As if the Women's College World Series doesn't bring enough tension and drama, UM players, coaches and the athletic director got an extra dose Friday evening.
Pete Cunningham, sports director at AnnArbor.com, relays the news:
Team members, their families and several fans who traveled for the tournament took refuge in an underground parking garage beneath the team hotel in downtown Oklahoma City after tornado sirens began to go off. . . .
Michigan players were eating dinner at their hotel when sirens first went off and hotel officials instructed all guests to file into the parking garage beneath the hotel. Athletic director Dave Brandon and his wife, Jan, helped to corral families, friends and fans nearby as well.
After an hour underground, guests were brought to ground level, but were instructed to go back about 45 minutes later as storms persisted.
The Athletic Department photo above shows coach Carol "Hutch" Hutchins, in gray shirt at center, huddling with her team underground.
"We were freaking out a little bit," The Detroit News quotes junior Nicole Sappingfield as saying.
The Wolverines had a much better day Saturday, when they beat Arizona State 2-0. UM had lost 7-1 to Oklahoma earlier in the series.
