GBI Magazine

Gold and Black Illustrated, May/June 2014

Gold and Black is a multi-platform media company that covers Purdue athletics like no one else.

Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/305196

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 89 of 95

90 IllustrateD volume 24, issue 5 f Day 1, 'You're going to be a power hitter this year.' I'm like, 'No, not happening.' I'm a singles hitter, bunt hitter. I like to steal bases. I don't like to run around the bases. She's like, 'No, you're going to do it.' I'm like, 'OK, if you say so.'" DeFeo immediately recognized Var- sho's physical gifts — saying she has one of the best builds she'd ever seen in a player — and was able to tap into that to get results. The point: To make Varsho even tougher to defend. The first at-bat, go ahead and bunt for a hit. The next, hit a bomb. "You could just stand in and hit and then nobody knows where to play you," DeFeo told her. "She's not just a two-dimensional player. She's not just fast. She's not just power. She could be all three." But the only way that'd work was if Varsho bought in, put time in. DeFeo never doubted that, knowing Varsho's background, knowing her push to never be satisfied. "The one thing that stood out about her is that she is willing to just put in the work, no matter how long or what- ever it takes, she just wanted to get better," DeFeo said. "Sometimes she was too much of a perfectionist. She was too hard on herself. But no mat- ter what, she could make adjustments. She understood the game really, really well. "If I asked her to do something or try something, she would do it. Even if she didn't see success right away, she stayed with it. That's one of the things with this generation a lot of people want that immediate gratification, but with Andie, she just kept working, kept trying other things. If one thing didn't work, she tried whatever I asked her to try. Her work ethic is amazing." j m e n ' s g o l f f e a t u r e : a d a m s c h e n k BY ALAN KARPICK AKarpick@GoldandBlack.com T he lone senior on the men's golf team, Adam Schenk doesn't seem to get shaken by much. Even a sub-par (actual- ly 13-over par to be exact) effort in the Boilermaker Invitational in late April didn't change his outlook heading into the champi- onship portion of the spring men's golf schedule. "He will be the first per- son to come to me and say 'Coach, I'm OK,' " said first- year men's golf coach Rob Bradley. "If he had a rough tournament like he did Eas- ter weekend, I know he will take care of things by turn- ing things around quickly." Schenk's had other chal- lenges, as well. What about having a last name that if mispronounced, is akin to a golfer's nightmare? Actually Schenk's last name rhymes with blink, and not golf's dreaded "S" word. "Wherever you go and they announce your name on the No. 1 tee, it sometimes comes out as 'shank,' " said Scott Schenk, Adam's father. "People just look around like, 'You've got to be kidding me.' It's no big deal to him though, he's got thick skin." Schenk learned to be even-keeled growing up in a household steeped in agriculture in southern Indiana. The small community of South Knox, not far from Vincennes, may seem a long way from anywhere, especially in golfing terms. But the fact that the Schenk's family business is, in part, sod farming, made it a perfect fit for a fledgling golfer. But not right away. Coming from rural southern Indiana, it is not shocking that Schenk took to the sport of basketball first. Like many, he practiced shooting Steady Swinger Schenk's Purdue roots help to achieve goals Purdue Adam Schenk is a big hitter, but it's his consis- tency around the green that has made him one of the Big Ten's best players.

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of GBI Magazine - Gold and Black Illustrated, May/June 2014