Wednesday, January 13, 2021
'I have a friend who’s making history' Gabriella Coleman goes way back with Sarah Fuller
Ben Hutchens Like in any good friendship, someone almost broke their nose. OSU women’s soccer senior Gabriella Coleman instantly recalled the time in high school where she almost broke her, then her teammate’s, Sarah Fuller, nose. The D’Feeters Soccer Club was doing a regular shooting drill to close out the final 15 minutes of practice. Coleman, a forward, hammered a shot toward Fuller, who was goaltending. The shot was sent with so much force that when Fuller saved the shot with her hands, she effectively punched herself in the nose. “I was like, ‘Please lord don’t tell me that her nose is broken,’” Coleman said. Fuller paused practice for a moment. “Hang on, hang on, hang on, my nose is doing some kind of thing. No, I think it is just bruised, but you hit it really hard,” Fuller said. The team called an end to practice while Fuller proceeded to forever etch the moment in D’Feeters lore by pointing her phone camera at Coleman saying: “She almost broke my nose.” Coleman and her club soccer teammate, Fuller,
Courtesy of Gabriella Coleman
have remained close friends to this day, even after Fuller jokingly accused Coleman of attempting to break her nose. They met in Coleman’s sophomore year of high school, and their athletic journeys have been tied together ever since. In November, Fuller’s journey became front page news after she kicked off the second half for the Vanderbilt football team, becoming the first female to participate in a Power FIvecollege football game. Fuller had appearances on national television, gained thousands
of followers on social media and heard her name on dozens of talk shows. Even after all that, Coleman is still friends with the same Fuller who she grew up playing club soccer in Farmers Branch, Texas. “All the fun times I had with Sarah were great,” Coleman said. “There were some funny memories.” The in-game highlight Coleman remembers most fondly was when she and Fuller teamed up to score a goal, a rare accomplishment for a forward and a goalie to share. “I can remember, Sarah actually assisted me
on a goal,” Coleman said. “Sarah had a goal kick, she kicked it all the way up to midfield. I got it, and then I just shot it from (the middle of the 6-yard box). It was unreal because she was like, ‘That’s my assist.’” It was the first time Coleman had ever been assisted on a score by a goalkeeper, so after she scored, she was a little shocked. Coleman said she was looking around like “what just happened?” And then she saw Fuller running down the field in celebration. D’Feeters coach Hugh Bradford said
every day he got to work with the team during those years was a highlight. “While (everyone on the D’Feeters) was able to laugh and joke with each other, they were also each other’s biggest competition in terms of pushing each other to achieve the ultimate goal of playing in college,” Bradford said. Even at a young age, both Coleman and Fuller had a quality that separated them from other players on their club team. “(Gabriella) was very competitive, and it didn’t matter if it was in practice or in a game,” Bradford said. “Sarah was the same thing; she was very very competitive. I remember she made a save in one of our games where she went in the crowd and actually knocked out one of her own teammates getting to a ball. She was very competitive in the environment and wanted to be the very best and was willing to do whatever it took.” In the play Bradford described, Fuller was defending against a ball that was crossed in the box, so she entered a group of players to punch the ball away. In the scrum, Fuller’s knee struck the head of one of her teammates, knocking her out and leaving her with a concussion. See Making history on page 2
The R-factor
The time Bunyawi Thamchaiwat broke a racket
my conscience is back, my thinking is back, it comes back to positive right away. It’s so weird.” Weird as it is for her to have this automatic response every time something snaps inBen Hutchens side of her, it works in ThamBunyawi Thamchaiwat chaiwat’s favor. has broken one tennis racket in She continued describing all her years of playing tennis. the match in which she broke “I was a kid, I was 17 the racket. years old,” OSU junior Tham“When I saw that it was chaiwat said. “I didn’t hit broken, my conscience came it that hard, I just slammed back. I was like, ‘Ok I need to the head of the racket to the focus,’ and then I come back to ground and it broke. That was win,” Thamchaiwat said. my first and last time.” OSU tennis coach Chris Thamchaiwat wasn’t Young was asked if, in all his proud of the fact that she broke years of playing tennis, he had the racket, she even told her ever broken a racket. dad that she had broken it in “Yeah, I don’t want to the process of playing reguadmit to that,” Young said. “I lar tennis. The reason behind would say most tennis players Thamchaiwat’s outburst was have lost their cool at times because of her play on the and those types of things have court. happened, hopefully for me “I was about to win that that was in my past.” match and the opponent came That statement can cerback,” Thamchaiwat said. “I tainly be interpreted different was like, ‘Why are you doways, but one thing for sure is ing this? Why did you miss Young and Thamchaiwat have the ball? You need to win the dealt with frustrations on and match.’ I just got mad at myoff the tennis court. self and hit the racket to the “We talk about it in our ground.” program all the time: the R Thamchaiwat described factor, which is how you rewhat happens to her after she spond to events in your life,” gets frustrated. Whether it is Young said. “How you respond smashing a racket, slapping a is going to lead to the right ball away in anger or showing kind of outcomes, and so it’s Joel Devick/ O' Colly outward displeasure, she alreally important for us to reCowgirl junior Bunyawi Thamchaiwat returns the ball during the Big 12 Conference Fall ways has the same response. spond properly.” Series Championships on Friday, November 6, 2020, at Greenwood Tennis Center in Still“Every single time that something happens really bad, sports.ed@ocolly.com water.