Issue link: http://catalog.e-digitaleditions.com/i/871523
13 T he University of Iowa baseball team was a United States trailblazer in August at the World University Games in Taiwan. e Hawkeyes, who represented USA as the na- tional team, went 5-2 during its two-week stint in Taipei to earn the first American medal in Uni- versiade history. "We went and did what we wanted to do," said junior Chris Whelan. "It was getting Iowa out there, expanding the Iowa baseball name, mak- ing a name for ourselves, and adding a little bit of confidence." USA posted victories over Mexico, Russia, Ko- rea, and two over the Czech Republic during its seven-game stint. Both losses came against Japan, including a 10-0 defeat in the gold medal game. "It was upsetting we didn't get the gold, but ev- eryone looks back on the trip as a positive experi- ence," said junior Robert Neustrom. "It's an expe- rience we'll never forget. Taiwan is a great place and a great place for baseball. It was an honor playing against all those countries." e trip gave Iowa student-athletes an experi- ence of a lifetime, from walking in the opening ceremony as part of the American delegation, to experiencing Taiwanese culture, to standing on the podium as a silver medalist. "It was an experience I never thought I would get the opportunity to have," said Whelan. "Being a young kid and watching the Olympics on televi- sion, you never picture yourself as having an op- portunity to stand on that podium. "It was unbelievable to wear the red, white, and blue, to represent our country and university and to come back with some hardware. at was spe- cial." Now the trick for the Hawkeyes is using the Tai- wan trip as a catapult toward 2018. Iowa head coach Rick Heller believes the experience will be immeasurable. "is is invaluable for this team heading into the fall, winter, and our spring season," said Heller. "We threw three freshmen out there and to put them in that environment was amazing. e entire team is going to benefit from this so much in Feb- ruary when we start our season." Whelan says the Hawkeyes can learn from Japan — the only team to defeat USA in Taipei. "ey're such a disciplined team," said Whelan. "We've seen what throwing strikes can do, keep- ing a simple approach at the plate, and executing when you need to execute. Seeing a team like that, they're a professional-level team. We can learn and take away a lot from them." Heller was proud of his team's performance and was appreciative to everyone at Iowa for making it possible. "I can't thank everyone at the University of Iowa enough for making this happen," said Heller. "Gary Barta supported this (last) August and he al- lowed us to raise funds and do whatever we need- ed to be able to represent the United States. "Our guys did a great job on and off the field; I couldn't be prouder of their effort. ey ended up doing something no team in the United States has ever done before."