if we are leaving on a Friday. I plan to not do work on the weekends so I can just relax and focus on my race. I try to not schedule an important discussion for a Friday because I know I might have to miss it. If I ever do have to miss a test of class my professors are usually pretty understanding.
Q: What do you miss most from home when you are here at school?
A: Probably the beach, I'm from Long Island and I'm right on the water there.
Q: What is your most memorable moment in track?
A: Running at Penn relays. I really hope that our team gets to go next year. At track there are people cheering for you but it's not like a football game where everyone's out. But at Penn relays, you have that atmosphere and you have this whole stadium around you.
Q: What made you become involved in track?
A: I was never really any good at other sports. My high school was really good at field hockey and badminton and my friends all did soccer and field hockey so I really wanted to do a sport. I was never coordinated, so I just started running and I just fell in love with it.
Q: What do you do in the off-season to stay in shape?
A: Well basically we never really have an off-season, but in the summer it's really just base training. Our coach will send us all our summer workouts; it's basically just miles, a couple tempo runs, lifting, and cross training.
Q: Is there anyone that you look up to and why?
A: I look up to my parents, neither of them were runners or competitive athletes, yet my dad is very driven and I get that from him and it just makes me want to keep doing better.
Q: Do you have any rituals or special preparations for before meets?
A: In high school I was extremely superstitious. I would change my shoes in the same exact spot every week, and I would always wear the same tie-dye t-shirt. But in college, I have to wear all UMass stuff, so I had to change that up. So now I do a certain amount of strides before each race and I always wear a hair ribbon.
Q: Is there a meet that you look forward to the most?
A: Every season we have our A-10 conference meet, and cross country is my favorite season so I just always look forward to the A-10 meet because a lot of the girls that go to URI are my teammates from high school and I always look forward to racing them again.
Q: What do you like most about UMass?
A: I love the team, having a coach I can trust and having my best friends on the team. They know what's hard to do and they just keep me grounded.
Q: What made you pick UMass?
A: Before I looked at colleges I have never been in Massachusetts before. I was looking at schools like Boston College and Northeastern and I just randomly thought of checking out UMass. But when I came here it just felt like the perfect fit and it just felt like college to me. I also just really liked the coach and talking with her, she just really sold the program well.
Q: Where do you hope to see yourself in five years?
A: I want to go to graduate school for physical therapy, so it would be nice to get into Stony Brook in Long Island right near my house. Maybe engaged.
Q: Outside of sports what is your greatest accomplishment?
A: I guess maybe adjusting to college, because I know some people in my hometown didn't really adjust to college well and they went back home or some dropped out. So I think just being balanced and making good choices.
Q: What do you do in your free time?
A: Hang out with my friends, catch up on work, or just relax because there's not many times that we can just sit back and do nothing.