The Observer, April 4, 2008
Volume XL, Issue 23
Spartan Spotlight: Beth Andrasik
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Beth Andrasik is a freshman women's basketball and softball player. This season she started 20 of 25 games for the Spartans on the hardwood, averaging 5.1 points per game, and had 25 steals on the season. She is also the softball team's starting shortstop and recently was named to first-team All-UAA honors. Andrasik hails from Sagamore Hills, Ohio, and is an engineering major.
Greg Meyer: Who was it that inspired you to play softball?
Beth Andrasik: My brothers. Being the third of four children doesn't really allow inspiration to shape you…more like survival really.
GM: This isn't Russia, Beth. How long have you been "surviving" off of softball, though?
BA: I've been playing softball since I've been able to walk and was out of diapers. My brothers would drag me to the backyard, but I would show them how it's done.
GM: Being able to walk and was out of diapers? That's like a chicken and the egg scenario. What else do you enjoy doing besides playing softball?
BA: Basically loving life and being obnoxious. It seems to make people smile.
GM: Being obnoxious, eh? I have this really great guy you should meet, his name is Jeff Brown. If you could invite any three people to dinner, living or dead, who would it be and why?
BA: The Three Stooges. The conversation would be hilarious and there would be pie in the face for dessert.
GM: Whose face is the real question. Would you rather have the strength of 1000 women, be able to fly, or be invisible?
BA: D. None of the above. I'm already as strong as they come, slam dunk on my opponents, and am only a blur when I run.
GM: Strong and fast I can see. Slam dunk? You must be related to Candace Parker. Who is your favorite athlete?
BA: Grady Sizemore. He is a great player and hellooo? Have you ever seen him?
GM: Yes, I have. My Devil Rays could take him. July 10, I'll be there. Any favorite quotes?
BA: "Fastpitch…If it were that easy, they would call it baseball."
GM: Well, if Grady is as easy as baseball, you'll be all set. What is your best softball memory?
BA: When I was young, I was paid in banana splits for every home run that I hit. It was a good start for my sumo wrestler physique.
GM: Well, since they don't list weights for the women's rosters, I cannot verify that sumo physique. I am suspicious though. Who is the best athlete you have ever competed with or against?
BA: That would have to be Teddi Jacobson. I've played both with and against her. We went to rival high schools, and also played against each other in summer softball. I always hated competing against her and now that we are on the same team, I know she'll beat me up if I don't give her the honor.
GM: Why don't you just knock her out with all of that weight? What is one thing most people don't know about softball?
BA: There is nothing actually soft about a softball. I have the bruises to prove it.
GM: You are sure those aren't from Teddi, right? What makes softball stand out from other sports?
BA: The team controlling the ball is on defense.
GM: That whole left side, strong side mentality, huh? I get it. If they made a movie about your life, who would you want to play you?
BA: Well, me. Duh!
GM: Actor, sumo wrestler, shortstop, guard. What don't you do?
